What does “not throwing away my shot” really mean?

It’s a mantra of ambition. For Hamilton, it means taking every opportunity—academic, political, or martial—to change his status. It’s personal elevation and national liberation rolled into one.

Why is the phrase repeated so often in the song?

The repetition is thematic and hypnotic, like a pulse. It drills the urgency of the moment into the audience. It’s also a foreshadowing of Hamilton’s ultimate “shot” in his duel with Burr, making the line tragically ironic in retrospect.

How does this song reflect the hip-hop genre within a Broadway context?

“My Shot” is where Broadway and boom-bap break bread. It uses internal rhymes, braggadocio, and historical bars to blend the lyrical traditions of hip-hop with the grand storytelling arcs of musical theater. It’s Lin-Manuel Miranda’s answer to the question: What if Nas wrote a libretto?

Music Video

My Shot Lyrics

Soundtrack: Hamilton

Full Lyrics

My Shot Text

[HAMILTON]
I am not throwing away my shot!
I am not throwing away my shot!
Hey yo, I’m just like my country
I’m young, scr*ppy and hungry
And I’m not throwing away my shot!
I’m ‘a get a scholarship to King’s College
I probably shouldn’t brag, but dag, I amaze and astonish
The problem is I got a lot of brains but no polish
I gotta holler just to be heard
With every word, I drop knowledge!
I’m a diamond in the rough, a shiny piece of coal
Tryin’ to reach my goal. My power of speech: unimpeachable
Only nineteen, but my mind is older
These New York City streets get colder, I shoulder
Ev’ry burden, ev’ry disadvantage
I have learned to manage, I don’t have a gun to brandish
I walk these streets famished
The plan is to fan this spark into a flame
But damn, it’s getting dark, so let me spell out the name
I am the—

[HAMILTON/LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN/LAURENS]
A-L-E-X-A-N-D
E-R—we are—meant to be…

[HAMILTON]
A colony that runs independently
Meanwhile, Britain keeps sh*ttin on us endlessly
Essentially, they tax us relentlessly
Then King George turns around, runs a spending spree
He ain’t ever gonna set his descendants free
So there will be a revolution in this century
Enter me!

[LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN/LAURENS]
(He says in parentheses)

[HAMILTON]
Don’t be shocked when your hist’ry book mentions me
I will lay down my life if it sets us free
Eventually, you’ll see my ascendancy

[HAMILTON]
And I am not throwing away
My shot
I am not throwing away
My shot
Hey yo, I’m just like my country
I’m young, scr*ppy and hungry
And I’m not throwing away my shot
[LAURENS]
My shot!

My shot!

And I’m not throwing away my shot.

[HAMILTON/MULLIGAN/LAURENS/LAFAYETTE]
I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Hey yo, I’m just like my country
I’m young, scr*ppy and hungry
And I’m not throwing away my shot
It’s time to take a shot!

[LAFAYETTE]
I dream of life without a monarchy
The unrest in France will lead to ‘onarchy?
‘Onarchy? How you say, how you say, ‘anarchy?’
When I fight, I make the other side panicky
With my—

[HAMILTON/LAURENS/LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN]
Shot!

[MULLIGAN]
Yo, I’m a tailor’s apprentice
And I got y’all knuckleheads in loco parentis
I’m joining the rebellion cuz I know it’s my chance
To socially advance, instead of sewin’ some pants!
I’m gonna take a—

[HAMILTON/LAURENS/LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN]
Shot!

[LAURENS]
But we’ll never be truly free
Until those in bondage have the same rights as you and me
You and I. Do or die. Wait till I sally in
On a stallion with the first black battalion
Have another—

[HAMILTON/LAURENS/LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN]
Shot!

[BURR]
Geniuses, lower your voices
You keep out of trouble and you double your choices
I’m with you, but the situation is fraught
You’ve got to be carefully taught:
If you talk, you’re gonna get shot!

[HAMILTON]
Burr, check what we got
Mister Lafayette, hard rock like Lancelot
I think your pants look hot
Laurens, I like you a lot
Let’s hatch a plot blacker than the kettle callin’ the pot...
What are the odds the gods would put us all in one spot
Poppin’ a squat on conventional wisdom, like it or not
A bunch of revolutionary manumission abolitionists?
Give me a position, show me where the ammunition is!

Oh, am I talkin’ too loud?
Sometimes I get over excited, shoot off at the mouth
I never had a group of friends before
I promise that I’ll make y’all proud

[LAURENS]
Let’s get this guy in front of a crowd

[HAMILTON/LAURENS/LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN/ENSEMBLE]
I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Hey yo, I’m just like my country
I’m young, scr*ppy and hungry
And I’m not throwing away my shot

I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Hey yo, I’m just like my country
I’m young, scr*ppy and hungry
And I’m not throwing away my shot

[LAURENS]
Ev’rybody sing:
Whoa, whoa, whoa
Hey!
Whoa!
Wooh!!
Whoa!
Ay, let ‘em hear ya!

Let’s go!

I said shout it to the rooftops!
Said, to the rooftops!
Come on!

Come on, let’s go! [HAMILTON/LAFAYETTE/
MULLIGAN]
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!

Whoa!

Whoa!

Yea!

[COMPANY]
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
Whoa!
Whoa!

Yea!

[LAURENS]
Rise up!
When you’re living on your knees, you rise up
Tell your brother that he’s gotta rise up
Tell your sister that she's gotta rise up

[LAURENS AND ENSEMBLE]
When are these colonies gonna rise up?
When are these colonies gonna rise up?
When are these colonies gonna rise up?
When are these colonies gonna rise up?

Rise up!
[COMPANY]
Whoa! Whoa!
Whoa!
Whoa!
Whoa!

Rise up!

[HAMILTON]
I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory
When’s it gonna get me?
In my sleep? Seven feet ahead of me?
If I see it comin’, do I run or do I let it be?
Is it like a beat without a melody?
See, I never thought I’d live past twenty
Where I come from some get half as many
Ask anybody why we livin’ fast and we laugh, reach for a flask
We have to make this moment last, that’s plenty

Scratch that
This is not a moment, it’s the movement
Where all the hungriest brothers with
Something to prove went?
Foes oppose us, we take an honest stand
We roll like Moses, claimin’ our promised land
And? If we win our independence?
Is that a guarantee of freedom for our descendants?
Or will the blood we shed begin an endless
Cycle of vengeance and death with no defendants?
I know the action in the street is excitin’
But Jesus, between all the bleedin’ ‘n fightin’
I’ve been readin’ ‘n writin’
We need to handle our financial situation
Are we a nation of states? What’s the state of our nation?
I’m past patiently waitin’. I’m passionately
Smashin’ every expectation
Every action’s an act of creation!
I’m laughin’ in the face of casualties and sorrow
For the first time, I’m thinkin’ past tomorrow

[HAMILTON AND COMPANY]
And I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Hey yo, I’m just like my country
I’m young, scr*ppy and hungry
And I’m not throwing away my shot

[HAMILTON/LAURENS/
LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN]
We’re gonna rise up! Time to take a shot!
We’re gonna rise up! Time to take a shot!
We’re gonna

[HAMILTON]
Time to take a shot!

[HAMILTON/LAFAYETTE/
LAURENS/MULLIGAN]
Time to take a shot!

Time to take a shot!

Take a shot!
Shot!
Shot!
A-yo it’s
Time to take a shot!
Time to take a shot!
And I am—
[ENSEMBLE]
Not throwing away my shot

Not throwing away my shot

We’re gonna

Rise up!
Rise up!

Rise up!
Rise up!

Rise up!

Rise up!

Ri— ri— ri—

Time to take a shot!
Time to take a shot!
And I am—

[HAMILTON/LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN/LAURENS]
Not throwin’ away my—

[COMPANY]
Not throwin’ away my shot!

Hamilton

Soundtrack Lyrics for Musical, 2015

Track Listing

›Alexander Hamilton

›Aaron Burr

›My Shot

›The Story of Tonight

›The Schuyler Sisters

›The Story of Tonight (Reprise)

›Wait For It

›Stay Alive

›Ten Duel Commandments

›Meet Me Inside

›That Would Be Enough

›Guns and Ships

›History Has Its Eye on You

›The Room Where It Happens

›Schuyler Defeated

›Cabinet Battle #2

›Washington on Your Side

›One Last Time

›I Know Him

›The Adams Administration

›We Know

›Hurricane

›The Reynolds Pamphlet

›Burn

›Blow Us All Away

›Stay Alive (Reprise)

›It's Quiet Uptown

›The Election of 1800

›The Obedient Servant

›Best of Wives and Best of Women

›The World Was Wide Enough

›Finale (Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story)

April, 24th 2025

Song Overview

My Shot Lyrics video by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Original Broadway Cast — Lin-Manuel Miranda and cast are singing the 'My Shot' lyrics in the music video.

Song Credits

Producers: Lin-Manuel Miranda, ?uestlove, Black Thought, Bill Sherman, Alex Lacamoire
Composers: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Havoc, Prodigy, The Notorious B.I.G., Easy Mo Bee, Roger Troutman
Release Date: 2015-09-25
Album: Hamilton: An American Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Genre: Broadway, Hip-Hop
Instruments: Violin, Viola, Synthesizer, Percussion, Keyboards, Harp, Guitar, Drums, Cello, Bass, Banjo
Label: Atlantic Records
Language: English

Lyrics Analysis and Meaning

Lin-Manuel Miranda performing song My Shot — Performance of 'My Shot' by Lin-Manuel Miranda and the cast in the music video.

“I am not throwing away my shot.”

This isn't just a hook—it’s a manifesto. Alexander Hamilton, as voiced by Lin-Manuel Miranda, channels the kinetic fury of a thousand teenage revolutions into a declaration of personal and political purpose. In “My Shot”, Hamilton's ambition isn’t whispered. It’s shouted through clenched teeth, like a boxer daring the bell to ring. It’s hip-hop meeting Broadway, and history meeting heartbeat. “My Shot” isn’t just about the American Revolution—it *is* a revolution. Its rhythm bounces like colonial drums but spits with the venom of underground cipher battles. This is Shakespeare rapping in Timberlands, mixing Enlightenment philosophy with battle bars. The song text references economic injustice (“Meanwhile, Britain keeps shittin’ on us endlessly”), dreams of equality (“Until those in bondage have the same rights as you and me”), and a death-haunted bravado (“I imagine death so much, it feels more like a memory”). And then there’s the interlacing of the ensemble—Lafayette, Laurens, Mulligan—all staking their claim in the fight. These voices don’t blur; they bounce. Each has their own style, their own “shot” to take. And then Burr slinks in with caution, urging restraint—a voice of realpolitik amid revolutionary rap battles. By the end, “My Shot” becomes more than a solo anthem. It’s a chorus of unrest. A boom-bap gospel for change.

Similar Songs

Thumbnail from My Shot lyric video by Lin-Manuel Miranda and cast — A screenshot from the 'My Shot' music video.

“Lose Yourself” by Eminem The spiritual ancestor of “My Shot.” Both are battle cries from the brink, hungry monologues over punchy beats. Hamilton’s defiant “I am not throwing away my shot” walks hand in hand with Eminem’s “You only get one shot.” They share the same DNA of seizing the moment, but where Eminem is battling stage fright, Hamilton is battling history.
“Alright” by Kendrick Lamar Kendrick’s anthem of survival and systemic critique echoes Laurens’ line about bondage and equality. Both songs build hope from fire, drawing strength from communal identity. “Alright” is a prophecy of resilience; “My Shot” is a prophecy of revolution.
“Defying Gravity” from Wicked Broadway meets bravery. Like “My Shot,” it’s a song of transformation—of breaking out and breaking free. Elphaba's flight parallels Hamilton’s rise: misunderstood, passionate, and utterly unstoppable. Both songs hit the chest like a battle cry wrapped in orchestration.

Questions and Answers

Scene from My Shot track by Lin-Manuel Miranda and cast — Visual effects scene from 'My Shot'.

What does “not throwing away my shot” really mean?: It’s a mantra of ambition. For Hamilton, it means taking every opportunity—academic, political, or martial—to change his status. It’s personal elevation and national liberation rolled into one.
Why is the phrase repeated so often in the song?: The repetition is thematic and hypnotic, like a pulse. It drills the urgency of the moment into the audience. It’s also a foreshadowing of Hamilton’s ultimate “shot” in his duel with Burr, making the line tragically ironic in retrospect.
How does this song reflect the hip-hop genre within a Broadway context?: “My Shot” is where Broadway and boom-bap break bread. It uses internal rhymes, braggadocio, and historical bars to blend the lyrical traditions of hip-hop with the grand storytelling arcs of musical theater. It’s Lin-Manuel Miranda’s answer to the question: What if Nas wrote a libretto?

Awards and Chart Positions

Certified Platinum by the RIAA on October 11, 2019

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