Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton – Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story Lyrics | Genius Lyrics 71 Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton Producers Bill Sherman , Alex Lacamoire & 3 more Track 46 on Hamilton: An American Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording) Sep. 25, 2015 1 viewer 1.5M views 304 Contributors Translations Português Español Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story Lyrics The cast and company return to usher in Eliza, who takes over for Burr and narrates the Afterword of our story. The play ends by asking the audience directly, “Who tells your story?”

Hamilton the man and… Read More [WASHINGTON] Let me tell you what I wish I’d known When I was young and dreamed of glory You have no control: [WASHINGTON AND COMPANY] Who lives Who dies Who tells your story? [BURR] President Jefferson: [JEFFERSON] I’ll give him this: his financial system is a Work of genius. I couldn’t undo it if I tried And I tried [WASHINGTON AND COMPANY] Who lives Who dies Who tells your story? [BURR] President Madison: [MADISON] He took our country from bankruptcy to prosperity I hate to admit it, but he doesn’t get enough credit For all the credit he gave us [WASHINGTON AND COMPANY] Who lives Who dies Who tells your story? [ANGELICA] Every other founding father's story gets told Every other founding father gets to grow old [BURR] But when you’re gone, who remembers your name? Who keeps your flame? [BURR AND MEN] Who tells your story? Who tells your story? [ANGELICA AND WOMEN] Who tells your story? Your story? [WOMEN] Eliza [ELIZA] I put myself back in the narrative [WOMEN] Eliza [ELIZA] I stop wasting time on tears I live another fifty years It’s not enough [COMPANY] Eliza [ELIZA] I interview every soldier who fought by your side [MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE/ LAURENS ] She tells our story [ELIZA] I try to make sense of your thousands of pages of writings You really do write like you’re running out of— [ELIZA AND COMPANY] Time [ELIZA] I rely on— [ELIZA AND ANGELICA] Angelica [ELIZA] While she’s alive— [ELIZA AND ANGELICA] We tell your story [ELIZA] She is buried in Trinity Church [ELIZA AND ANGELICA] Near you [ELIZA] When I needed her most, she was right on— [ELIZA AND COMPANY] Time [ELIZA] And I’m still not through I ask myself, “What would you do if you had more—” [ELIZA AND COMPANY] Time [ELIZA] The Lord, in his kindness He gives me what you always wanted He gives me more— [ELIZA AND COMPANY] Time [ELIZA] I raise funds in D.C. for the Washington Monument [WASHINGTON] She tells my story [ELIZA] I speak out against slavery You could have done so much more if you only had— [ELIZA AND COMPANY] Time [ELIZA] And when my time is up, have I done enough? [ELIZA] Will they tell our story? [COMPANY] Will they tell your story? [ELIZA] Oh. Can I show you what I’m proudest of? [COMPANY] The orphanage [ELIZA] I established the first private orphanage in New York City [COMPANY] The orphanage [ELIZA] I help to raise hundreds of children I get to see them growing up [COMPANY] The orphanage [ELIZA] In their eyes I see you, Alexander I see you every— [ELIZA AND COMPANY] Time [ELIZA] And when my time is up Have I done enough? Will they tell my story? [COMPANY] Will they tell your story? [ELIZA] Oh, I can’t wait to see you again It’s only a matter of— [ELIZA AND COMPANY] Time [COMPANY] Will they tell your story? Who lives, who dies, who tells your story? Will they tell your story? Who lives, who dies— [COMPANY] Time… Time… Time... [FULL COMPANY] Who tells your story? 71 Embed Cancel How to Format Lyrics: Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc. Use italics ( <i>lyric</i> ) and bold ( <b>lyric</b> ) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?] To learn more, check out our transcription guide or visit our transcribers forum About Song Bio 5 contributors The cast and company return to usher in Eliza, who takes over for Burr and narrates the Afterword of our story. The play ends by asking the audience directly, “Who tells your story?” Hamilton the man and Hamilton the musical are both concerned with historiography and legacy—how we view, understand, and remember the past.  As Aaron Burr notes in “The World was Wide Enough,” “History obliterates in every picture it paints.” You have no control over who tells your story, and after death, your story is all that’s left. What’s left other than the memories we helped make before we exited the stage? What is our ultimate legacy beyond the things we create and the words we leave behind? Is it any wonder then that Hamilton would write like he was running out of time? He was. So are we all. Some closing thoughts: For two centuries, Hamilton’s role as a Founding Father has been clouded in obscurity by many factors: his dying early and in a sensational way, his awkward social position as a bastard immigrant outsider to the Colonies, his political enemies outliving him and purposefully minimizing his work, the fact that that work is so dense and complex as to be unintelligible to the layman. However, time proved him right, and history has come to appreciate him more and more as we continue to feel the effects and, in turn, rediscover the details of his life and work. This would not have been possible without Eliza’s careful curation of his legacy. However, even as she ensured Hamilton was not totally forgotten, much of the detail about her herself has been lost due to her own marginalized place in the historical fabric, as a woman. Yes, in the play, Eliza burns her letters, and Chernow believes she destroyed them. But the truth is, for some unknown reason, we have very little of Eliza’s personal writing, and for decades upon decades, no one lamented her missing voice. It’s only very recently that scholarship has begun to take an active and rigorous interest in the lives and significance of historical women. However, Hamilton fought to make his contributions to America, and Eliza worked tirelessly to make her own in her turn, and as time has gone on, the arc of the moral universe bending toward justice, people who went into the annals of history looking for traces of themselves where their people had previously been purposefully overlooked, have found themselves in finding people like the Hamiltons again, in writing books about them, creating plays like this about them, and thus, writing themselves and their antecedents back into the narrative of history. Hamilton tells us that you have to do your best to tell your story, and then you have to find a way to let go, and let time take care of the rest. Expand +243 10 1 Share Q&A Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning Ask a question What did Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton say about "Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story"? Genius Answer 1 contributor In Hamilton: The Revolution, Lin-Manuel Miranda said of this song: It’s unusual to end a musical with somebody other than the protagonist, but I felt like I had permission to end with Eliza after seeing Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori’s Caroline, or Change . At the end of the show, Caroline’s daughter comes forward to tell us how she will work for a better world because of her mother’s sacrifices. You can tell that she’ll go on to have an incredible life. It made me want to go see her musical.” +2 Does the  track have any certifications? Genius Answer 1 contributor Yes, “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story” was certified gold by the RIAA on June 23, 2023. +3 Who produced “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story” by Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton? When did Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton release “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story”? Who wrote “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story” by Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton? Hamilton: An American Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording) (2015) Lin-Manuel Miranda 1. Alexander Hamilton 2. Aaron Burr, Sir 3. My Shot 4. The Story of Tonight 5. The Schuyler Sisters 6. Farmer Refuted 7. You’ll Be Back 8. Right Hand Man 9. A Winter’s Ball 10. Helpless 11. Satisfied 12. The Story of Tonight (Reprise) 13. Wait For It 14. Stay Alive 15. Ten Duel Commandments 16. Meet Me Inside 17. That Would Be Enough 18. Guns and Ships 19. History Has Its Eyes on You 20. Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down) 21. What Comes Next? 22. Dear Theodosia 23. Non-Stop 24. What’d I Miss 25. Cabinet Battle #1 26. Take a Break 27. Say No to This 28. The Room Where It Happens 29. Schuyler Defeated 30. Cabinet Battle #2 31. Washington On Your Side 32. One Last Time 33. I Know Him 34. The Adams Administration 35. We Know 36. Hurricane 37. The Reynolds Pamphlet 38. Burn 39. Blow Us All Away 40. Stay Alive (Reprise) 41. It’s Quiet Uptown 42. The Election of 1800 43. Your Obedient Servant 44. Best of Wives and Best of Women 45. The World Was Wide Enough 46. Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story Hamilton: Eliza’s Story (2025) Lin-Manuel Miranda Expand Credits Producers Bill Sherman , Alex Lacamoire , Lin-Manuel Miranda , Black Thought & ?uestlove Writer Lin-Manuel Miranda Publisher 5000 Broadway Music , New World Music , Warner Music Group , Warner/Chappell & PECF Violin Mario Gotoh & Erin Benim Viola Mario Gotoh Synthesizer Randy Cohen Programmer Scott Wasserman Percussion Benny Reiner Orchestration Alex Lacamoire Mixing Engineer Tim Latham Mastering Engineer Tom Coyne Keyboards Richard Hammond , Kurt Crowley , Benny Reiner & Alex Lacamoire Harp Laura Sherman Guitar Robin Macatangay Drums Andres Forero Drum Programmer Randy Cohen Conductor Alex Lacamoire Cello Anja Wood Bass Richard Hammond Banjo Robin Macatangay Vocals Leslie Odom Jr. , Phillipa Soo , Daveed Diggs , Okieriete Onaodowan , Renée Elise Goldsberry & Christopher Jackson Recorded At Avatar Studios Released on September 25, 2015 Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story Samples History Has Its Eyes on You by Christopher Jackson, Lin-Manuel Miranda & Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton , The Schuyler Sisters by Phillipa Soo, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Leslie Odom Jr., Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton & Renée Elise Goldsberry & That Would Be Enough by Lin-Manuel Miranda & Phillipa Soo Songs That Sample Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story Found / Tonight by Ben Platt & Lin-Manuel Miranda & Who Tells Your Story by The Roots (Ft. Common & Ingrid Michaelson) Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story Interpolations Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story (Instrumental) by Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton & Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story (2014 Workshop) by Lin-Manuel Miranda (Ft. Anthony Ramos, Ciara Renée, Daveed Diggs, Isaiah Johnson, Leslie Odom Jr., Okieriete Onaodowan, Phillipa Soo & Renée Elise Goldsberry) Songs That Interpolate Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story HAMILTON in 7 minutes by Range A Cappella Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story Covers Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story by Smooth Jazz All Stars & Hamilton Medley by Freya Catherine (Ft. Ashley Serena & Avonmora) Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story Remixes Wer Lebt, Wer Stirbt, Wer Schreibt Geschichte by Ivy Quainoo, Gino Emnes, Chasity Crisp, Daniel Dodd-Ellis, Redchild, Oliver Edward, Mae Ann Jorolan, Charles Simmons (DEU) & Original Hamburg Cast Of Hamilton Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story Translations Original Brodway Cast of “Hamilton” - Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story (Tradução em Português) by Genius Brasil Traduções & Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton - Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story (Traducción al Español) by Genius Traducciones al Español View Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story samples Tags Rap USA In English Broadway Musicals Expand Comments Add a comment Sign Up And Drop Knowledge 🤓 Genius is the ultimate source of music knowledge, created by scholars like you who share facts and insight about the songs and artists they love. Sign Up