Alexander Hamilton (song)

"[4] The musical, and this song's YouTube video in particular, have influenced education; Miranda said "I think teachers used just that one clip for the past six years as their intro to Hamilton.

[8] Rolling Stone also deemed it a highlight and wrote "It's not Hamilton's most compelling set piece, but it's a very solid introduction to the show's characters, cast and themes.

"[9] This song is expository, setting up who the main character is and summarizing the first two decades of his life in a "bracingly economical synopsis of Hamilton's early years".

[11] The derogatory terms used in the number to describe Hamilton, including "bastard", "orphan", "son of a whore and a Scotsman" are repeated throughout the musical in a motif that demonstrates how his upbringing would haunt him for the rest of his life, despite his attempt to escape his childhood misfortunes and climb to the top of the social ladder.

[12] The Atlantic notes that the musical's opening question "How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean by providence, impoverished, in squalor grow up to be a hero and a scholar?"

[10] With Burr acting as the narrator of this number, the Los Angeles Times comments: "fitting, somehow, that the man who jealously slew Hamilton in a duel is the first to take up the mystery of his story".

[18] Hitfix notes that the song's opening stanzas "have this sort of great simple stripped down quality, just demonstrating how dense the rhyme schemes are, and conveying a lot of information, including a reminder that Hamilton is a face we see every day and rarely consider.