This Friday, people around the world will be able to watch Hamilton in their homes. In the course of one weekend, it’s likely more people will watch this epic production than have ever seen it before.
The third song in, viewers will be dazzled by a 19-year old Alexander singing My Shot, one of the hallmark songs of the show – a passionate, rapping cry for meaning and significance. The plea: that he desperately did not want to throw away the chance to do something meaningful with his one life. He did not want to waste his life being caught up with less noble pursuits.
Now imagine if in 1770s, there were smartphones. Might young Alex dreamed of such meaning, but then gotten sidetracked by the shiny rectangle in his pocket? Started scrolling Twitter, making TikTok videos, and watching 80 minutes of YouTube per day, like the average American teenager?
It’s one of the biggest risks for our generation – and for the next. That we might accidentally miss out on the life we truly desire – connecting deeply with our kids, spouse, friends, and serving our community – because we end up “scrollin’ away our shot” – caught up by the enticing ding of notifications, the endless scroll of social media, or the magic of autoplay videos.
With this in mind, we had a little fun and rewrote My Shot with a modern day twist. We hope no one reading this ever faces a gun duel, but we know that most of us face a daily battle to use our screens with intention, maximizing the many benefits, while minimizing the side effects.
When you get to the end of your life, may you look back and consider it time well spent.
Enjoy these lyrics and join with us in enjoying #Hamifilm.
My Shot
I am not scrollin’ away my shot
I am not scrollin’ away my shot
Hey yo, this little tiny screen
Is so much smaller than my dreams
And I’m not scrollin’ away my shot
I’m lookin’ round thinkin’ ‘bout tech
Causin’ problems, I’m solemn thinkin’ what the heck
Seems we’re lackin’ some action needin’ some self-respect
We got depression, addiction, needin’ to course-correct
I’m in the fight of my life, raisin up my kids
But my heart is hid behind a phone with a YouTube vid
Time’ll fly like a rocket, then they’ll be grown up
These moments that I want to eat up, they get corrupt
By distraction, because my phone’s attraction
leads to my inaction, family time subtraction,
This isn’t an abstraction
The plan was to do all the things that we love
Enjoy the people beside and the clouds up above
I want to show them just how much I care by the loving power of my stare
A family that lives life with fun and flair
When we enjoy our meals with no device that steals
Our joyful squeals or fun stories revealed,
Our family conversation rollin’ like ferris wheel
This life ain’t ever gonna feel the way it’s s’posed to feel
Until it starts with me livin’ out my own ideal
Let’s get real; habits aren’t easy to repeal
But if I did my children would be flipping like cartwheels
With newfound time we could learn to play the glockenspiel
Or we could take a trip and learn to ride a snowmobile
I am not scrollin’ away my shot
I am not scrollin’ away my shot
Hey yo, this little tiny screen
Is so much smaller than my dreams
And I’m not scrollin’ away my shot
I am not scrollin’ away my shot
I am not scrollin’ away my shot
Hey yo, this little tiny screen
Is so much smaller than my dreams
And I’m not scrollin’ away my shot
It’s time to take a shot
I dream of life without screen addiction
Focus on the moment feels like science fiction
Apps squeezin’ my brain like boa constriction
This affliction needs some tech eviction
Before I lose my shot
Yo, I’m a high school student
In social media parlance I’m totally fluent
My life feels dark when my Fortnite’s lucent
But In the game of life I think I might be losin’
Losin’ my shot
As a parent I feel my kids won’t be free
’til we protect them from the ills of this technology
I don’t want bullyin’, violence or pornography
To malign their young minds and change their trajectory
This is their shot
It’s okay folks, no need to throw these darts
The tech giants have our best interests at heart
They don’t want our lives to fall completely apart
Our addiction makes their profits run off the chart
They’re hittin’ their shots
I am not scrollin’ away my shot
I am not scrollin’ away my shot
Hey yo, this little tiny screen
Is so much smaller than my dreams
And I’m not scrollin’ away my shot
I am not scrollin’ away my shot
I am not scrollin’ away my shot
Hey yo, this little tiny screen
Is so much smaller than my dreams
And I’m not scrollin’ away my shot
Everybody tweet
Whoa, whoa, whoa
Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa
Ay, let ‘em hear ya
Let’s go
Whoa, whoa, whoa I said post it on your insta
Whoa, whoa, whoa said, on your snapchat
Whoa, whoa, whoa come on
Come on, let’s go
Getcha eyes up
Life is big, screens are small, getcha eyes up
Put it down and stand tall gethca eyes up
Tell ya friends they should all get their eyes up
When will these families get their eyes up?
When will these buddies get their eyes up?
When will these colleagues get their eyes up?
When will these communities get their eyes up?
Eyes up?
