Take a Break
Producers
[ELIZA & PHILIP]
Un deux trois quatre
Cinq six sept huit neuf (Un deux trois quatre)
Cinq six sept huit neuf
Good! Un deux trois quatre
Cinq six sept huit neuf (Un deux trois quatre)
Cinq six sept huit neuf
Sept huit neuf—
Sept huit neuf—
Sept huit neuf—
Sept huit neuf—
[ELIZA AND PHILIP]
One two three four five six seven eight nine!
[HAMILTON]
My dearest, Angelica
"Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day"
I trust you'll understand the reference to
Another Scottish tragedy without my having to name the play
They think me Macbeth, and ambition is my folly
I'm a polymath, a pain in the ass, a massive pain
Madison is Banquo, Jefferson's Macduff
And Birnam Wood is Congress on its way to Dunsinane
Un deux trois quatre
Cinq six sept huit neuf (Un deux trois quatre)
Cinq six sept huit neuf
Good! Un deux trois quatre
Cinq six sept huit neuf (Un deux trois quatre)
Cinq six sept huit neuf
Sept huit neuf—
Sept huit neuf—
Sept huit neuf—
Sept huit neuf—
[ELIZA AND PHILIP]
One two three four five six seven eight nine!
[HAMILTON]
My dearest, Angelica
"Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day"
I trust you'll understand the reference to
Another Scottish tragedy without my having to name the play
They think me Macbeth, and ambition is my folly
I'm a polymath, a pain in the ass, a massive pain
Madison is Banquo, Jefferson's Macduff
And Birnam Wood is Congress on its way to Dunsinane
[HAMILTON/ANGELICA]
And there you are, an ocean away
Do you have to live an ocean away?
Thoughts of you subside
Then I get another letter
I cannot put the notion away…
[ELIZA]
Take a break
[HAMILTON]
I am on my way
[ELIZA]
There's a little surprise before supper
And it cannot wait
[HAMILTON]
I'll be there in just a minute, save my plate
[ELIZA]
Alexander—
[HAMILTON]
Okay, okay—
And there you are, an ocean away
Do you have to live an ocean away?
Thoughts of you subside
Then I get another letter
I cannot put the notion away…
[ELIZA]
Take a break
[HAMILTON]
I am on my way
[ELIZA]
There's a little surprise before supper
And it cannot wait
[HAMILTON]
I'll be there in just a minute, save my plate
[ELIZA]
Alexander—
[HAMILTON]
Okay, okay—
[ELIZA]
Your son is nine years old today
And he has something that he'd like to say
He's been practicing all day
Philip, take it away—
[PHILIP & HAMILTON]
Daddy, daddy, look—
My name is Philip
I am a poet
I wrote this poem just
To show it
And I just turned nine
You can write rhymes
But you can't write mine
What!
I practice French
And play piano with my mother (Uh-huh!)
I have a sister
But I want a little brother (Okay!)
My daddy's trying to start America’s bank
Un deux trois quatre cinq! (Bravo!)
[ELIZA]
Take a break
Your son is nine years old today
And he has something that he'd like to say
He's been practicing all day
Philip, take it away—
[PHILIP & HAMILTON]
Daddy, daddy, look—
My name is Philip
I am a poet
I wrote this poem just
To show it
And I just turned nine
You can write rhymes
But you can't write mine
What!
I practice French
And play piano with my mother (Uh-huh!)
I have a sister
But I want a little brother (Okay!)
My daddy's trying to start America’s bank
Un deux trois quatre cinq! (Bravo!)
[ELIZA]
Take a break
[HAMILTON]
Hey, our kid is pretty great
[ELIZA]
Run away with us for the summer
Let's go upstate
[HAMILTON]
Eliza, I've got so much on my plate
[ELIZA]
We can all go stay with my father
There's a lake I know…
[HAMILTON]
I know
[ELIZA]
In a nearby park
[HAMILTON]
I'd love to go
[ELIZA]
You and I can go when the night gets dark…
[HAMILTON]
I will try to get away
[ANGELICA]
My dearest Alexander
You must get through to Jefferson
Sit down with him and compromise
Don't stop 'til you agree
Your fav'rite older sister
Angelica, reminds you
There's someone in your corner all the way across the sea
In a letter I received from you two weeks ago
I noticed a comma in the middle of a phrase
It changed the meaning. Did you intend this?
One stroke and you've consumed my waking days
It says:
[HAMILTON/ANGELICA]
"My dearest Angelica"
[ANGELICA]
With a comma after "dearest." You've written
[HAMILTON AND ANGELICA]
"My dearest, Angelica."
[ANGELICA]
Anyway, all this to say
I'm coming home this summer
At my sister's invitation
I'll be there with your fam'ly
If you make your way upstate
I know you're very busy
I know your work's important
But I'm crossing the ocean and I just can't wait
[HAMILTON AND ANGELICA]
You won't be an ocean away
You will only be a moment away…
[ELIZA]
Alexander, come downstairs. Angelica's arriving today!
[ELIZA]
Angelica!
[ANGELICA]
Eliza!
[HAMILTON]
The Schuyler sisters!
[ANGELICA]
Alexander
[HAMILTON]
Hi
[ANGELICA]
It's good to see your face
[ELIZA]
Angelica, tell this man John Adams spends the summer with his family
[HAMILTON]
Angelica, tell my wife John Adams doesn't have a real job anyway
[ANGELICA]
…you're not joining us? Wait
[HAMILTON]
I'm afraid I cannot join you upstate
[ANGELICA]
Alexander, I came all this way
[ELIZA]
She came all this way—
[ANGELICA]
All this way—
[ELIZA AND ANGELICA]
Take a break
[HAMILTON]
You know I have to get my plan through Congress
[ELIZA AND ANGELICA]
Run away with us for the summer
Let's go upstate
[HAMILTON]
I lose my job if we don't get this plan through Congress
[ELIZA AND ANGELICA]
We can all go stay with our father
[ELIZA & ANGELICA]
There's a lake I know
I know I'll miss your face—
In a nearby park
Screw your courage to the sticking place—
You and I can go
Eliza's right—
Take a break and get away— (Take a break)
Run away with us for the summer—
Let's go upstate (Let's go upstate)
Where we can stay
We can all go stay with our father
If you take your time—
Look around, look around
At how lucky we are to be alive right now— (You will make your mark)
Close your eyes and dream—
We can go—
When the night gets dark (When the night gets dark)
Take a break (Take a break)
[HAMILTON]
I have to get my plan through Congress
I can't stop until I get this plan through Congress
Hey, our kid is pretty great
[ELIZA]
Run away with us for the summer
Let's go upstate
[HAMILTON]
Eliza, I've got so much on my plate
[ELIZA]
We can all go stay with my father
There's a lake I know…
[HAMILTON]
I know
[ELIZA]
In a nearby park
[HAMILTON]
I'd love to go
[ELIZA]
You and I can go when the night gets dark…
[HAMILTON]
I will try to get away
[ANGELICA]
My dearest Alexander
You must get through to Jefferson
Sit down with him and compromise
Don't stop 'til you agree
Your fav'rite older sister
Angelica, reminds you
There's someone in your corner all the way across the sea
In a letter I received from you two weeks ago
I noticed a comma in the middle of a phrase
It changed the meaning. Did you intend this?
One stroke and you've consumed my waking days
It says:
[HAMILTON/ANGELICA]
"My dearest Angelica"
[ANGELICA]
With a comma after "dearest." You've written
[HAMILTON AND ANGELICA]
"My dearest, Angelica."
[ANGELICA]
Anyway, all this to say
I'm coming home this summer
At my sister's invitation
I'll be there with your fam'ly
If you make your way upstate
I know you're very busy
I know your work's important
But I'm crossing the ocean and I just can't wait
[HAMILTON AND ANGELICA]
You won't be an ocean away
You will only be a moment away…
[ELIZA]
Alexander, come downstairs. Angelica's arriving today!
[ELIZA]
Angelica!
[ANGELICA]
Eliza!
[HAMILTON]
The Schuyler sisters!
[ANGELICA]
Alexander
[HAMILTON]
Hi
[ANGELICA]
It's good to see your face
[ELIZA]
Angelica, tell this man John Adams spends the summer with his family
[HAMILTON]
Angelica, tell my wife John Adams doesn't have a real job anyway
[ANGELICA]
…you're not joining us? Wait
[HAMILTON]
I'm afraid I cannot join you upstate
[ANGELICA]
Alexander, I came all this way
[ELIZA]
She came all this way—
[ANGELICA]
All this way—
[ELIZA AND ANGELICA]
Take a break
[HAMILTON]
You know I have to get my plan through Congress
[ELIZA AND ANGELICA]
Run away with us for the summer
Let's go upstate
[HAMILTON]
I lose my job if we don't get this plan through Congress
[ELIZA AND ANGELICA]
We can all go stay with our father
[ELIZA & ANGELICA]
There's a lake I know
I know I'll miss your face—
In a nearby park
Screw your courage to the sticking place—
You and I can go
Eliza's right—
Take a break and get away— (Take a break)
Run away with us for the summer—
Let's go upstate (Let's go upstate)
Where we can stay
We can all go stay with our father
If you take your time—
Look around, look around
At how lucky we are to be alive right now— (You will make your mark)
Close your eyes and dream—
We can go—
When the night gets dark (When the night gets dark)
Take a break (Take a break)
[HAMILTON]
I have to get my plan through Congress
I can't stop until I get this plan through Congress
About
Genius Annotation
Philip reveals he’s got revolutionary potential, while Alexander, Angelica, and Eliza explore the possibility of spending some time together—their individual desires and hesitations emphasizing just how close and complicated a triangle they make.
Interestingly enough, in modern slang, to “take a break” in a relationship means to spend time apart and see others, potentially foreshadowing Alexander’s relations with Maria Reynolds.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
- 3.My Shot
- 10.Helpless
- 11.Satisfied
- 13.Wait For It
- 14.Stay Alive
- 16.Meet Me Inside
- 18.Guns and Ships
- 21.What Comes Next?
- 22.Dear Theodosia
- 23.Non-Stop
- 24.What’d I Miss
- 26.Take a Break
- 27.Say No to This
- 32.One Last Time
- 33.I Know Him
- 35.We Know
- 36.Hurricane
- 38.Burn
- 39.Blow Us All Away
Credits
Producers
Writer
Primary Artists
Publisher
Violin
Viola
Synthesizer
Programmer
Percussion
Orchestration
Mixing Engineer
Mastering Engineer
Keyboards
Harp
Guitar
Drums
Drum Programmer
Conductor
Cello
Bass
Banjo
Recorded At
Avatar Studios
Released on
September 25, 2015
Songs That Sample Take a Break
Take a Break Interpolations
Songs That Interpolate Take a Break
Take a Break Covers
Take a Break Translations
Original Brodway Cast of "Hamilton" - Take a Break (Tradução em Português) by Genius Brasil Traduções, Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton - Take a Break (Srpski Prevod) by Genius Srpski Prevodi & Original Broadway Cast Of Hamilton - Take a Break (Traducción al Español) by Genius Traducciones al Español
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