Satisfied
Producers
Alright, alright. That’s what I’m talkin’ about!
Now everyone give it up for the maid of honor
Angelica Schuyler!
[ANGELICA, ALL MEN, ALL WOMEN]
A toast to the groom!
To the groom!
To the groom!
To the groom!
To the bride!
To the bride!
To the bride!
To the bride!
[ANGELICA, ALL MEN, ELIZA AND WOMEN]
From your sister
Angelica!
Angelica!
Angelica!
Who is always by your side
By your side!
By your side!
To your union
To the union! To the revolution!
And the hope that you provide
You provide!
You provide!
May you always... (Always)
Be satisfied (Rewind)
[Recorded Samples]
Rewind, Rewind
Helpless, sky's, sky's
Drownin' in em
Drownin', rewind
I remember that night, I just might (rewind)
I remember that night, I just might (rewind)
I remember that night, I remember that—
[ANGELICA]
I remember that night, I just might
Regret that night for the rest of my days
I remember those soldier boys
Tripping over themselves to win our praise
I remember that dreamlike candlelight
Like a dream that you can’t quite place
But Alexander, I’ll never forget the first
Time I saw your face
Intelligent eyes in a hunger-pang frame
And when you said “Hi,” I forgot my dang name
Set my heart aflame, ev’ry part aflame
[FULL COMPANY]
This is not a game…
[HAMILTON]
You strike me as a woman who has never been satisfied
[ANGELICA]
I’m sure I don’t know what you mean. You forget yourself
[HAMILTON]
You’re like me. I’m never satisfied
[ANGELICA]
Is that right?
[HAMILTON]
I have never been satisfied
[ANGELICA]
My name is Angelica Schuyler
Alexander Hamilton
[ANGELICA]
Where’s your fam’ly from?
[HAMILTON]
Unimportant. There’s a million things I haven’t done but
Just you wait, just you wait…
[ANGELICA]
So so so—
So this is what it feels like to match wits
With someone at your level! What the hell is the catch? It’s
The feeling of freedom, of seein’ the light
It’s Ben Franklin with a key and a kite! You see it, right?
The conversation lasted two minutes, maybe three minutes
Ev’rything we said in total agreement, it’s
A dream and it’s a bit of a dance
A bit of a posture, it’s a bit of a stance. He’s a
Bit of a flirt, but I’m ‘a give it a chance
I asked about his fam’ly, did you see his answer?
His hands started fidgeting, he looked askance?
He’s penniless, he’s flying by the seat of his pants
Handsome, boy, does he know it!
Peach fuzz, and he can’t even grow it!
I wanna take him far away from this place
Then I turn and see my sister’s face and she is…
[ELIZA]
Helpless…
[ANGELICA]
And I know she is…
[ELIZA]
Helpless…
[ANGELICA]
And her eyes are just…
[ELIZA]
Helpless…
[ANGELICA]
And I realize
[ANGELICA AND COMPANY]
Three fundamental truths at the exact same time…
[HAMILTON]
Where are you taking me?
[ANGELICA]
I’m about to change your life
[HAMILTON]
Then by all means, lead the way
[COMPANY (EXCEPT ANGELICA)]
Number one!
[ANGELICA]
I’m a girl in a world in which
My only job is to marry rich
My father has no sons so I’m the one
Who has to social climb for one
So I’m the oldest and the wittiest and the gossip in
New York City is insidious
And Alexander is penniless
Ha! That doesn’t mean I want him any less
[ELIZA]
Elizabeth Schuyler. It’s a pleasure to meet you
[HAMILTON]
Schuyler?
[ANGELICA]
My sister
[COMPANY]
Number two!
[ANGELICA]
He’s after me cuz I’m a Schuyler sister
That elevates his status, I’d
Have to be naïve to set that aside
Maybe that is why I introduce him to Eliza
Now that’s his bride
Nice going, Angelica, he was right
You will never be satisfied
[ELIZA]
Thank you for all your service
[HAMILTON]
If it takes fighting a war for us to meet, it will have been worth it
[ANGELICA]
I’ll leave you to it
[COMPANY]
Number three!
[ANGELICA]
I know my sister like I know my own mind
You will never find anyone as trusting or as kind
If I tell her that I love him she’d be silently resigned
He’d be mine
She would say, “I’m fine”
[ANGELICA AND COMPANY]
She’d be lying
[ANGELICA]
But when I fantasize at night
It’s Alexander’s eyes
As I romanticize what might
Have been if I hadn’t sized him
Up so quickly
At least my dear Eliza’s his wife;
At least I keep his eyes in my life…
[ANGELICA]
He will never be satisfied
I will never be satisfied
[ANGELICA, ALL MEN (EXCEPT HAMILTON), ALL WOMEN (EXCEPT ELIZA)]
To the groom!
To the groom!
To the groom!
To the groom!
To the bride!
To the bride!
To the bride!
To the bride!
[ANGELICA, ALL MEN, ELIZA AND WOMEN]
From your sister
Angelica!
Angelica!
Angelica!
Who is always by your side
By your side!
By your side!
To your union
To the union! To the revolution!
And the hope that you provide
You provide!
You provide!
[ANGELICA, HAMILTON AND MEN, ELIZA AND WOMEN]
May you always... (Always)
Be satisfied
Be satisfied
Be satisfied
Be satisfied
[ANGELICA, MEN, WOMEN]
And I know
Be satisfied
Be satisfied
Be satisfied
She'll be happy as his bride
Be satisfied
Be satisfied
Be satisfied
Be satisfied
And I know
Be satisfied
Be satisfied
Be satisfied
Be satisfied
He will never be satisfied
I will never be satisfied
About
“Satisfied” — whose lines and title draw inspiration from an actual letter Angelica wrote to Hamilton — reinforces one of the most important themes of Hamilton, that our interpretation of events depends on who’s telling the story. One of the most innovative songs in the show, here we start at Angelica’s speech at Eliza and Alexander’s wedding, then the whole set—actors, props, even the turntables operating in the floor—dramatically “rewind” to the scene of their meeting in “Helpless,” which then gets retold from Angelica’s perspective. Not to be upstaged by a literal stage, Renée Elise Goldsberry gives an absolutely powerhouse performance as Angelica Schuyler trying to sublimate her feelings for Alexander into her feelings of duty toward her family.
The lyrics to “Satisfied” — in which Angelica Schuyler recounts how Hamilton and her sister Eliza met and married — are some of the most intricate I’ve ever written. I can’t even rap them, but Renee Elise Goldsberry, who plays Angelica — that’s her conversational speed. That’s how fast she thinks. You really get the sense that Angelica’s the smartest person in the room, and she reads Hamilton within a moment of meeting him.
Miranda wrote “Satisfied” while working on the short-lived TV series Do No Harm, so technically, he wrote this song while already at work. (Maaan, the man is non-stop.)
The notion of satisfaction and Hamilton’s difficulty in attaining it speaks not only to his general restlessness and driven nature but also explicitly foreshadows the eventual duel whose goal is, of course, satisfaction after offense.
The song’s chord structure is also a half-time version of the insistent, driving progression in “My Shot” and similar numbers (for the theory nerds, that’s i-III-iv-vi-V).
And the rising and falling piano melody is somewhat evocative of the beat for Biggie’s “Notorious Thugs”.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
In Hamilton: The Revolution, Lin-Manuel Miranda said of this song:
This is the most ambitious tune in this show (and that’s saying a lot). It was always a wedding toast, originally entitled, ‘Can I Say Something?’ I made several starts and stops on this thing, and I was never really satisfied (heh) with the musical feeling. The answer came in a song I’d already written."
- 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