"Say No to This" is the fourth song from Act 2 of the musical ''

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

'', based on the life of

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...

, which premiered on Broadway in 2015. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote both the music and lyrics to the song. In this song, "Hamilton's eye begins wandering", as he has an affair with Maria Reynolds.

Background

According to ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

'', the song "began with a quote from LL Cool J's "I Need Love"", but due to clearance issues from

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

, "the line was removed before the show's transition to Broadway".

Synopsis

The song outlines Alexander Hamilton's one-year adulterous affair with Maria Reynolds. Hamilton remains in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

working on passing his plan for the creation of a national bank, his

wife A wife (: wives) is a woman in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until their marriage is legally dissolved with a divorce judgment; or until death, depending on the kind of marriage. On t ...

leaving to go on vacation upstate without him. While separated from his family, Hamilton is approached by Mrs. Reynolds, who claims her husband has abandoned her and asks Hamilton for financial aid before seducing him. Their adultery continues throughout the summer until Hamilton is contacted via letter by James Reynolds, who uses

blackmail Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a thr ...

to coerce Hamilton to give him money for remaining silent about the affair. The affair and related blackmail later led to the first major political

sex scandal A sex scandal is a public scandal involving allegations or information about possibly immoral sexual activities, often associated with the sexual affairs of film stars, politicians, famous athletes, or others in the public eye. Sex scandals r ...

in US history. The song is sung by Alexander Hamilton, Maria Reynolds, James Reynolds, and the show's company.

Analysis

'' Vibe'' described the song as "a '90s

slow jam A slow jam is music with rhythm and blues and soul influences. Slow jams are commonly R&B ballads or downtempo songs, and are mostly soft-sounding with heavily emotional or romantic lyrical content. The earliest known use of the term is from a ...

, Usher-style". Screen Fellows deemed it "the best 90s slow jam R. Kelly never wrote". Musical director Alex Lacamoire noted that he used the cello to represent the character of Maria, and implements it in a "really snaky and sinister" fashion in this song. The song includes a quotation from "Nobody Needs to Know", a song from the musical '' The Last Five Years'' which Miranda describes as "the ultimate infidelity jam."

Critical reception

The ''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...

'' wrote that the song includes "classic dude logic: I was crazy tired, so I had to cheat on my wife". ''

Jezebel Jezebel ()"Jezebel"
(US) and

'' said that Maria Reynolds has "chilling, low vibrations" in this song. Monique Ocampo of ''

Patheos Patheos is a non-denominational, non-partisan online media company providing information and commentary from various, mostly religious, perspectives. Upon its launch in May 2009, the website was primarily geared toward learning about religions ...

'' praised the musical for not making Hamilton "Mister Perfect", noting that this song illustrates his "short-sightedness."

Adam Gopnik Adam Gopnik (born August 24, 1956) is an American writer and essayist, who was raised in Montreal, Canada. He is best known as a staff writer for ''The New Yorker,'' to which he has contributed nonfiction, fiction, memoir, and criticism since 19 ...

of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' called the song "beautiful".

Mixtape version

A revised version of the song was released on '' The Hamilton Mixtape'' in 2016. It was performed by Jill Scott, and tells the story of the Hamilton-Reynolds sex scandal from the perspective of Maria Reynolds, unlike in the original cast recording where Alexander Hamilton recounts the story. It incorporates the same backing vocals and music as the song from the musical.

Certifications

References

External links

New York Times Article
{{Authority control 2015 songs Songs from Hamilton (musical) Jill Scott (singer) songs Songs about infidelity