The Schuyler Sisters
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"The Schuyler Sisters" is the fifth song from Act 1 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.


Background

Musical director Alex Lacamoire explained that the song originally had a throwback
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quality, but after viewing a series of
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with the three actresses improvising on
Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final lineup comprised Beyoncé, Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams (singer), Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Hou ...
songs, he reworked the song to give it similar characteristics, then let the sisters add their own harmonies to the tune; he "realized there's nothing in the song as cool as the harmonies the girls do when they're messing around, so we... just let them riff".


Synopsis

The song introduces the three Schuyler sisters:
Angelica ''Angelica'' is a genus of about 90 species of tall Biennial plant, biennial and Perennial plant, perennial herbaceous, herbs in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, reaching as far north as ...
,
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, and Peggy, their different personalities and views, and how they are excited to be in a new age, "amidst the powder keg of the early days of the revolution". Burr tries to flirt with Angelica, but Angelica rejects him and instead professes how she wants a "revelation" instead of a "revolution."


Style

''
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 ...
'' described the sisters as a "Destiny's Child-esque R&B girl group."
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said the song wouldn't sound out of place in an album by Wyclef protégé City High. ''
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'' said the number "combines
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with the
Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (1911–1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (1916–1995), and mezz ...
and a hat tip to ' Three Little Maids From School Are We'". WIUX described it as "a pre-pre-feminist power anthem".


Critical reception

''Entertainment Monthly'' says this song marks the moment when "the album really kicks it into high gear." Jeff Lunden of Byline said that this is the song he keeps "more or less in constant rotation". When Miranda appeared on the West Wing Weekly podcast, he said the line "I'm looking for a mind at work" was taken from the TV series ''
The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White House, where t ...
''.


Certifications


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schuyler Sisters 2015 songs Songs from Hamilton (musical) Songs with feminist themes Songs about socialites