Lin-Manuel Miranda taps The Decemberists for unused Hamilton song “Ben Franklin’s Song”: Stream
The Decemberists photo by Ben Kaye
A year after The Hamilton Mixtape dropped, Lin-Manuel Miranda is back with even more content from the cultural phenomenon. The polymath has today announced The Hamildrops, a year-long program that will see new Hamilton content being released every month from now until December 2018. Kicking off the series is a previously unused, unrecorded song from the musical called “Ben Franklin’s Song”.
Miranda apparently had intended to include the song as a solo introduction to Benjamin Franklin in Hamilton, but ended up cutting the character before ever composing the music. The lyrics, however, were written in the style of The Decemberists, so in 2016, he sent them to Colin Meloy to fully realize the song. The “really swear-y” song can be heard below, along with a “clean” version.
Fans anticipating the promised Hamilton Mixtape 2 may be disappointed it will never come to light, but the Hamildrops should provide more than enough for Hamilfans to stay satiated. Find the “Ben Fraklin’s Song” single artwork below.
“Ben Franklin’s Song” Artwork:
