Lin-Manuel Miranda accepted the Tony last night for Best Original Score for Hamilton. Rather than the conventional prosaic litany of thanks and acknowledgments, he gave an acceptance speech in the form of a sonnet. The staff at Slate magazine attempted a transcription, which follows here with a few adjustments made according to our ear.
Congratulations on an award well-deserved, Hamilton and LMM.
My wife’s the reason anything gets done,(Being as we take a capacious view of the sonnet form, we heartily approve of the daring length of the lines in that closing couplet.)
She nudges me towards promise by degrees.
She is a perfect symphony of one,
Our son is her most beautiful reprise.
We chase the melodies that seem to find us,
Until they’re finished songs and start to play.
When senseless acts of tragedy remind us,
That nothing here is promised. Not one day.
The show is proof that history remembers
We lived through times when hate and fear seemed stronger.
We rise and fall. And light from dying embers,
Remembrances that hope and love last longer.
And love (is love is love is love is LOVE is LOVE is LOVE) cannot be killed or swept aside.
I sing Vanessa's symphony; Eliza tells her story; now fill the world with music, love, and pride.
Congratulations on an award well-deserved, Hamilton and LMM.
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