One Last Time (Hamilton song)
"One Last Time" is the ninth song from Act 2 of Hamilton. It was first performed on Broadway by Christopher Jackson, in the role of George Washington, with Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton.
Synopsis and sources
The song portrays George Washington's decision not to run for re-election as President, thereby introducing America to the practice of a peaceful transition between administrations. He asks Hamilton to write his final address to the American people, discussing his philosophy of governance and the importance of knowing "how to say goodbye", and discusses his desire to retire and live the rest of his life outside public scrutiny. The song's second half includes an excerpt from the actual historical text of Washington's farewell address; Hamilton reads the address, as Washington sings the same words to a melody.In addition to the Farewell Address, the song also quotes a verse of the Bible: "Everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid". Washington himself was fond of quoting this line in his correspondence.
The segment in which Washington sings along as Hamilton reads the text of the Farewell Address was inspired by will.i.am's song "Yes We Can", in which performers sing along to a speech by Barack Obama. In December 2018, Miranda released a remix version of the song featuring Obama as a guest performer reciting the extracts of the farewell speech.
A fragment of this song is reprised in Hamilton's soliloquy in "The World Was Wide Enough".
"One Last Time" is a cut-down version of the off-Broadway prior version called "One Last Ride".