This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The biblical touchstone of Everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid in One Last Time is Mirandas characterization of the idealized United States that Washington describes in his farewell address, the country he hopes it will become after he is gone: a nation where all citizens can live without fear. But by laying down his own prophecy for the United States he has bequeathed his idealist vision to the new country with the hope that they will someday achieve his ideal nation without relying on his leadership. This wraps back to the Promised Land imagery in My Shot, the narrative of freedom taking on yet another layer in its resonance as both history and metaphor. Get Your Bible Minute in Your Inbox Every Morning. And every known nook of our nation and every corner called our country, our people diverse and beautiful, will emerge battered and beautiful. The future of the United States is one of the core themes of Hamilton, with many founding fathers wondering what the future country will become. It was originally the second half of One Last Ride, which started with Washington and Hamilton rode out to quell the Whiskey Rebellion in Western Pennsylvania (as referred to in Cabinet Battle #1.), https://twitter.com/Lin_Manuel/status/419549717597388800, Miranda noted on Twitter that he cut this song down and changed the name for various reasons: 4 And every man shall sit under his vine, and under his fig tree, and there shall be none to make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken. For example, the phrase "vine and fig tree" was even connected to tolerance of immigration to America. Berean Study Bible And each man will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree, with no one to frighten him. Amanda Gorman reads "The Hill We Climb" at Biden's inauguration If we're to live up to our own time, then victory won't lie in the blade, but in all the bridges we've made. And for what its worth, a nearly-identical idea pops up in many modern songs sung in churches around the globe, including at least two by Hillsong: Take Heart and Oceans (Where Feet May Fall). The song Shout to the Lord, a ubiquitous presence in evangelical worship services when I was a teenager, phrases it as mountains bow down and the seas will roar / at the sound of your name. Same difference. Aaron Burr, again, calls in the Bible when his purposes arent altogether holy. The same biblical line about figs and vines is also featured in Lin-Manuel Mirandas musical because George Washington cited it in his famous letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island. Washington's American Dream - Hamilton in Context in Chernow 131). Mira Fox is a reporter at the Forward. Amanda Gorman's inauguration poem, 'The Hill We Climb' Amanda Gorman References 'Hamilton' in 'The Hill We Climb' How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a / Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a / Forgotten spot in the Caribbean by Providence / impoverished, in squalor / Grow up to be a hero and a scholar? The deep link to the Exodus story is also why Harriet Tubman was called Grandma Moses. The Civil Rights movement later drew on the same story, with Martin Luther King Jr. bringing it up repeatedly in his rhetoric; the movement revived many old spirituals as protest songs, as well as making oblique references to the Exodus in songs like We Shall Not Be Moved and We Shall Overcome.. The story of the Promised Land looms especially large in the imagination of both Civil War-era slaves longing for freedom and the Underground Railroad. France is following us to revolution / There is no more status quo / But the sun comes up / And the world still spins. Hamilton himself, whose idea of legacy is the main focus of the musical, is fixated on how he can influence the United States. From "My Shot," by . Our Digital Encyclopedia has all of the answers students and teachers need. His vice president is a woman of color. We, the successors of a country and a time where a skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president, only to find herself reciting for one. The sign of the cross he refers to is employed by some Christian denominations, in which the forehead, chest, and shoulders are touched, often accompanied by the statement In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. It serves as a reminder of the Trinity that isnt just mental but also physical, inscribing the reminder onto our person again and again. "Here's to the women who have climbed my hills before," Gorman tweeted. Mira Fox is a fellow at the Forward. Washington is aware of how he appears to the American people, as he says, If I say goodbye, the nation learns to move on/It outlives me when Im gone (Miranda 210). Get in touch at [emailprotected] or on Twitter @miraefox. For example, the phrase is utilized in reference to Mount Vernon in Washington's letter to Doctor James Anderson in 1797.7 The phrase was, however, utilized in differing contexts during the time period. He resigned. 4 but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken. Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest, we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one. She tweets @alissamarie. The address applied both to the present period, speaking on topics such as neutrality and political parties, but its words can be applied to the future United States as well. That is the promise to glade, the hill we climb, if only we dare. The audience does get to see other instances of an American future as defined by other characters. The Lord, in his kindness / He gives me what you always wanted / He gives me more time.