"Say No to This" is the fourth song from Act 2 of the musical ''
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
'', based on the life of
Alexander Hamilton, which premiered on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
in 2015. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote both the music and lyrics to the song. In this song, "Hamilton's eye begins wandering", as
he has an affair with Maria Reynolds.
Background
According to ''
Slate'', the song "began with a quote from LL Cool J's "I Need Love"", but due to clearance issues from Atlantic Records, "the line was removed before the show's transition to Broadway".
Synopsis
The song outlines Alexander Hamilton's one-year adulterous affair with
Maria Reynolds. Hamilton remains in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
working on passing his plan for the creation of
a national bank, his
wife
A wife (plural, : wives) is a female in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until the marriage is legally Dissolution (law), dissolved with a divorce judgement. On the death of her partner, ...
leaving to go on vacation upstate without him. While separated from his family, Hamilton is approached by Mrs. Reynolds, who claims her husband has abandoned her and asks Hamilton for financial aid before seducing him. Their adultery continues throughout the summer until Hamilton is contacted via letter by James Reynolds, who uses
blackmail to coerce Hamilton to give him money for remaining silent about the affair. The affair and related blackmail later led to the first major political
sex scandal in US history.
The song is sung by Alexander Hamilton, Maria Reynolds, James Reynolds, and the show's company.
Analysis
''
Vibe
''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down producti ...
'' described the song as "a '90s
slow jam
A slow jam is music with rhythm and blues and soul influences. Slow jams are commonly R&B ballads or downtempo songs, and are mostly soft-sounding with heavily emotional or romantic lyrical content. The earliest known use of the term is the 1983 ...
,
Usher-style".
Screen Fellows deemed it "the best 90s slow jam
R. Kelly
Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses.
During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwi ...
never wrote". Musical director
Alex Lacamoire
Alex Lacamoire (born May 24, 1975) is a Cuban-American composer, arranger, conductor, musical director, music copyist, and orchestrator who has worked on many shows both on and off-Broadway. He is the recipient of multiple Tony and Grammy Aw ...
noted that he used the cello to represent the character of Maria, and implements it in a "really snaky and sinister" fashion in this song.
The song includes a quotation from "Nobody Needs to Know", a song from the musical ''
The Last Five Years
''The Last Five Years'' is a musical written by Jason Robert Brown. It premiered at Chicago's Northlight Theatre in 2001 and was then produced Off-Broadway in March 2002. Since then it has had numerous productions both in the United States an ...
'' which Miranda describes as "the ultimate infidelity jam."
Critical reception
The ''
Huffington Post'' wrote that the song includes "classic dude logic: I was crazy tired, so I had to cheat on my wife". ''
'' said that Maria Reynolds has "chilling, low vibrations" in this song. Monique Ocampo of ''
Patheos
Patheos is a non-denominational, non-partisan online media company providing information and commentary from various religious and nonreligious perspectives.
Upon its launch in May 2009, the website was primarily geared toward learning abou ...
'' praised the musical for not making Hamilton "Mister Perfect", noting that this song illustrates his "short-sightedness."
Adam Gopnik
Adam Gopnik (born August 24, 1956) is an American writer and essayist. He is best known as a staff writer for ''The New Yorker,'' to which he has contributed non-fiction, fiction, memoir, and criticism since 1986.
He is the author of nine books ...
of ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' called the song "beautiful".
Mixtape version
A revised version of the song was released on ''
The Hamilton Mixtape'' in 2016. It was performed by Jill Scott, and tells the story of the
Hamilton-Reynolds sex scandal from the perspective of
Maria Reynolds, unlike in the original cast recording where Alexander Hamilton recounts the story. It incorporates the same backing vocals and music as the song from the musical.
References
External links
New York Times Article
{{Authority control
2015 songs
Songs from Hamilton (musical)
Jill Scott (singer) songs