You'll Be Back

This article is about the song from Hamilton. For the 2002 film, see You'll Be Back (2002 film). For the Statler Brothers song, see You'll Be Back (Every Night in My Dreams).

"You'll Be Back" is the seventh song from Act 1 of the musical Hamilton, based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, which premiered on Broadway in 2015. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote both the music and lyrics to the song. It is sung by Jonathan Groff in the show's original cast recording. Within the context of the musical, it is King George III lamenting the anti-royal machinations of the rebelling American colonists. It covers a vocal range of D3 to A4 (not counting a falsetto riff up to C5) and is written for a tenor voice.^[1]

"You'll Be Back"
Song by Jonathan Groff and the original Broadway cast of Hamilton
from the album Hamilton
Released	2015
Genre	Show tune
Length	3:29
Songwriter(s)	Lin-Manuel Miranda
Audio
"You'll Be Back" on YouTube

History

In the book Hamilton: The Revolution, Miranda says that he went for a drink with Hugh Laurie after filming their 2009 episodes of Laurie's series House, in which Miranda guest starred. "I told him I wanted to write a breakup letter from King George to the colonies," Miranda writes. "Without blinking, he improv'd at me, 'Awwww, you'll be back,' wagging his finger. I laughed and filed it away. Thanks, Hugh Laurie."^[2]

The song was featured in a 2016 Ham4Ham clip in which Jimmy Fallon sang the song through various musical impersonations.^[3] Fallon covered it once again as a part of The Hamilton Mixtape.

The song was covered by Callum Howells in a 2017 episode of Let It Shine, airing on BBC One.^[4]

The song briefly appears as an Easter egg in a scene from the film adaptation of Miranda's earlier musical In the Heights, where it is used as hold music for a phone call.

Synopsis

King George III is dismayed by the American War of Independence and expresses his belief that the American Colonists will crawl back to the British Empire once their rebellion is quashed.

The melody is reprised twice in the play for King George's other two numbers: "What Comes Next?", in which the king ultimately refuses to help the recently freed United States if it struggles with its independent leadership; and "I Know Him", in which the king seems concerned that John Adams will not be as effective a president as George Washington was, before expressing disdainful amusement at the thought of the United States becoming divided over Adams' leadership.

Style

While the majority of songs in the musical Hamilton are in the genre of hip-hop, R&B, or soul, this one is described by Vibe as being in the style of the Beatles.^[5] Vulture described it as "a Carnaby Street breakup song not unlike 'With a Little Help From My Friends'",^[6] and The New York Times deemed it "chiming '60s Britpop".^[7]

Critical reception

Vibe deemed it a "sunny, playful take on the airing of grievances".^[5] The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the "melodically rich number" has "sardonic humor".^[8] The Daily Review wrote that any Australian thinking about the possibility of a republic will thoroughly enjoy King George's "bemoaning" of the revolutionary war.^[9] The New York Times deemed it "sneering yet wonderfully breezy".^[10] The American Conservative praised it as a "brilliant... creepy stalker ballad".^[11]

Alexander Hamilton biographer Ron Chernow said, "I can remember laughing uproariously when [Lin] first sent me King George III's satirical song to the colonists, 'You'll Be Back.'"^[7]

Charts

Chart (2020)	Peak position
US Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[12]	21
US Rolling Stone Top 100[13]	93

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[14]	Gold	400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[15]	2× Platinum	2,000,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "King George from Hamilton Summary & Breakdown". StageAgent. Archived from the original on July 18, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
2. McCarthy, Erin (April 12, 2016). "12 Excellent Lyrical Annotations from Hamilton: The Revolution". Mental Floss. Archived from the original on December 26, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
3. Blistein, Jon (January 21, 2016). "Watch Jimmy Fallon Sing 'Hamilton' Track as McCartney, Bowie". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
4. "Callum Howells performs 'You'll Be Back' from the musical Hamilton - Let It Shine - BBC One". Archived from the original on September 4, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2020 – via www.youtube.com.
5. Woods, Monesha (October 20, 2015). "Going H.A.M.: A Track-By-Track Review Of The 'Hamilton' Soundtrack". Vibe. Archived from the original on March 21, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
6. Jesse Green (February 17, 2015). "Theater Review: Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton -- Vulture". Vulture. Archived from the original on September 26, 2015. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
7. Rosen, Jody (July 8, 2015). "The American Revolutionary". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 17, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
8. Scheck, Frank (August 6, 2015). "Lin-Manuel Miranda's 'Hamilton': Theater Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 20, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
9. Perrett, Janine (February 4, 2016). "Hamilton: the first 'new' musical of the 21st century". Daily Review: film, stage and music reviews, interviews and more. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
10. Tommasini, Anthony; Caramanica, Jon (August 30, 2015). "Exploring 'Hamilton' and Hip-Hop Steeped in Heritage". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 26, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
11. Tushnet, Eve (January 4, 2016). "'Hamilton' and the Romance of Government". The American Conservative. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
12. "Jonathan Groff Chart History (Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
13. "Top 100 Songs, July 3, 2020 - July 9, 2020". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
14. "British single certifications – Jonathan Groff/Hamilton Cast – You'll be Back". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
15. "American single certifications – Original Broadway Cast Of Hamilton – You'll Be Back". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 24, 2023.