Previous
Act 1: Farmer Refuted
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Hamilton, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Collaboration, Disagreement, and Democracy
Stories vs. History
Ambition and Mortality
Immigration and Diversity of Influence
Honor
Summary
Analysis
“You’ll Be Back” frames the American colonists’ push for independence from Britain as a break-up, and King George is taking it personally: “you’ll be back / soon you’ll see / you’ll remember you belong to me.”
Structurally, King George acts largely as comic relief. But this song also highlights, to humorous effect, the gap between history and experience. In history books, the Revolution looks like an impersonal, political act; in King George’s mind, it stings just like romantic rejection might.
Themes
