If you haven’t yet tired of Hamilton remixes, then try this one on for size: The Hamilton Polka by Weird Al Yankovic. Yes, you read that right. Weird Al has synthesized Hamilton songs into one amazing 5 minute creation. The Hamilton Polka is the latest in Hamildrops, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s project that features a new take on Hamilton every month this year; previously, the release was The Decemberist’s “Ben Franklin’s Song.”
Hamildrops is a follow-up to 2016’s The Hamilton Mixtape and each song will be available on a variety of streaming platforms. Weird Al’s take is something to behold, as he features segments of each poignant song in the beloved musical. How did this happen? The entertainers are friends, and hung out together on the set of the recent revival of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Now their friendship has resulted in one sensational polka song you never knew you needed.
The Hamilton Polka features “Alexander Hamilton,” The Room Where It Happens,” “The Schuyler Sisters,” “My Shot,” “Wait For It,”and more, condensing the musical into a polka frenzy. The collaboration seemed to come out of nowhere but fans were here for it, including Jimmy Fallon, Weird Al superfan, who featured the duo on his show, then commenced to exclaiming about his love for The Hamilton Polka. Speaking to reporters about how it came about, Weird Al said:
‘Hamilton’ is a phenomenon, and I probably would have approached (creator) Lin-Manuel Miranda at some point, but as it happens, he actually pitched me on the idea,” Yankovic said. “(He) has been a fan of mine since he was kid, and it was a dream of his for me to do a polka melody of his work. I’m a huge fan of ‘Hamilton,’ and it was a labor of love. I wanted to make it my best polka melody ever.”
You can hear The Hamilton Polka now at YouTube or buy it at Hamildrops. Weird Al just launched his newest tour “The Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour” in February 2018, a mammoth tour of 76 dates. The Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour is different than previous Weird Al jaunts, as this one doesn’t feature any parodies. Instead, the tour is inspired by VH1-Storytellers and is a more “stripped-down” version of a tour, complete with a slate of original songs.
As for Lin-Manuel Miranda, he’ll soon appear in Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns film as Jack the Lamplighter and is currently working on new songs for an upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.