"Satisfied" is the eleventh 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. The song is sung by the character Angelica Schuyler, originally performed by Renée Elise Goldsberry.
Background
On Twitter, Lin-Manuel Miranda posted a real letter from Angelica to Alexander Hamilton that inspired the song's lyrics: "You are happy my dear friend to find consolation in 'words & thoughts.' I cannot be so easily satisfied."[1] Miranda told The Hollywood Reporter, "The lyrics...are some of the most intricate I've ever written. I can't even rap them, but Renée Elise Goldsberry, who plays Angelica — that's her conversational speed. That's how fast she thinks. You really get the sense that Angelica's the smartest person in the room, and she reads Hamilton within a moment of meeting him."[2]
Synopsis
"Satisfied" begins with Angelica Schuyler's wedding toast for Alexander Hamilton and Eliza (her sister), then proceeds to rewind and retell the events of the previous song, "Helpless," from her own perspective. She, who in "The Schuyler Sisters" had declared was looking for a "mind at work", has now found it in Hamilton yet is forced to give it up for the sake of her sister who she ‘Knows like [Angelica's] own mind’.[3]On Stage explains: "in a truly inspired piece of staging that literally made my jaw drop, the scene rewinds around Angelica before your eyes, taking us back to the beginning of 'Helpless'—except now we're seeing that fateful first meeting of the Schuyler sisters and Hamilton from Angelica's point of view."[4]
Historical discrepancies
Although Hamilton is based on true events, Miranda does use some dramatic license in retelling the story. In the case of the song "Satisfied", the main discrepancies are:
During "Satisfied", Angelica explains why Hamilton is not suitable for her despite wanting him. In particular, she states, "I'm a girl in a world in which my only job is to marry rich. My father has no sons so I'm the one who has to social climb for one." In reality, Angelica had much less pressure to do so. Her father, Philip Schuyler, had five other daughters who survived to adulthood as well as two sons, one of whom was future New York State Assemblyman Philip Jeremiah Schuyler.
Angelica had eloped with and became married to John Barker Church three years before she met Hamilton at her sister's wedding in December 1780, when she was already mother of two of her eight children with Church. Eliza was alone in Morristown when she first met Hamilton in early February 1780, a guest of her paternal aunt Gertrude and her husband John Cochran.[5]
The Los Angeles Times observes that "Angelica sheds darker light on the partly transactional nature of marriage, with hearts going one way, heads another."[8] Patheos notes that "Helpless" and "Satisfied" show the two different ways that Eliza and Angelica see the same person.[9]
Critical reception
The Huffington Post wrote "It's heartbreaking all around."[3]Vibe wrote, "'Satisfied' is a love song perfect for today's FM rotation with its contemporary feel and lyrical content."[6] Music Mic wrote that "Satisfied" is one of the most popular songs from the musical.[1]The Atlantic deemed the song "epic" due to "bracket[ing] songs within songs, speeding up and slowing down time as Angelica airs her regrets".[10]The Rolling Stone said the "heartbreaking" song "might be Miranda's finest moment".[7]Entertainment Monthly said "'Satisfied' is one of the strongest tracks on the album", adding that "Goldsberry's rapping mixed with her Broadway vocals creates a heavenly combination."[11]The New Yorker wrote that the song "has knocked me senseless each time I've seen it, both because of Miranda's cunning construction and because of Goldsberry's motormouthed delivery."[12]The New Yorker further deemed the song the biggest showstopper of 2015, writing that it "may be the single best theatrical song written in the past decade."[13]
