"It's Quiet Uptown" is the eighteenth song in Act 2 of the musical Hamilton, which tells the story of Alexander Hamilton. The musical first performed on Broadway in 2015. Lin-Manuel Miranda composed both the music and lyrics for the song. In the musical, the song occurs during Act 2, showing Alexander Hamilton and his wife, Eliza, mourning the death of their son.

Background

Alex Lacamoire, Hamilton's musical director, noted that the best use of strings in the show is "probably 'It's Quiet Uptown,' when there's nothing else playing except those two guys. The lyrics 'It's quiet uptown'—you're not getting quieter than two strings playing softly."

Synopsis

The song shows Alexander Hamilton and his wife Eliza's sadness as they try to accept the death of their son, Philip. This "quiet musical piece" lets them think about all the events in their lives together. As Hamilton and Eliza walk silently through the city at night, people watching them feel sad and say the two are "experiencing something very hard to understand." While grieving, Alexander asks for forgiveness for hurting Eliza (his affair with Maria Reynolds) so he can help her through Philip's death. Eliza silently agrees, and they start to fix their relationship. The song is told by Eliza's sister, Angelica, and the chorus.

Analysis

The Huffington Post explains that the song's unclear and hard-to-understand words show how the character, who usually uses clever wordplay and hidden meanings, is too upset to talk about his son's death. The song's creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, expresses Hamilton's deep sadness by showing that he cannot explain his feelings.

The New York Times compared the song to Biggie's "Suicidal Thoughts," a very sad hip-hop song that also deals with thinking about death. Both songs show characters who face their own mortality and end up feeling tired, worn out, and desperate.

Varsity suggests that the song may have been influenced by Laurence O'Keefe.

Critical reception

The song has received praise from many critics. New York Theatre Guide said the song made them very emotional and upset. Entertainment Weekly noted that the song takes time to show quiet, sincere moments. Charles McNulty of the Los Angeles Times wrote that no modern musical has shown grief as deeply as "It's Quiet Uptown," which is hard to listen to without crying. Entertainment Monthly called the song one of Miranda's most poetic songs. Patheos explained that the song makes people cry because it shows how Eliza and Hamilton come together after his betrayal, following a death. TheatreMania described the song as very sad and beautiful. The Hollywood Reporter said the beautiful song makes people feel strong emotions and cry. Record Collector News noted the song slows down to show Hamilton's sadness from losing someone, calling it one of the saddest songs ever, like Jacques Brel's "The Desperate Ones." Hannah McFadden from Yakima Herald said the song makes her very emotional and upset. Papyrus wrote that they have listened to the full album many times and still can't listen to the whole song without crying. Noisey described the song as very painful and having a unique, melodic sound. Library Journal explained that the song makes them cry just thinking about it.

Mixtape version

On November 3, 2016, American singer Kelly Clarkson released a mixtape version of "It's Quiet Uptown" as a promotional single from the mixtape album The Hamilton Mixtape (2016). This version reached number 30 on the Adult Pop Songs chart.

In 2009, Lin-Manuel Miranda started a project called The Hamilton Mixtape, which later became the 2015 Broadway musical Hamilton. During the creation of the musical, Miranda often said that a mixtape with songs from the show's score was being recorded.

Clarkson performed the song in public several times. Her first performance was on Today on December 5, 2016. She sang an acoustic version of the song at the Honda Stage during an iHeartRadio event on December 13, 2016. On the same day, she performed the song as a duet with contestant Billy Gilman on season 11 of The Voice. On December 31, 2016, she sang the song on the New Year's Special of Late Night with Seth Meyers. She also performed the song during the encore part of her 2019 Meaning of Life Tour.