Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ben Platt team up to support the victims of the Parkland shooting with "Found Tonight," a song for "March for Our Lives."
The Broadway and movie stars published a video of the duet on Monday, March 19, and promoted them on their social media sites.
For The Children
"Found Tonight" is a mashup of "The Story of Tonight" from Miranda's Hamilton and "You Will Be Found," a song from Dear Evan Hansen which stars Platt. The song begins with 24-year-old Platt singing the altered Hamilton words, "We may not yet have reached our glory, but I will gladly join the fight/ And when our children tell their story, they'll tell the story of tonight."
For his part, Miranda sings the Dear Evan Hansen words, "Have you ever felt like nobody was there/ Have you ever felt forgotten in the idle of nowhere/ Have you ever felt like you could disappear/ Like you could fall and no one would hear."
Their voices unite in the chorus: "Even when the dark comes crashing through/ When you need a friend to carry you/ When you're broken on the ground/ You will be found/ So let the sun streaming in/ 'cause you'll reach up and rise again/ If you only look around/ You will be found."
The track was arranged by Alex Lacamoire who previously teamed up with Miranda for In The Heights and Hamilton. Instrumentalists from Dear Evan Hansen were also involved in the recording of the song.
When @Lin_Manuel and @BenSPLATT came over my apt to rehearse #FoundTonight, I got goose bumps the minute they started singing each other’s songs. I would tear up in the studio as I listened to the mix, thinking of the kids we made this for. — Alex Lacamoire (@LacketyLac) March 19, 2018
Part of the proceeds from the song will benefit "March for Our Lives," the national march against gun violence and mass shootings organized by the students of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. On Valentine's Day, a heavily armed young man barged into the school and opened fire, killing 17 students and teachers.
"March for Our Lives" was the response to that brutal attack. There will be a total of 817 related events around the world, but the main protest will take place in Washington D.C. on March 24.
Several other celebrity activists such as Miley Cyrus and Oprah Winfrey have expressed their support for the protest.
Rally behind the children of Parkland by purchasing "Found Tonight" on iTunes and Google Play Music or streaming the track on Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube.
