Hear Barack Obama as George Washington in new Hamilton remix – CNET

Well, I wish I’d been in the room where THAT happened.

On Friday, Lin-Manuel Miranda shared a new remix of the song One Last Time from his hit musical Hamilton. The rework, a gospel version titled One Last Time (44 Remix), features original cast member Christopher Jackson, who played George Washington; Grammy Award-winning artist BeBe Winans; a gospel choir; and none other than former US President Barack Obama.

At the 1:43 mark, Obama reads part of George Washington’s farewell address as gentle guitar and piano play in the background and Washington’s words echo powerfully in smooth song.

“Though in reviewing the incidents of my administration, I am unconscious of intentional error. I’m nevertheless too sensible of my defects not to think it probable that I may have committed many errors. I shall also carry with me the hope that my country will view them with indulgence.

“I anticipate with pleasing expectation that retreat in which I promise myself to realize the sweet enjoyment of partaking, in the midst of my fellow citizens, the benign influence of good laws under a free government, the ever-favorite object of my heart, and the happy reward, as I trust, of our mutual cares, labors, and dangers.”

It’s a incredibly moving convergence of music and civic commitment.

The remix is the final installment in Miranda’s Hamildrops, a monthly series of Hamilton-related tracks that feature big-name artists like Sara Bareilles and The Decemberists and raise money for nonprofits.

Obama has long been a fan of the musical set in revolutionary America. In 2009, years before it became an Tony Award-winning show, he watched co-creator Miranda perform a number from it at a White House poetry jam. In 2015, once the musical hit Broadway, he could be seen giving a standing ovation

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