Judges star in COVID-inspired Hamilton music video

‘We’ll be back, time will tell, you’ll remember that we serve you well’ 🎶

Two Texas-based federal judges have performed a COVID-inspired parody of one of the songs from Hamilton, and it’s sure to raise a smile among our readers.

Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod and Judge Charles Eskridge are the unlikely stars of ‘We’ll be back’, a light-hearted take on ‘You’ll be back’ from the hit US musical, on behalf of federal trial and appellate judges in the southern district of Texas.

The judge duet don black tie get-up in the four-minute clip (below) which was published this week by Texan law prof Josh Blackman and has already garnered over 16,300 views.

The socially distanced judges appear against a backlit ‘stage’ (which we reckon is a Zoom backdrop) in the music video and belt out some truly comedic lyrics, such as:

“We’ll be back,
Soon you’ll see,
You’ll be glad when you appear before me.
We’ll be back,
Time will tell,
You’ll remember that we serve you well.”

The Broadway tribute is based on King George III’s theme song in which the British monarch laments the anti-royal inclinations of the rebelling American colonists.

Elrod and Eskridge continue:

“But now just stay in your room,
Until jury trials resume.
But it’s not all doom and gloom,
We’ll just see you on Zoom.
October, November, December, and perhaps the New Year…

We’ll be back, like before,
All those judges whom you know and adore.
We’ll shake hands, maybe hug,
Once there’s a cure for this dreaded bug.”

They go on to sing that “when push comes to shove”, it’s “your bench bar and colleagues you’ll remember that you love” before they are joined, virtually, by fellow benchers on screen, all singing and humming along.

This isn’t the first Zoom rendition we’ve seen amid the global coronavirus disruption. In June Legal Cheek brought you ‘We are one’, a little ditty sung by lawyers in CMS‘ choir about why they, uh, “just love being lawyers”.

Perhaps our singing judges could take on one of the musical’s raps next?