Lin-Manuel Miranda (born January 16, 1980 in New York, NY) is an American a… Read Full Bio ↴Lin-Manuel Miranda (born January 16, 1980 in New York, NY) is an American actor, singer, songwriter, rapper, director, producer & playwright, best known for creating and starring in the Broadway musicals In the Heights & Hamilton.

Miranda wrote the music and lyrics for the musical In the Heights, which opened on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in March 2008. Miranda's written work for the show earned him numerous accolades, including the 2008 Tony Award for Best Original Score and the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. Further, Miranda's performance in the show's lead role of Usnavi earned him a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical.

From August 6th 2015 to July 9th 2016, Miranda performed on Broadway in the lead role as Alexander Hamilton in Hamilton, a musical for which he wrote the book, music and lyrics—and which earned the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.

Miranda played his last performance in Hamilton on July 9, 2016, and the role of Alexander Hamilton was taken over by previous alternate Javier Muñoz. Miranda vowed to return to the show in the near future. In fact, he recently reprised his role as Alexander Hamilton in a special 23 performance three-week run in Puerto Rico January 11-27, 2019.

Lin-Manuel was born in New York City of Puerto Rican descent. He attended Hunter College High School and Wesleyan University. He founded a hip-hop theatre troupe called "Freestyle Love Supreme". Miranda also wrote, directed, and acted in an independent film called Clayton's Friends (1996). In 2007, Miranda made an appearance on an episode of television series The Sopranos. Lin-Manuel has also worked as an English teacher at his old high school, written for the Manhattan Times as a columnist and restaurant reviewer, and composed for commercials. In 2008, Lin-Manuel was invited by composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz to contribute two new songs to a revised version of Schwartz and Nina Faso's 1978 musical "Working" which opened in May at the Asolo Repertory Theater in Sarasota, FL.

Miranda received his Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame November 30th 2018.

His awards include 3 Tony Awards, 5 Grammy Awards, 2 Laurence Olivier Awards, 2 Primetime Emmy Awards. an Annie Award, a MacArthur Fellowship Award, a Kennedy Centre Honor and a Pulitzer Prize

We Know The Way
Lin-Manuel Miranda Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Tatou o tagata folau e vala'auina
E le atua o le sami tele e o mai
Ia ava'e le lu'itau e lelei
Tapenapena
O'lo o'lo maka

Aue, aue
Nuku i mua

Te manulele e tataki e
Aue, aue
Te fenua, te mālie
Nā heko hakilia mo kaiga e

We read the wind and the sky
When the sun is high
We sail the length of seas
On the ocean breeze
At night we name every star
We know where we are
We know who we are, who we are

Aue, aue
We set a course to find
A brand new island everywhere we roam
Aue, aue
We keep our island in our mind
And when it's time to find home
We know the way

Aue, aue
We are explorers reading every sign
We tell the stories of our elders in a never-ending chain
Aue, aue
Te fenua, te mālie

Nā heko hakilia
We know the way

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Lin-Manuel Miranda's song, We Know The Way, are in both Tokelauan and English, and they reference Polynesian navigation, which is the ancient practice of using stars, winds, and ocean currents to navigate open-ocean voyages. The first verse in Tokelauan translates to "We, the sea voyaging people, are gathering together, for the gods of the vast ocean are calling, seeking peace and health through voyage." The second verse in English describes how these navigators read the wind and sky, sail across the sea, and name the stars at night. The chorus is a declaration of their ability to find a new island and always remember their home. The final verse repeats the chorus and ends with "We know the way," emphasizing the continuation of this tradition over generations.

The song was written for the Disney movie, Moana, which tells the story of a young Pacific Islander named Moana who sets out on a journey to save her people and restore the heart of Te Fiti, a goddess who created the islands. The song serves as an introduction to the Polynesian worldview and Moana's ancestors; it was meant to convey a sense of pride, resilience, and cultural heritage. Lin-Manuel Miranda worked with Opetaia Foa’i, the lead singer of the band Te Vaka who is from Tokelau, to incorporate Pacific Islander music and language into the score. The song We Know The Way is based on a traditional chant from Tokelau that Foa’i's grandfather taught him.

Line by Line Meaning

Tatou o tagata folau e vala'auina
We are a people who sails to seek knowledge and wisdom

E le atua o le sami tele e o mai
The Gods are not far away, they are with us

Ia ava'e le lu'itau e lelei
Let nature guide us to success

Tapenapena
To hold fast

Aue, aue
Chant of progress

Nuku I mua
Lead ahead

Te manulele e tataki e
The bird flaps its wings

Aue, aue
Chant of progress

Te fenua, te malie,
Beautiful land that we love

Nae ko hakilia mo kaiga e
It was taken from us and we must take it back for our future generations

We read the wind and the sky
We observe the patterns of nature