In the Heights

Lights up on Washington Heights, up at the break of day

I wake up, and I got this little punk I gotta chase away

Pop the grate at the crack of dawn

Sing while I wipe down the awning

Hey y'all, good morning!

Ice cold piragua!

Parcha, china, cherry, strawberry!

And just for today, I got mamey!

Oye, piragüero. ¿Cómo estás?

Como siempre, Señor Usnavi

I am Usnavi and you prob'ly never heard my name

Reports of my fame are greatly exaggerated

Exacerbated by the fact that my syntax is highly complicated

'Cuz I emigrated from the single greatest little place in the Caribbean

Dominican Republic, I love it

Jesus, I'm jealous of it and beyond that

Ever since my folks passed on, I haven't gone back

Goddamn, I gotta get on that

Foh! The milk has gone bad, hold up just a second

Why is everything in this fridge warm and tepid?

I better step it up and fight the heat

'Cuz I'm not makin' any profit if the coffee isn't light and sweet

Ooh-hoo

Abuela, my fridge broke

I got café, but no con leche

Try my mother's old recipe: One can of condensed milk (nice!)

¡Ay, paciencia y fe!

That was Abuela, she's not really my abuela

But she practically raised me, this corner is her escuela

Now you're probably thinking I'm up shit's creek

I've never been north of 96th Street

Well, you must take the A train

Even farther than Harlem to northern Manhattan and maintain

Get off at 181st and take the escalator

I hope you're writin' this down, I'm gonna test you later

I'm gettin' tested, times are tough on this bodega

Two months ago somebody bought Ortega's

Our neighbors started packin' up and pickin' up

And ever since the rents went up

It's gotten' mad expensive but we live with just enough

In the Heights

I flip the lights and start my day

There are fights, endless debts, and bills to pay

In the Heights

I can't survive without café (i serve café)

'Cuz tonight seems like a million years away

En Washington

Next up to bat, the Rosarios

They run the cab company, they struggle in the barrio

See, their daughter Nina's off at college

Tuition is mad steep, so they can't sleep

Everything they get is mad cheap

Good morning, Usnavi!

Pan caliente, café con leche

Put 20 dollars on today's lottery

One ticket, that's it

Hey, a man's gotta dream!

Don't mind him, he's all excited

'Cuz Nina flew in at 3 a. M. Last night

Don't look at me

This one's been cooking all week

Usnavi, come over for dinner

There's plenty to eat

So then Yeseña walks in the room (aha)

She smells sex and cheap perfume (oh-oh)

It smells like one of those trees that you hang from the rearview (ha-ha, no)

It's true! She screams

Who's in there with you, Julio?

Grabs a bat and kicks in the door

He's in bed with José from the liquor store

¡No me diga!

Daniela and Carla, from the salon

Thanks, Usnavi!

Sonny, you're late!

Chillax, you know you love me

Me and my cousin runnin' just another dime-a-dozen mom-and-pop stop-and-shop

And oh my God, it's gotten too darn hot

Like my man Cole Porter said

People come through for a few cold waters and a lottery ticket

Just a part of the routine

Everybody's got a job, everybody's got a dream

They gossip as I sip my coffee and smirk

The first stop as people hop to work

Buss it, I'm like

One dollar, two dollars, one fifty, one sixty-nine, I got it

You want a box of condoms? What kind?

That's two quarters

Two quarter waters

The New York Times

You need a bag for that?

The tax is added

Once you get some practice at it

You do rapid mathematics automatically

Sellin' maxi-pads, fuzzy dice for taxicabs

Practically everybody's stressed, yes

But they press through the mess

Bounce checks and wonder what's next

In the Heights

I buy my coffee and I go

I buy my coffee and set my sights

On only what I need to know (what I need to know)

In the Heights

Money is tight, but even so (even so)

When the lights go down, I blast my radio

You ain't got no skills

Benny!

Yo, let me get a

Milky Way

Yeah, let me also get a

Daily News

And a

Post

And most important my

Boss' second coffee, one cream, five sugars

I'm the number one earner (what?)

The fastest learner (what?)

My boss can't keep me on the damn back burner

Yes, he can!

I'm makin' moves, I'm makin' deals, but guess what?

What?

You still ain't got no skills (hardy-har)

Yo, Vanessa show up yet? (Shut up!)

Hey, little homie, don't get so upset (man!)

Tell Vanessa how you feel

Buy the girl a meal on the real

Or you ain't got no skills

Nooo!

No, no, nooo

No, no, nooo, no-no-no

Nooo, no-no-no

No, no-no, no-no, no-no, no-no, no-no, no

Mr. Johnson, I got the security deposit

It's locked in a box in the bottom of my closet

It's not reflected in my bank statement

But I've been savin' to make a down payment and pay rent

No, no, I won't let you down

Here's your chance ask her out right now

I'll see you later we can look at that lease

Do somethin', make your move, don't freeze!

Hey!

You owe me a bottle of cold champagne

Are you movin'?

Just a little credit check and I'm on that downtown train

Well, your coffee's on the house (okay)

Usnavi, ask her out (no way)

I'll see you later so

Ooh, smooth operator, oh damn, there she goes

Yo, bro, take five, take a walk outside

You look exhausted, lost, don't let life slide

The whole hood is struggling, yeah times are tight

And you're stuck to this corner like a streetlight

Yeah, I'm a streetlight, chokin' on the heat

The world spins around, while I'm frozen to my seat

The people that I know, all keep on rollin' down the street

But every day is different, so I'm switchin up the beat

'Cuz my parents came with nothing, they got a little more

And sure, we're poor, but yo, at least we got the store

And it's all about the legacy they left with me, it's destiny

And one day I'll be on a beach with Sonny writing checks to me

In the Heights

I hang my flag up on display (we came to work and to live and we got a lot in common)

It reminds me that I came from miles away (DR, PR, we are not stoppin')

In the Heights (every day, paciencia y fe!)

Until the day we go from poverty to stock options

In the Heights

I've got today

Today's all we got, so we cannot stop, this is our block

In the Heights

I hang my flag up on display (lo-le-lo-le-lo-lai-lai-lo-lei)

It reminds me that I came from miles away

My family came from miles away

In the Heights

It gets more expensive every day (every day)

And tonight is so far away

But as for mañana, mi pana, ya gotta just keep watchin' (in the Heights)

You'll see the late night, you'll taste beans and rice (in the Heights)

The syrup and shaved ice, I ain't gotta say it twice (in the Heights)

Turn up the stage lights, we're takin' a flight

To a couple days in the life of what it's like

¡En Washington Heights!