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, como estas?

Como siempre, Señor Usnavi

I am Usnavi and you probably never heard my name

Reports of my fame are greatly exaggerated

Exacerbated by the fact that my syntax

Is highly complicated 'cause 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

Fo! 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

'Cause I'm not makin' any profit

If the coffee isn't light and sweet

Ooh

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 thinkin', "I'm up shit's creek"

I 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 writing this down, I'm gonna test you later

I'm getting 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 and endless debts

And bills to pay

In the Heights

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

'Cause 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 twenty dollars on today's lottery

One ticket, that's it?

Hey, a man's gotta dream

Don't mind him, he's all excited

'Cause Nina flew in at 3 AM 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 Yesenia walks in the room (Aha)

She smells sex and cheap perfume! (Uh oh)

It smells like one of those trees

That you hang from the rear view (Haha, 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

Bust 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' maxipads, 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 (But even so)

When the lights go down, I blast my radio

You ain't got no skills (Benny)

Yo, lemme get a (Milky Way)

Yeah, lemme also get a (Daily News)

And a (Post)

And the most important, my

Boss's 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

Hardee-har

Yo, Vanessa show up yet? (Yo, 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

No, no, no, no

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no

No, no, 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 moving?

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, aw, 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

'Cause 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)

D.R., P.R., 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

And today's all we got, so we cannot stop

This is our block

In the Heights

I hang my flag up on display

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'

You'll see the ​late nights

You'll taste ​beans and rice

(In the Heights)

The syrup and shaved ice

I ain't gonna say it twice

(In the Heights)

So turn up the stage lights

We're takin' a flight

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

En Washington Heights