In the Heights

Lights up on Washington Heights, at the break of the day I wake up and got this little punk I gotta chase away Pop the gate at the crack of dawn Sing while I wipe down the awning Hey y"ll, good morning 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 '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 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 bill to pay In the Heights I can't survive without café I serve café 'Cause tonight seems like a million years away En Washington 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 150, 169, 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 And fuzzy dice for taxicabs And 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 I go) 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 En Washington Yeah, I'm a streetlight, choking on the heat The world spins around while I'm frozen to my seat The people that I know all keep on rolling 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 Lo le lo le lo lai lai lo le 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 he late nights (in the Heights) You'll taste beans and rice The syrups, and shaved ice (in the Heights) 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