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 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
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
'Cuz I’m not makin' any profit if the coffee isn’t light and sweet!
Ooo-oo!
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 prob’ly thinkin
" I’m up shit’s creek!
I've never been north of Ninety-Sixth 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 ya 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
'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 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
‘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 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!
Ah, 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 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
Set my sights
On only what I need to know
In the heights
Money is tight
But even so
In the heights
I buy my coffee and—
Set my sights
What I need to know
In the heights
Money is tight
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 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!
Hardee-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-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—
Yo, 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
Oooh... 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, 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
D. R., P. R., we are not stoppin’
In the Heights
Ooh
Ooh
Ooh
In the Heights
I’ve got today!
Every day, paciencia y fe
Until the day we go from poverty to stock options
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 the
Late nights
You’ll taste
Beans and rice
The syrups and
Shaved ice
I ain’t gonna
Say it twice
So turn up the stage lights
We’re takin’ a flight
To a couple of days
In the life of what it’s like