In The Heights Song Lyrics
Lights up on Washington Heights, up at the break of dayI wake up and I got this little punk I gotta chase awayPop the grate at the crack of dawnSing while I wipe down the awningHey y’all, good morning
Ice cold piragua, parcha, chinaCherry, strawberry, and just for today, I got mamey!(Oye, piragüero, ¿cómo ‘tá’?)Como siempre, Señor Usnavi
I am Usnavi and you prob’ly never heard my nameReports of my fame are greatly exaggeratedExacerbated by the fact that my syntaxIs highly complicated ’cause I immigratedFrom the single greatest little place in the CaribbeanDominican Republic! I love it!Jesus, I’m jealous of it, and beyond thatEver since my folks passed on, I haven’t gone backGoddamn, I gotta get on that¡Fo!The milk has gone bad, hold up just a secondWhy 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!
Abuela, my fridge brokeI got café but no con lecheAy DiosTry my mother’s old recipeOne can of condensed milkNiceOh wait, your lottery ticketPaciencia y fe
That was Abuela, she’s not really my “Abuela”But she practically raised me, this corner is her escuelaNow, 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 TrainEven farther than Harlem to northern Manhattan and maintainGet off at 181st, and take the escalatorI hope you’re writing this down, I’m gonna test ya laterI’m getting tested times are tough on this bodegaTwo months ago somebody bought Ortega’sOur neighbors started packin’ up and pickin’ upAnd ever since the rents went upIt’s gotten mad expensive, but we live with just enough
In the HeightsI flip the lights and start my dayThere are fightsAnd endless debtsAnd bills to pay
In the HeightsI can’t survive without caféI serve café‘Cause tonight seems like a million years away!En Washington
Next up, ding, Kevin RosarioHe runs the cab company, he struggles in the barrioSee, his daughter Nina’s off at college, tuition is mad steepSo he can’t sleep everything he gets is mad cheap
Good morning, Usnavi!¡Pan caliente, café con leche!Put twenty dollars on today’s lotteryOkay, must be a lucky dayGotta be
Oh my God, you’re so excitedMy Nina flew in at 3 A.M. last night!Sweet, Abuela’s been cooking all week!Come by when I see you this weekendAre we gonna eat?
So then Yesenia walks in the room(Aha)She smells sex and cheap perfume(Oh no)It smells like one of those treesThat you hang from the rear view!(¡Ay, no!)
It’s true!She screams, “Who’s in there with you, Julio?”Grabs a bat and kicks in the doorHe’s in bed with José from the liquor store!
¡No me diga!
The salon ladiesThanks, Usnavi!
SonnyYou’re late
Chillax, you know you love me
Me and my cousin runnin’Just another dime-a-dozen mom-and-pop stop-and-shopAnd, oh my god, it’s gotten too darn hotLike my man Cole Porter saidPeople come through for a few cold waters andA lottery ticket, just a part of the routineEverybody’s got a job, everybody’s got a dreamThey gossip, as I sip my coffee and smirkThe first stop as people hop to workBust it I’m like:“One dollar, two dollars, one fifty, one sixty-nineI got it, you want a box of condoms? What kind?That’s two quarters, two quarter watersThe New York TimesYou need a bag for that? The tax is added”Once you get some practice at itYou do rapid mathematics automaticallySellin’ maxi-pads, fuzzy dice for taxicabs, practicallyEverybody’s stressed, yes!But they press through the messBounce checks and wonder what’s next
In the heightsI buy my coffee and I go(I buy my coffee and I go)Set my sightsOn only what I need to know(What I need to know)
In the heightsMoney is tightBut even so(Even so)When the lights go down I blast my radio!
You ain’t got no skills!(Benny!)Yo, lemme get a(Milky Way)Yup, and lemme also get a(Daily News)And a (Post)And the most important, myBoss’ second coffee, one creamFive 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 mealOn the real, orYou 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!Mr. Johnson, I got the security depositIt’s locked in a box in the bottom of my closetIt’s not reflected in my bank statementBut I’ve been savin’ to make a down payment and pay rentNo, 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!(Yo, 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 houseOkay!Usnavi, ask her outNo way!I’ll see you later, so
Yo, 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 is tightAnd you’re stuck to this corner like a streetlight!
Yeah, I’m a streetlight, chokin’ on the heatThe world spins around while I’m frozen to my seatThe people that I know all keep on rollin’ down the streetBut every day is different so I’m switchin’ up the beat
‘Cause my parents came with nothing, they got a little moreAnd sure, we’re poor, but yo, at least we got the storeAnd it’s all about the legacy they left with me, it’s destinyAnd one day I’ll be on a beach with Sonny writing checks to me
In the Heights, I hang my flag up on displayWe came to work and to live and we got a lot in commonIt reminds me that I came from miles awayD.R., P.R., we are not stoppin’
In the HeightsEvery day, paciencia y fe (ooh)Until the day we go from poverty to stock options
In the HeightsI’ve got today!And today’s all we got, so we cannot stopThis is our block!
In the HeightsI hang my flag up on displayLo le lo le lo lai lai lo leIt reminds me that I came from miles awayMy family came from miles away
In the HeightsIt gets more expensive every day!Every day!And tonight is so far away
But as for mañana, mi panaYa gotta just keep watchin’ (in the Heights)You’ll see the late nightsYou’ll taste beans and rice (in the Heights)The syrups and shaved iceI ain’t gonna say it twice (in the Heights)So turn up the street lights (ah)We’re takin’ a flightTo a couple of daysIn the life of what it’s likeEn Washington Heights!