In the Heights Lyrics by Usnavi, Company

USNAVI:
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.

PIRAGUA GUY:
Ice cold piragua! China.
Cherry. Strawberry. Just for
today, I got mamey!

USNAVI:
Yo, piraguero, como estas?

PIRAGUA GUY:
Como siempre, Senor Usnavi.

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

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!

ABUELA CLAUDIA:
Ooo-oo!

USNAVI:
Abuela, my fridge broke. I got cafe but no "con leche."

ABUELA CLAUDIA:
Try my mother's old recipe: one can of condensed milk.

USNAVI:
Nice.

ABUELA CLAUDIA:
Ay! Paciencia y fe...

USNAVI:
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 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

COMMUNITY:
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 cafe

USNAVI:
I serve cafe

COMMUNITY:
Cuz tonight seems like a
Million years away!
En Washington--

USNAVI:
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!

KEVIN:
Good morning, Usnavi!

USNAVI:
Pan caliente, cafe con leche!

KEVIN:
Put twenty dollars on today's lottery.

CAMILA:
One ticket, that's it!

KEVIN:
Hey! A man's gotta dream

CAMILA:
Don't mind him, He's all excited
Cuz Nina flew in at 3am last night!

KEVIN:
Don't look at me, this one's
Been cooking all week!

CAMILA:
Usnavi, come over for dinner.

KEVIN/CAMILA:
There's plenty to eat!

DANIELA:
So then Yesenia walks in the room
She smells sex and cheap perfume!
It smells like one of those
Trees that you hang from the
Rear view!
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 Jose from the
Liquor store!

CARLA/USNAVI:
No me diga!

USNAVI:
Daniela and Carla, from the salon.

DANIELA/CARLA:
Thanks Usnavi!

USNAVI:
Sonny, you're late.

SONNY:
Chillax, you know you love me.

USNAVI:
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 and fuzzy
Dice for taxicabs and practically
Everybody's stressed, yes, but
They press through the mess
Bounce checks and wonder
What's next

COMMUNITY:
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
When the lights go down I
Blast my radio!

BENNY:
You ain't got no skills!

USNAVI:
Benny!

BENNY:
Lemme get a-

USNAVI:
Milky way.

BENNY:
Yeah, lemme also get a-

USNAVI:
Daily News-

BENNY:
And a-

USNAVI:
Post-

BENNY:
And most important, my-

USNAVI:
Boss' second coffee, one cream-

BOTH:
Five sugars-

BENNY:
I'm the number one earner-

USNAVI/SONNY:
What!

BENNY:
The fastest learner-

USNAVI/SONNY:
What!

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

USNAVI:
Yes he can.

BENNY: I'm makin' moves, I'm makin'
Deals, but guess what?

USNAVI:
What?

BENNY/SONNY:
You still ain't got no skills!

USNAVI:
Hardee-har

BENNY:
Vanessa show up yet?

USNAVI:
Shut up!

BENNY:
Hey little homie
Don't get so upset
Tell Vanessa how you feel,
Buy the girl a meal,
On the real, or you ain't got
No skills.

VANESSA:
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

BENNY:
Yo, here's your chance, ask
Her out right now!

VANESSA:
I'll see you later We can look
at that lease!

BENNY:
Do somethin', make your move,
Don't freeze-

USNAVI:
Hey!

VANESSA:
You owe me a bottle of cold champagne.

USNAVI:
Are you moving?

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

USNAVI:
Well, your coffee's on the house.

VANESSA:
Okay!

BENNY:
Usnavi, ask her out.

SONNY:
No way!

VANESSA:
I'll see you later, so...

BENNY:
Ooh, smooth operator,
Aw damn, there she go!
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!

USNAVI:
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
Cuz my parents came here 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

COMMUNITY:
In the heights
I hang my flag up on display

USNAVI:
We came to work and to live
And we got a lot in common.

COMMUNITY:
It reminds me that I came
From miles away.

USNAVI:
DR, PR, We are not stoppin'.

COMMUNITY:
In the heights

ABUELA CLAUDIA:
Every day, paciencia y fe.

USNAVI:
Until the day we go from
poverty to stock options.

COMMUNITY:
In the heights
I've got today.

USNAVI:
And today's all we got,
So we cannot stop,
This is our block

COMMUNITY:
In the heights
I hang my flag upon display

PIRAGUA GUY:
Lo le lo le lo lai lai lo le!

COMMUNITY:
It remind me that I came
From miles away!
My family came from miles away-
In the the heights
It gets more expensive every day
And tonight is so far away-

USNAVI:
But as for manana, 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.

ALL:
En Washington Heights!