In The Heights feat. Lin-Manuel Miranda Lyrics
"In The Heights"

Usnavi:
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 ya'll, good morning.

Piragua Guy: [Spoken]
Ice cold piragua! Parcha, china, cherry, strawberry,
and just for today, I got mamey!

Usnavi: [Spoken]
Yo, piragüero, como estas?

Piragua Guy: [Spoken]
Como siempre, señor 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.
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 making any
Profit if the coffee isn't
Light and sweet!

Abuela Claudia:
Ooo-oo!

Usnavi: [Spoken]
Abuela, my fridge broke. I got café, but no "con leche."

Abuela Claudia: [Spoken]
Try my mother's old recipe: one can of condensed milk.

Usnavi: [Spoken]
Nice!

Abuela Claudia: [Spoken]
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 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 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—

Women:
And endless debts

Men:
And bill to pay

Community:
In the Heights
I can't survive without café.

Usnavi:
I serve café.

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, café 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
3 a.m. 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—

Carla:
Aha,

Daniela:
She smells sex and cheap perfume!

Carla:
Uh oh,

Daniela:
It smells like one of those
Trees that you hang from
Your rear view!

Carla:
Ah, no!

Daniela:
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: [Spoken]
Daniela and Carla from the salon.

Daniela & Carla:
Thanks, Usnavi!

Usnavi: [Spoken]
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 earnery—

Usnavi & Sonny:
What!

Benny:
The fastest learner—

Usnavi & Sonny:
What!

Benny:
My boss can't keep
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 the 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 light 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 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:
D.R., P.R.,
We are not stoppin'!

Community:
In the Heights

Abuela Claudia: Community:
Every day, paciencia y fe! Oooh,

Usnavi: Oooh,
Until the day we go from Oooh,
Poverty to stock options. In the Heights,
And today's all we got, I've got today.
So we cannot stop,
This is our block!

Community:
In the Heights I hang
My flag up on display.

Piragua Guy:
Lo le lo le lo lai lai lo le!

Community:
It reminds me that
I came form miles away!

Usnavi, Piragua Guy & Neighbors:
My family came from miles away!

Community:
In the Heights
It gets more expensive
Every day, (every day)
And tonight
Is so far away—

Usnavi:
But as for mañana, mi pana,
Ya gotta just keep watchin' Community:
You'll see In the Heights,
The late nights,
You'll taste
Beans and rice,
The syrups, In the Heights,
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—

All:
En Washington Heights!