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 dawnSing 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 estás?

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 ′cause I immigrated

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

′Cause I′m not makin' any profit if the coffee isn′t light and sweet!

Ooh-ooh

Abuela, my fridge broke

I got café but not con leche

Ay Dios, try my mother's old recipe

One can of condensed milk

Nice

Oh wait, your lottery ticket

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

′Cause tonight seems like a million years away

En Washington

Next up, ding, Kevin Rosario

He runs the cab company, he struggles in the barrio

See, his daughter Nina′s off at college, tuition is mad steep

So he can't sleep, everything he gets is mad cheap

Good morning, Usnavi!

Pan caliente, café con leche!

Put 20 dollars on today′s lottery

Okay, must be a lucky day

Gotta be

Oh my God, you're so excited

My Nina flew in at 3 A.M. last night!

Sweet, Abuela′s been cooking all week

Compay when I see you this weekend

Are we gonna eat?

So then Yesenia walks in the room (uh-huh)

She smells sex and cheap perfume (uh-oh)

It smells like one of those trees

That 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 door

He's in bed with José from the liquor store!

(No me diga)

The salon ladies

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' maxi-pads, 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

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, my-

Boss′s 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

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 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

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 house

Okay

Usnavi, ask her out

No 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 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

′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 (ooh)

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' (in the Heights)

You'll see the late nights, you′ll taste beans and rice (in the Heights)

The syrups and shaved ice, I ain′t gonna say it twice (in the Heights)

Turn up the street lights (ah)

We're takin′ a flight to a couple of days

In the life of what it's like

En Washington Heights!