Lyrics Original Translation Bilingual
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, piragรผero, como estรกs? Como siempre, Seรฑor 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 cafรฉ 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 cafรฉ I serve cafรฉ '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, cafรฉ 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 Josรฉ 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 maรฑana, 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! ย