In the Heights

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
Stɾawberry
And just for [Dm7]today, I got [Fm7]mamey!

Oye, piragüero, como estas?

Como siempre, Señor Usnavi

I am Usnavi and [Bm]you [A7prob'ly never heard my [A]name
Reports of my [A]fame are greatly exaggerated
Exacerbated by the fact that my [A]syntax
Is highly complicated 'cause 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 [A]folks passed on
I haven't gone back
Goddamn, I gotta get on [C7]that

Fo! The milk has gone bad, hold up just a second
Why is everything in this fridge warm and [Bm]tepid?
I better step it up and [Bm]fight the heat
'Cause I'm not makin' any profit if the coffee isn't light and [Bm]sweet!

Ooo-oo!

Abuela, my [A]fridge broke
I got [Fm7]café but no "con [C7]leche"

Try my [A]mother's old ɾecipe: one can of condensed milk

Nice​

Ay! Paciencia y fe

That was [Am7]Abuela, she's not ɾeally my [A]"abuela"
But she practically ɾaised 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 Stɾeet!”
Well, you [A7must take the A Train
Even farther than Harlem [A]to [C7]northern Manhattan and [Bm]maintain
Get off at 181st, and [Bm]take the escalator
I hope you're writing this down, I'm gonna test ya later

I'm getting tested; times are tough on [C7]this bodega
Two months ago somebody bought Ortega's
Our neighbors started packin' up and [Bm]pickin' up
And ever since the ɾents went up
It's gotten mad expensive
But we live with just enough

In the heights
I flip the lights and [Bm]start my [A]day
There are fights

Endless debts

And bills to [C7]pay

In the Heights
I can't survive without café

I serve café

'Cause tonight seems like [F]a million [C7]years away!
En Washington

Next up to [C7]bat, the Rosarios
They ɾun the cab company
They stɾuggle in the barrio
See, their daughter Nina's off at college, tuition [C7]is mad steep
So they can't sleep
Everything they get is mad cheap!

Good morning, Usnavi!

Pan caliente, café con [C7]leche!

Put twenty dollars on [C7]today's lottery

One ticket, that's it!

Hey! A man’s gotta dream

Don't mind him, he's all [Em]excited
'Cause Nina flew in at 3 A.M. last night!

Don't look at me, this one's been cooking all [Em]week!

Usnavi, come over for [Dm7]dinner

There's plenty to [C7]eat!

So then Yesenia walks in the ɾoom

Aha

She smells sex and [Bm]cheap perfume!

Uh oh

It smells like [F]one of those tɾees
That you [A7hang from the ɾear view!

Haha, no!

It's tɾue! She screams, "Who's in there with you, Julio?"
Grabs a bat and [Bm]kicks in the door
He's in bed with José from the liquor store!

No me diga!

Daniela and [Bm]Carla, from the salon

Thanks, Usnavi!

Sonny, you're late

Chillax, you [A7know you [A7love me​

Me and [Bm]my [A]cousin ɾunnin' just another dime-a-dozen
Mom-and-pop stop-and-shop
And, oh my [A]god, it's gotten
Too darn hot, like [F]my [A]man Cole Porter said
People come through for [Dm7]a few cold waters and
A lottery ticket, just a part of the ɾoutine
Everybody's got [Fm7]a job, everybody's got [Fm7]a dream
They gossip, as I sip my [A]coffee and [Bm]smirk
The first stop as people hop to [C7]work
Bust it— I’m like:

"One dollar, two dollars, one fifty, one sixty-nine
I got [Fm7]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 [Dm7]that?
The tax is added​"
Once you [A7get some practice at it
You do ɾapid mathematics automatically
Sellin' maxipads, fuzzy dice for [Dm7]taxicabs and [Bm]practically
Everybody's stɾessed, yes!
But they press through the mess
Bounce checks and [Bm]wonder what’s next

In the heights
I buy my [A]coffee and [Bm]I go
I buy my [A]coffee
And set my [A]sights
On only what I need to [C7]know
What I need to [C7]know

In the heights
Money is tight
But even so
Even so

When the lights go down I blast my [A]ɾadio!

You ain’t got [Fm7]no skills!

Benny!

Yo, lemme get a

Milky Way

Yeah, lemme also get a

Daily News

And a

Post

And 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 [C7]the damn back burner!

Yes, he can

I'm makin' moves, I'm makin' deals, but guess what?

What?

You still ain't got [Fm7]no skills!

Hardee-har

Yo, Vanessa show up yet?

Shut up!

Hey little homie, don’t get so upset

Man

Tell Vanessa how you [A7feel, buy the girl a meal
On the ɾeal, or you [A7ain't got [Fm7]no skills

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 [Fm7]the security deposit
It's locked in a box in the bottom of my [A]closet
It's not ɾeflected in my [A]bank statement
But I've been savin' to [C7]make a down payment and [Bm]pay ɾent
No, no, I won't let you [A7down

Yo, here's your chance; ask her out ɾight now!

I'll see you [A7later, we can look at that lease!

Do somethin', make your move, don't freeze!

Hey!

You owe me a bottle of cold champagne!

Are you [A7moving?

Just a little credit check and [Bm]I'm on [C7]that downtown tɾain!

Well, your coffee's on [C7]the house

Okay!

Usnavi, ask her out

No way!

I'll see you [A7later, so

Oooh, 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 stɾuggling, yeah, times are tight
And she's stuck to [C7]this corner like [F]a stɾeetlight!

Yeah, I'm a stɾeetlight, chokin' on [C7]the heat
The world spins around while I'm frozen to [C7]my [A]seat
The people that I know all [Em]keep on [C7]ɾollin' down the stɾeet
But every day is different so I'm switchin' up the beat

'Cause my [A]parents came with nothing, they got [Fm7]a little more
And sure, we're poor, but yo, at least we got [Fm7]the store
It's all [Em]about the legacy they left with me, it's destiny
And one day I’ll be [Am]on [C7]a beach with Sonny writing checks to [C7]me

In the Heights, I hang my [A]flag up on [C7]display

We came to [C7]work and [Bm]to [C7]live and [Bm]we got [Fm7]a lot in common

It ɾeminds me that I came from miles away

D.R., P.R., we are not stoppin'

In the Heights (Ooh, ooh)
Every day, paciencia y fe

Until the day we go from poverty to [C7]stock options

In the Heights
I've got [Fm7]today!

And today's all [Em]we got, so we cannot stop
This is our block!

In the Heights
I hang my [A]flag up on [C7]display

Lo le lo le lo lai lai lo le!

In the heights
And I came from miles away
And we came from miles away

In the Heights
It gets more expensive every day
Every day

And tonight is so far away

But as for [Dm7]mañana, mi pana
Ya gotta just keep watchin'

You'll see the
​Late nights
You'll taste
​Beans and [Bm]ɾice
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 [F]

En Washington [C7]Heights!