In The Heights

**In The Heights** is the first song on the soundtrack.

## Filming

* The ladies of the salon were spotted in New York on June 26 filming the opening number

## Writing

* "Benny that's weak, you said that sh!t LAST week/ Ya wack as the plastic backseat of ya taxi."-Cut Usnavi lyric from the opening #
* "It's OBvious UsNAVi is the SLOPpiest MC."-Cut Benny lyric from the opening #

## Original Lyrics

[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, spoken]
Ice cold piragua! Parcha. China. Cherry. Strawberry. And just for today, I got mamey!

[USNAVI, spoken
Oye, 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 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
'Cuz I’m not makin' any profit if the coffee isn’t light and sweet!

[ABUELA CLAUDIA, spoken]
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.​

[Usnavi gives Abuela Claudia her lottery tickets, which she kisses and holds up to the sky.]

[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 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

[ENSEMBLE]
In the heights
I flip the lights and start my day
[https://genius.com/Lin-manuel-miranda-in-the-heights-lyrics#note-15495251 There are fights

[WOMEN]
And endless debts

[MEN]
And bills to pay]

[ENSEMBLE]
In the Heights
I can’t survive without café

[USNAVI]
I serve café

[ENSEMBLE]
'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 dona Yesenia walks in the room—

[CARLA, spoken]
Aha…

[DANIELA]
She smells sex and cheap perfume!

[CARLA, spoken]
Uh oh…]

[DANIELA]
It smells like one of those trees
That you hang from the rear view!

[CARLA, spoken]
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 José 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, spoken]
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, fuzzy dice for taxicabs and practically
Everybody’s stressed, yes!
But they press through the mess,​
Bounce checks and wonder what’s next

[ENSEMBLE 1]
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

[ENSEMBLE 2]
In the heights

I buy my coffee and—
Set my sights

What I need to know
In the heights
Money is tight

Even so

[ENSEMBLE]
When the lights go down I blast my radio!

[BENNY]
You ain’t got no skills!

[USNAVI]
Benny!

[BENNY
Yo, 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]
[https://genius.com/Lin-manuel-miranda-in-the-heights-lyrics#note-8606379 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
Yo, Vanessa show up yet?

[USNAVI]
Shut up!]

[BENNY]
Hey little homie, don’t get so upset

[USNAVI, spoken]
Man...

[BENNY]
Tell Vanessa how you feel, buy the girl a meal
On the real, or you ain’t got no skills

[VANESSA, speaking on the phone]
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]
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 struggling, times are tight
And you’re stuck to this corner like a streetlight!

[USNAVI
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

'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

[ENSEMBLE]
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

[ENSEMBLE]
It reminds me that I came from miles away

[USNAVI]
D.R., P.R., we are not stoppin’

[ENSEMBLE]
In the Heights
Ooh
Ooh

Ooh

In the Heights
I’ve got today!

[ABUELA CLAUDIA]
Every day, paciencia y fe

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

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

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

[PIRAGUA GUY]
Lo le lo le lo lai lai lo le!

[ENSEMBLE]
It reminds me that I came from miles away

[USNAVI/PIRAGUA GUY/NEIGHBORS]
My family came from miles away—

[ENSEMBLE]
In the Heights
It gets more expensive every day

[USNAVI/PIRAGUA GUY/WOMEN/MEN]
Every day

[ENSEMBLE]
And tonight is so far away—

[USNAVI]
But as for mañana, mi pana
Ya gotta just keep watchin’

[USNAVI]
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

[BENNY/GRAFFITI PETE/MEN]
Late nights!

Beans and rice!

Shaved ice!]

Say it twice!

[ENSEMBLE]
In the Heights!

In the Heights!

In the Heights!
Ah

Ah
Ah
Ah!

[ALL
En Washington Heights!]

## References

1. ↑ https://twitter.com/intheheightsfan/status/1144227587310456833
2. ↑ https://twitter.com/Lin\_Manuel/status/290091110179684353
3. ↑ https://twitter.com/Lin\_Manuel/status/290090856734683136
4. ↑ https://genius.com/Lin-manuel-miranda-in-the-heights-lyrics