[ Featuring Doreen Montalvo ]
No te vayas
Si me dejas
Si te alejas de mi
Seguirás en mis recuerdos para siempre
Para siempre, para siempre
Para siem...
Para siem...
Para siempre
Lights out on Washington Heights
And now the crack of dawn
The blackout goes on and on and on
Para siempre
Sonny's out back, sortin' the trash
As I think about the past with a sack full of cash
Para siempre
Abuela really wanted me up on a beach
With margaritas in my reach, and
Soon that's how it's gonna be
Para siempre
Imagine me, leavin' today
On a seven-forty-seven boardin' JFK
The hydrants are open
Cool breezes blow
The hydrants are open
Cool breezes blow
The hydrants/Piragua!
Are open/Piragua!
Cool breezes/New block of ice, piragua!
Blow/So sweet and nice, piragua!
The hydrants/Piragua!
Are open/Piragua!
Cool breezes/New block of ice, piragua!
Blow/So sweet and nice, piragua!/Para siempre
The hydrants/Piragua!
Are open/Piragua!
Cool breezes/New block of ice, piragua!
Blow/So sweet and nice, piragua!
There's a breeze off the Hudson
And just when
You think you're sick of living here the memory floods in
The morning light off the fire escapes
The nights in Bennett Park blasting Big Pun tapes
I'm 'a miss this place, to tell you the truth:
Kevin dispensin' wisdom from his dispatch booth
And at dawn, Vanessa at the salon, we gotta move on
But who's gonna notice we're gone?
When our job's done, as the evening winds
Down to a crawl, son, can I ease my mind
When we're all done? When we've resigned
In the long run, what do we leave behind?
Most of all, I'll miss Abuela's whispers
Doin' the Lotto Pick Six every Christmas
In five years, when this whole city's rich folks and hipsters
Who's gonna miss this raggedy little business?
What it do? Ha ha, great sunlight this morning
Yo cuz! We fixed the grate!
What did I tell you about this punk?
You have to commission an artist while his rate is still good
It's the first work in my new series
He hates it
Shh, he's forming an artistic opinion
You did this last night?
Yeah
There goes my flight
What?
Graffiti Pete, you're gonna need some new cans
Here's some money, finish up
There's been a slight change of plans!
Nice!
Listen up guys, you got a job, I'm not playin'
You gotta go now, tell the whole block I'm stayin'!
Go ahead, tell everyone we know!
Sonny
Alright, go!
Yeah, I'm a streetlight!
Chillin' in the heat!
I illuminate the stories of the people in the street
Some have happy endings
Some are bittersweet
But I know them all and that's what makes my life complete
We're home!
And if not me, who keeps our legacies?
Who's gonna keep the coffee sweet with secret recipes?
Abuela, rest in peace, you live in my memories
But Sonny's gotta eat, and this corner is my destiny
We're home!
Brings out the best in me, we pass a test and we
Keep pressin' and yes indeed, you know I'll never leave
If you close your eyes, that hydrant is a beach
That siren is a breeze, that fire escape's a leaf on a palm tree!
We're home!
Abuela, I'm sorry
But I ain't goin' back because I'm telling your story
And I can say goodbye to you smilin', I found my island
I been on it this whole time
I'm home! (We're home!)
The hydrants are open
Cool breezes blow!
It's a wonderful life that I've known
"Merry Christmas, you ole' Building and Loan!"
I'm home! (We're home!)
The hydrants are open
Cool breezes blow!
Abuela, that ain't a stoop, that's your throne
Long after ya birds have all flown
I'm home!
Where the coffee's non-stop
And I drop this hip-hop
In my mom-and-pop shop
I'm home!
Where people come
People go
Let me show all of these
People what I know
There's no place like home!
And let me set the record straight!
I'm steppin' to Vanessa
I'm gettin' a second date
I'm home!
Where it's a hundred in the shade
But with patience and faith
We remain unafraid
I'm home!
You hear that music in the air?
Take the train to the top of the world
And I'm there
I'm home! (We're home)
