When You’re Home

I used to think we lived at the top of the world
When the world was just a subway map
And the one-slash-nine
Climbed a dotted line to my place
There's no nine train now
Right
I used to think the Bronx was a place in the sky
When the world was just a subway map
And my thoughts took shape
On that fire escape…
Can you remind me of what it was like
At the top of the world?
Come with me
We begin July
With a stop at my corner fire hydrant
You would open it every summer!
I would bust it with a wrench
Till my face got drenched
Till I heard the sirens
Then I ran like hell!
You ran like hell!
Yeah, I ran like hell!
I remember well!
To your father's dispatch window
“Hey, let me in, yo!
They're coming to get me!”
You were always in constant trouble—
Then your dad would act all snide, but he'd let me hide
You'd be there inside—
Life was easier then
Nina, everything is easier
When you're home…
The street's a little kinder when you're home
Can't you see
That the day seems clearer
Now that you are here or
Is it me ?
Maybe it's just me…
We gotta go I wanna show you all I know
The sun is setting and the light is getting low
Are we going to Castle Garden?
Maybe, maybe not, but way to take a shot, when the day is hot
I got a perfect shady spot
A little ways away that oughta
Cool us down
Cool us down—
Welcome back to town...
Now, back in high school when it darkened
You'd hang out in Bennett Park and
Usnavi would bring his radio…
As I walked home from Senior Studies
I'd see you rapping with your buddies
With the volume high
I walked on by
You walked on by—
No pare! Sigue, sigue!
No pare! Sigue, sigue!
No pare! Sigue, sigue!
No pare! Sigue, sigue!
No pare! Sigue, sigue!
No pare! Sigue, sigue!
No pare! Sigue, sigue!
No pare sigue!
When you're home
Oh, the summer nights are cooler
When you're home!
Now that you're here with me…
And that song you are
hearing is the
Neighborhood just
cheering you along—
Don't say that
What's wrong?
Don't say that!
When I was younger, I'd imagine what would happen
If my parents had stayed in Puerto Rico
Who would I be if I had never seen Manhattan
If I lived in Puerto Rico with my people
My people!
I feel like all my life, I've tried to find the answer
Working harder, learning Spanish, learning all I can
I thought I might find the answer out at Stanford
But I'd stare out at the sea
Thinking, where'm I supposed to be?
So please don't say you're proud of me, when I've lost my way
Then can I say:
I couldn't get my mind off you all day
Now listen to me!
That may be how you perceive it
But Nina please believe
That when you find your way again
You're gonna change the world and then
We're all gonna brag and say we knew her when...
This was your home
I' m home—
Welcome home—
When you're here with me—
Welcome home—
I used to think that we lived at the top of the world!
Welcome home—
I'm home—
You're finally home
You're home!
I'm home!