Inutil Lyrics – In the Heights

Song Overview

“Inútil” is Kevin Rosario’s self-reckoning from In The Heights, sung on the Original Broadway Cast Recording by Carlos Gómez. On the 2008 Ghostlight release it lands early - Track 5 - and in under three minutes it reframes the family stakes for Nina’s storyline.

Personal Review

These lyrics feel like a confession said into a steering wheel. “Inútil” is a compact aria of pride, anger, and resolve where Kevin measures himself against his father and vows not to fail his daughter. The writing is plainspoken on purpose; the melody lifts phrases the way a hand lifts a heavy box - carefully, with strain. One snapshot of the plot: a father hears Nina can’t afford Stanford and swears the family will find a way.

Song Meaning and Annotations

“Inútil” is the show’s blunt mirror. Kevin calls himself useless, then picks a fight with fate. The structure is story-first: a spoken-feeling verse turns into sustained lines, a steady pulse under a memory of Puerto Rico and a slap that still rings. The style leans Broadway ballad with bolero warmth; the album’s orchestrators Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman set a frame where quiet strings and rhythm section leave space for speech-like phrasing.

Placement matters. On the cast album it follows “It Won’t Be Long Now,” so Vanessa’s downtown dreams collide with Kevin’s fear of generational limits. The timing sharpens Nina’s dilemma and explains the Rosarios’ next choices.

In the 2021 film, “Inútil” is one of the stage numbers cut; Kevin’s feelings move into dialogue and other scenes. The movie streamlines his arc to keep momentum on a different center of gravity.

Line by line, the text tracks the family ledger. I hear the lyric as a triptych: the grandfather’s fields, Kevin’s defiance, Nina’s return. That frame also maps onto migration - work in the cane, flight to New York, and the cost of tuition.

“This isn’t happening / Inútil, useless”

The opening shock resets the room. He names the shame and makes it his, not Nina’s. That choice gives the song its spine.

“And every day, he cut the cane / He came home late and prayed for rain”

A snapshot of the island economy - sugar, weather, and a dying industry that crushed whole families - delivered as memory more than metaphor. It explains Kevin’s urgency without pity.

“My father was a farmer… And you will be a farmer”

Fathers hand down trades and rules; sons test the fence. Kevin breaks the loop with a plane ticket.

“I’m getting on a plane… I am gonna change the world someday”

The vow boomerangs. Later, he pins the same hope on Nina and fears he’ll be the reason she can’t fly.

Creation history

The Broadway production opened March 2008; Ghostlight issued the cast album June 3, 2008. Album producers listed for the Grammy win include Alex Lacamoire, Andrés Levin, Bill Sherman, Joel W. Moss, Kurt Deutsch, and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Verse Highlights

Verse 1

Short lines fall like steps on a tenement stairwell. Gómez shades “inútil” with fatigue, then tightens the vowel to show anger without raising volume.

Memory section

The cane-field images shift the harmony a notch darker. You can almost feel the humidity baked into the strings.

Pivot to Nina

The rhythm breathes a little wider when he remembers her as a child - a flicker of pride before the fear returns.

Final vow

The last line lands like an oath. It’s the show’s thesis on family in one breath: do the work, carry the cost, change the odds.

Key Facts

• Primary artist: Carlos Gómez as Kevin Rosario.
• Composer-lyricist: Lin-Manuel Miranda.
• Album: In The Heights (Original Broadway Cast Recording).
• Release date: June 3, 2008.
• Label: Ghostlight Records; released in partnership with Sh-K-Boom Records.
• Track number: 5.
• Length: about 2:50.
• Album producers: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Andrés Levin, Kurt Deutsch; Grammy credits also list Alex Lacamoire, Bill Sherman, Joel W. Moss.
• Instrumentation on the Broadway production band includes keyboards, guitar, bass, drums, Latin percussion, trumpets, trombones, reeds.
• Language: English with Spanish phrases.
• Film adaptation: song omitted from the 2021 movie.

Questions and Answers

Who performs “Inútil” on the cast album?

Carlos Gómez, as Kevin Rosario on the Original Broadway Cast Recording.

Who produced the cast album?

Ghostlight released the album; primary producers are Lin-Manuel Miranda, Andrés Levin, and Kurt Deutsch. The Grammy win cites additional producers Alex Lacamoire, Bill Sherman, and Joel W. Moss.

When was the album released?

June 3, 2008.

How long is “Inútil”?

Roughly 2 minutes 50 seconds on most digital editions.

Is “Inútil” in the movie?

No. The 2021 film cuts several stage songs, including “Inútil.”

Awards and Chart Positions

The cast album won the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.

Charts: Debuted at No. 82 on the Billboard 200 and hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Cast Albums chart.

Certification: Celebrated Gold status in the U.S. in 2025.

How to Sing?

Range and key: commonly notated in C major, with a practical range around C4 to E5 for Kevin. That puts the tessitura in a speaking baritone’s comfort zone while asking for focused mix at the top.

Approach: keep the vowels natural and forward, like you’re telling a story across a kitchen table. Let consonants carry the rhythm, then warm the longer notes with legato. Save the dynamic pop for the final vow - it reads stronger if you hold back early.

Breath and pacing: plan a low, quiet inhale before “And I am gonna change the world someday.” Take the comma after “I will do what it takes” as a reset rather than a full stop. You want drive without rushing.

Songs Exploring Themes of fathers, children, and sacrifice

“Enough” - In The Heights. Camila’s stand is the flip side of “Inútil.” Where Kevin collapses inward, she lays down household law in a tight, pulsing groove. The lyric trims blame from both sides and snaps the family back to the practical. It’s sung conversation elevated to verdict.

“Papa, Can You Hear Me?” - Yentl. A daughter sings toward memory. It’s a different style - orchestral prayer rather than barrio ballad - yet the ache is similar: the wish to honor roots while reaching past them. The melody climbs like a question on a winter night, but the answer is resolve.

“Not My Father’s Son” - Kinky Boots. Another parent-child echo, this time a son refusing a script. The lyric turns shame into self-definition and walks out of the factory with new shoes and new rules. Where “Inútil” is responsibility under pressure, this one is liberation after burden.