Lyrics Letters to the Vatican - Rubén Blades

Letters to the Vatican

Rosie sits inside a bar smoking a large man’s cigar
In a place called «Sammy's» on Amsterdam Avenue
She doesn’t look a day over 65, though she’s really 29
She likes records from the '60s
They remind her of the good old times
And after some wine and some scotch
Rosie starts to let it hang out
She throws a glass at the mirror and asks Big Max for a pen
She writes a letter to the Vatican
«I'm gonna write a letter to Him:
Dear Pope, send me some soap and a bottle of Bombay gin»
A letter to the Vatican
«I'm gonna write a letter to Him:
Dear Pope, send me some hope or a rope to do me in»
And no one stops her
We all lend a hand
We all knew her before she was this mad
We just hold her until the shaking stops
Because the heart says only what the heart knows
«I wanna hear some Diana Ross
I wanna hear a little bit of Marvin Gaye
I wanna hear a song that reminds me of a better day»
Rosie slaps a pretty girl in the mouth
And running to the jukebox she tries to put a quarter in
She says, «I've had enough of you men
And I’ll never say yes again;
it’s holiness or nothing
For me in this life…»
She writes a letter to the Vatican
«I'm gonna write a letter to Him:
Dear Pope, send me some soap and a bottle of Bombay gin»
A letter to the Vatican
«I'm gonna write a letter to Him:
Dear Pope, send me some hope or a rope to do me in»
And no one stops her
We all lend a hand
We all knew her before she was this mad
We just hold her until the shaking stops
Because the heart says only what the heart knows