[ROSE]
Hello, Pa
It's long distance
It's your brand new Southern daughter

[ROSE, spoken]
It's Rose

[ROSE]
Oh, everything is fine here, I suppose
How's the Hudson River?

I'm fine, just fine
I'm learning the lingo
Magnolia, camelia, azalea, y'all
The temple, get this
Has Sunday night bingo
Just like the goyim
Oy
A long distance call
So much to tell
The boy still hates me
I really shouldn't be talking so loud

He leaves money in his pockets
And that really grates me
I tell him and tell him it's not allowed
Just shucking your laundry—
[ROSE, spoken]
You hear that? "Shuck?"
I'm a Southerner already—

[ROSE]
Onto the floor
Take the money out first
God knows we're not poor
But show respect for your father
He worked hard for that buck—

[ROSE, spoken]
Well, no, not a whole buck, he's a boy
But loose change, quarters
Those add up

[ROSE]
The Negro maid
She's making bupkes
How does that look?
Leaving change in his pockets?
Indifferent to money
The kid's a little funny
Spoiled and quiet
Sad, I guess
I'm on a diet
I bought a new dress
Stu's giving lessons, playing, doing fine
The work is steady
He still misses Betty
I don't mind
I miss her too
She was my best friend
I miss the city
I miss the old crowd—
[ROSE, spoken]
What?
Well, because we haven't got—
No, we can't give her a raise, Pa
Pa, we aren't rich, we're just plain folk
We've only got bupkes ourselves
We're broke
It's typical
You obsess about the maid
While your daughter's miserable
No, not miserable, I never said—
It's not what I meant
I'm just not
Just not

[ROSE]
A hundred percent
It's very hot, and very damp
And out in the backyard there's a little swamp
Full of noisy frogs
Last night I cried

[ROSE, spoken]
I miss you, Pa

[ROSE]
I miss the Upper West Side