[Verse 1]
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

[Pre-Chorus 1]
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

[Chorus]
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

[Verse 2]
"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
[Pre-Chorus 2]
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..."

[Chorus]
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