(C.C.)

Effie, Curtis was supposed to…

(Effie)

Love me! Curtis was supposed to love me!

(Curtis)

There you are, Effie. I’ve been looking all over.

(Effie)

I turn my back and find myself out on the line. 

You could have warned me but that would have been too kind.

(Curtis) 

I’ve been warning you for months to clean up your act. 

You’ve be late, you’ve been mean, giving all kinds of bullshit flack.

(Effie)

That’s a lie! That’s a lie! It’s just I haven’t been feeling that well.

(Curtis)

Effie, please. Stop excusing yourself. 

You’ve been late; you’ve been mean and getting fatter all the time.

(Effie)

Now you’re lying! You’re lying! I’ve never been so thin. 

You’re lying! You’re lying ‘cause you’re knocking off that piece

who thinks she’s better than everybody. 

She ain’t better than anybody. She ain’t nothing but common.

(Deena)

Now who you calling common you self-indulgent, self-absorbed nonprofessional?

(Effie)

You! I’m calling you; I’m calling you the common piece he’s knocking off!

(Deena)

Now you listen to me, Miss Blame-It-On-The-World. 

See, I’ve put up with you for much to long. I have put up with your

bitching. I’ve put up with your nagging and all your screaming too!

(Lorrell)

Oh, now when are you two gonna stop all this fighting?

(Effie)

Stay out of this, Lorrell! This is between Deena and me.

(Lorrell)

Yeah? Well, it’s between me too. 

I’m as much a part of this group as anybody else and I’m tired. 

Effie, I’m tired of all the problems you’re making us.

(Effie)

I always knew you two were together.

(Lorrell)

What?

(Effie)

I always knew you two were ganging up on me.

(Deena)

She had nothing to do with this change. It was you. 

It was you always thinking of you, always thinking of you.

(Curtis)

I knew you were trouble from the start.

(Effie)

Trouble?

You were real bad trouble from the start….

(Effie)

Curtis I’m your woman

(Curtis)

But you’re getting out now. I’m not building this group to have you tear it apart. 

Go ahead and rant and scream and shout.

Don’t worry baby, I’ll buy you out.

(Effie)

There’s no money dirty enough to buy me out. You remember that, Curtis.

(C.C.)

Lay off, Effie. Just take the money and run.

(Effie)

You in this with them, C.C.?

(C.C.)

Cool it, Effie. This time you know what you’ve done.

(Effie)

So they bought your black ass too, huh?

(C.C.)

I said cool it, Effie. This time you’ve gone too far.

(Effie)

Oh I can go further. I can go further.

(Michelle)

I don’t want to stay around this. I’m just breaking into this business. 

This is between all of you. This is none of my affair.

(Effie)

Yeah? Well, it’s between you too now, lil’ sister. 

This snow job is as much your sin. Look at me. Look at me. 

How much did you put out to get in?

(Michelle)

Now you watch your mouth, watch your mouth Miss Effie White, 

‘cause I don’t take that tone from some second-rate dive who can’t sustain.

(Effie)

I’m not feeling well. I got pain.

(Deena, Curtis, C.C., Lorrell, Michelle) 

Effie, we all got pain.

(Effie)

Oh for seven years I sung with you. I was your sister.

(Deena, Curtis, C.C., Lorrell, Michelle) 

You were our trouble.

(Effie)

And now your telling me it’s all over?

(Deena, Curtis, C.C., Lorrell, Michelle) 

And now we’re telling you it’s all over.

(Effie)

And now I’m telling you I ain’t going.

(Deena, Curtis, C.C., Lorrell, Michelle) 

It’s all over.

(Effie)

I ain’t going.

(Deena, Curtis, C.C., Lorrell, Michelle) 

It’s all over.