Effie: I'm sorry I'm late.

C.C. : Effie.

Effie: C.C., sorry I missed rehearsals¹. But I went to the doctor, and I am feeling much better now.

C.C. : Look, don't try to make it tonight.

Effie: What are you talking about, baby? It's New Year's Eve.

C.C. : Yeah. Curtis just stepped out to make a call. Why don't you go up to your room and later he'll come up and talk to you?

Effie: I said, I'm fine. Excuse me. I have to get dressed now.

Woman: Oh, God, I'm so nervous. I got all the steps down, but those harmonies²...

Effie: C.C., what's going on? Lorrell, what's going on?

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 warned³ me
But that would have been too kind

Curtis: I've been warning⁴ you for months to clean up your act.
You've been 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 lyin', lyin'
I've never been so thin!
You're lyin', you're lyin'
'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, non-professional?

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 too long
I have put up with your bitching
I've put up with your nagging
And all your screaming, too

Lorrell: 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 ganging⁶ 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?

Curtis: 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 rant⁷ 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're in this with him, C. C.?

C. C. : Cool it, Effie
This time you know what you done

Effie: So they bought your black ass⁸, 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!

Woman: I don't want to stay around this
I'm just breakin' into this business
This is between all of you
This is none of my affair

Effie: Yeah?
Well, it's between you, too
Now, little sister
This snow job is as much your sin
Look at me! Look at me!
How much did you put out to get in?

Woman: Now, you watch your mouth
Watch your mouth, Miss Effie White
'Cause I don't take that talk
From no second-rate diva
Who can't sustain⁹

Effie: I'm not feeling well, I've got pain

All: Effie, we all got pain!

妙语佳句，活学活用

1. Clean up one's act

意思是"to stop doing things that other people do not approve of and start to behave in a more acceptable¹⁰ way"，例如：There's a very strong anti-press feeling at the moment. A lot of people think it's time they cleaned up their act.

此外，clean up 还可泛指一切"bring to a certain standard of order or morality"的行为，例如：This script¹¹ won't do; we'll have to clean up the language.

2. Gang⁵ up on someone

Gang up 的意思是"联合起来一致行动，通常是对抗/攻击另一方"，例如：The older children were always ganging up on the little ones.

3. Lay off

这里的意思是"Stop doing something, quit"，例如：Lay off that noise for a minute, so the baby can get to sleep. C.C. 这里的意思是要Effie 不要再纠缠不清了。

Lay off 在俚语中还可以用来警告别人"不要再烦我"：Lay off or I'll tell the teacher.

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