Once Upon a Time in America Monologues

A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan 35 years later, where he must once again confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.

There were two things I couldn't get out of my mind. One was Dominic, the way he said, "I slipped," just before he died. The other was you. How you used to read me your Song of Songs, remember? "How beautiful are your feet / In sandals, O prince's daughter." I used to read the Bible every night. Every night I used to think about you. "Your navel is a bowl / Well-rounded with no lack of wine / Your belly, a heap of wheat / Surrounded with lilies / Your breasts / Clusters of grapes / Your breath, sweet-scented as apples." Nobody's gonna love you the way I loved you. There were times I couldn't stand it any more. I used to think of you. I'd think, "Deborah lives. She's out there. She exists." And that would get me through it all. You know how important that was to me?

You see, Mr Secretary... I have a story also, a little simpler than yours. Many years ago, I had a friend, a dear friend. I turned him in to save his life, but he was killed. But he wanted it that way. It was a great friendship. But it went bad for him, and it went bad for me too. Good night, Mr Bailey.

I hope the investigation turns out to be nothing. It'd be a shame to see a lifetime of work go to waste.

It's true I have killed people, Mr. Bailey. Sometimes to defend myself, sometimes for money. And many people used to come to us. Business partners, rivals, lovers. Some of the jobs we took, and some we didn't. Yours is one we would never touch, Mr Bailey.

I like the stink of the streets. It makes me feel good. And I like the smell of it, it opens up my lungs. And it gives me a hard-on.

You, Mr. Bailey? I haven't had a gun in my hand for many, many years. My eyes aren't too good, even with my glasses. My hands shake. And I wouldn't want to miss, Mr Bailey.

I always thought you might have helped yourself to that million bucks. But now I know. Yeah, you're on your ass worse than ever.

I'm not interested in friends from those places, and I don't trust politicians!

You're still acting like a street schmuck! You know, if we'd listened to you, we'd still be rolling out drunks for a living!

Yeah, well, I read about your troubles in the newspapers. But a man in your position, with all your power and all your privileges, has to assume a certain amount of responsibility… a certain amount of risk.

Where do you think? He's in the maternity ward. He never left. He got restless, so he wanted to change his bed. The other kids got the same idea, so they wanted to change their beds. You got thirty, forty screaming babies jumping from one bed to another, switching tags. So now we do have a real problem.

To keep from going crazy, you have to cut yourself off from the outside world, just not think about it. Yet there were years that went by. It seemed like… no time at all, because you're not doing anything.

You wanted a place by the ocean. I had it opened. It was closed for the season. All these tables are for two people. Pick whatever one you want.