Honeydripper Page #3

Hm...

Seen black half of the country

headin' west.

Rode past the other half

coming back east.

Yeah, every one of us,

scraping for the next meal.

This is the place.

Y'all can tear things down.

Put things up.

It's got a lot of potential.

It looks bigger than it does from the

outside. Can I help you, gentlemen?

I'm just showing the man who

gonna run this place what he got.

This is my place.

You the piano player, right?

My name's Tyrone.

They call me Pine Top Purvis.

Pine Top Purvis.

You owe 200

to Lucky Hardaway up in Little Rock.

He gonna get his.

Pine Top...

You missed last month's rent.

After this weekend.

After this weekend, you gonna be

the same raggedy arse piano player

who can't pay off his debts.

Mr Simmons here,

he's gonna be the new proprietor.

Lucky give me two weeks.

Lucky got a better offer.

He can't do that.

You don't think so?

Whoa, now!

What if we got our payments

for him Monday?

Saturday night. We can do that.

Not just no taste.

The whole 200.

And I'll throw in a 25 cent tip

for his messenger boy.

In the meantime,

we're not open yet.

That means y'all trespassing.

See enough, Mr Simmons?

I believe I have.

Somebody could do something

with this place.

Wouldn't take a whole lot of work.

We cleared over 200 that one

A couple of years back.

And we didn't have no Luther on

the guitar with the playing meter.

They say it draws them like flies.

That's what they say.

They say first thing he does

is go to the man that owns a joint,

sticks out his hand and

watch that cash money put in it.

I already sent 50 to his manager.

How much you paying him all out?

Another hundred.

We need to clear 300! What I figure

is if we charge folks 2 to get in,

then the liquor...

What I'm saying is

'less he see that green up front,

the man won't get off the train!

HORN HONKS:

What's that now?

About time you fellas run by!

We're just about dry here!

Boss in?

Tyrone?

Whisky wagon come by.

Y'all a day late!

The old man Toussaint

gonna chew me out!

Toussaint went over

to another supplier upstate.

We just got you,

then we're over to the army base

to service the officers' club.

That's 56.

My credit no good anymore?

Whoa, whoa. What's your hurry?

Nobody in their right mind

sell liquor on credit,

especially not to no

dark town road house.

Listen, I got a special case, see.

We've got the harvest coming up.

Soldiers at the base gonna be let

off on leave Saturday night.

Ain't enough hooch in this truck

to satisfy what we gonna sell!

You pay as you go, that's business.

Look, you come back Monday,

get paid and take back

every damn drop that I don't sell.

OK, we got Guitar Sam

lined up here...

What... What if I throw in 5

up front for you fellas?

ENGINE STARTS:

Hey! Wait.

Come on, man!

Everybody gives credit!

It's the American way!

Maybe we could buy some Bushead

from Willie Pettigrew.

With that sheriff sniffing

'round me every night,

lay my black ass in jail for good.

Then what we gonna do?

# Move it on over,

move it on over... #

Got a load of liquor

for a Mr Lucien Toussaint.

That would be me.

I trust he got my cheque all right.

Don't suppose I'd be here

if they didn't.

Pull round to the back,

we'll help you unload.

This better be some Saturday night.

Arkansas. How about you?

We come here just after mama

met my stepdaddy.

Not much going on

in a little town like this.

They started up the training base

again. Is that right?

You been in the army?

Uh-huh.

You shoot people?

Fixed radios.

They say this new war

gonna be a short one.

Might be, might not.

I was in Japan.

Yeah?

What's the people like there?

Small. Yeah?

About...

that high.

Speak Japanese.

You been to California?

Los Angeles.

Where they make the movies?

You go to movies? I've been once.

A fine looking girl like you ought

to have been all kinds of places.

I'm going to 'em, I just...

First I'm going to beauty school.

When mama saves up the money.

Then I'll have a portable skill.

Like playing music?

My stepdaddy says that ain't a skill.

It's an affliction.

Come on, China Doll.

Business in town.

You gonna help wi' it.

And you young man, you wanna point

yourself west down that highway

about three miles

to the people working in the field.

It's harvest time.

If you can stoop and pull,

they got a job for you.

Wash up the dishes before you go.

What I need is for you

to go get friendly with Luther,

then I just happen in.

We can't just ask Mr Skinner?

Mr Skinner don't want nothing

from coloured folk,

but they buy his goods

and shine his shoes.

You go on ahead now.

GUITAR STRUMMING

# It was early

# Friday evening

# And the hound began to bark

# Staggolee and Billy Lyons

# Squabbling in the dark

# Staggolee told Billy Lyons

# "What do you think about that?

# "First you take all my money

# "Then you spits

in my Stetson hat"... #

I hate that damn song.

How you been keeping, Tyrone?

Well, just...

trying to hold it together.

You've got your beautiful young

daughter with you this morning.

Don't you be studying her.

I heard tell you gonna put

on a guitar man out at your place.

Where you hear that?

Oh... The breeze.

Well, this time the breeze know

what it's blowing about.

You'd better be careful, Tyrone.

Cos you know what them

guitar players are like.

You be careful yourself.

# He shot him in the shoulder

# Three times in the side

# That's the last time he shot him

# Poor Billy up and died

# Up and died. #

The time is ripe

and the bill is passed due.

You know Mr Roosevelt would've

done it already, only he died.

They don't listen to Miss Eleanor

no more but Mr Truman,

he's starting a band, especially now

that we got this war heated up.

Brother Randolph says...

Here it comes! The gospel

according to Randolph

Tyrone! How you doing?

Oh, got my nose above the waterline.

Here's my baby. What's up, Ty?

How your mama doing, China Doll?

She doing fine, Uncle Shack.

I'm just telling the boys here

about how Brother Randolph

pushing this deal how boys are gonna

be a full part of the service.

I carried a rifle in the Great War.

Boys get in the middle

of this Korea mess,

they ain't gonna thank you

for your efforts.

If we want our full due in this

country, we've got to go ho ho!

Black folk shooting yellow folk

to keep white folks happy?

We need to move on

from that kind of thinking.

Move right on, Shack. Then come back

and tell the rest of us how it is.

LAUGHTER:

That's a hard headed man.

I'd have to ask Mr Skinner.

Of course you would.

While you're at it, remind him how one

of the reasons coloured folks come here

is to get the low-down

on what's happening.

China doll! You gonna let us put

I don't think that will be

any problem at all.

That's awful nice of you, Luther.

You're looking special today.

That's sweet of you to say.

Maceo, you go with the man here,

he'll show you where

to put these up.

Darling, we've got a lot

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes