Honeydripper Page #6

what I hearing.

Somebody we could find?

Hell, I don't know,

just some story I heard.

Must have been the first one.

First what?

Back in slavery days, them's the

one that work in the big house.

Might not have had shoes always,

the pants didn't have no holes in

them, they didn't pick no cotton.

House n*ggers. Yeah, that's

how they call them.

They had all their

African kinds of instruments.

Drums, shakers,

some kind of banjo thing.

But the piano...

They didn't bring no piano

over on those ships from Africa.

The piano was just sitting there,

in the white folks' big room,

all polished up.

I'd figure this...

first one...

He must have passed by

15, 20 times a day.

Run the corner of his eyes over it.

You see,

he was there when they'd play.

The masters.

Their minuets.

PLAYS A MINUE Him standing there,

with a tray of white people's food.

Pretending not to have

a thought in his head.

But he...

He's watching them fingers.

He's watching where them keys were.

See, this old boy, the first one,

he knows how to play all

them kinds of African instruments.

He could play mud if you

gave him a key and a tempo.

Yeah, he got music in his head

and his heart.

In every damn piece of him

there's music.

Then one day...

...The master's away.

And he alone in that room,

with that piano.

Watch out now.

And he goes over

and he sits down on the bench.

And he spreads his fingers over it,

the way he's seen

that minuet player do.

And he thinks...

PLAYS CHORD:

And he thinks...

..."Lord help me."

"I could do some damage

with this thing."

I would have liked

to have been there.

I mean...

Just to hear the cat play.

Mace...

I'm gonna lose my club.

If old man Toussaint find out

you stole his liquor,

you're likely to lose

more than that.

I got no more cards to play.

If you was to go down

to see Lucky Hardaway in person...

I ain't kissing up to no cokey-nose,

coke-headed a**hole!

What the hell that supposed to be?

Some kind of guitar.

A guitar got a hole in it.

That's how the sound come out.

That boy must be three bricks shy

of a load upstairs.

Daddy! They've gone and

arrested him! Arrest who?

Sonny! The High Sheriff arrested him

and sold him to Judge Gatlin!

Sonny who?! Sonny that was

here yesterday morning!

Sonny that got a screw loose?

That's why they arrested him!

Mace? Play something on that,

make some noise there.

GUITAR STRUMS:

It's electric.

I could plug a chunk of stovewood

in a wall and it'd get more music

than you'd get out of that mess!

Nah, man.

No, man, it don't work

unless it's hooked up to the juice!

See, you got the juice, you don't

need the hollow inside that box.

The music just runs straight from

the strings, through the wire...

...And out of your amplifier...

...Which is what this thing must be.

Sonny said he fixed radios

in the army.

Sonny didn't do nothing

but feed bed bugs in anybody's army.

And some of them caught in his head.

I'm surprised he's even got

the wit to pick cotton.

Judge Gatlin done bought himself

a drooling idiot.

What you gonna amplify Daddy?

Unless you're gonna sit

over in your chair

and play those little Aside, man.

Sitting over there,

looking all clean and polite.

The guitar ain't been up front,

since those old pissing

moan blue shouters

sit their blind asses on the corner

hollering for pennies!

Old-time music. Daddy?

Sonny didn't do nothing

to get arrested for.

He was just looking for work.

They've hung coloured boys

for less than that, darling.

Least on the work gang they feed

them, keep their strength up.

But he doesn't belong there.

You know, Guitar Sam plays him

an electric.

But I don't think it's

this no-hole kind of deal.

Hope he plugs it into

the wrong socket some night

and electrocutes

his sorry, no-show ass.

Mace?

Now, if he showed up here

and our power went out again,

while he was playing...

Nah, I fixed it good this time, Ty.

Eh...

So he comes out, and he plugs

his axe into the wall...

He'd come out looking good,

from what I hear!

All kinds of spangly pants

and jacket!

Got his name spelt out on the back!

The clothes, right?!

All slick and shiny!

Flash them gold teeth at them gals!

Got his sax man behind him.

Maybe a piano, harmonica and drums.

Hey, you remember that night

at the Esquire Club,

when the lights went out in Mobile?

Yeah, and they took off

with the gate.

Just stole the damn register

right off the counter!

They didn't hold Reggie Porter

for it, did they?!

Nah! They knew it was

this place got robbed!

Did nobody hold it to Reggie Porter?

And nobody expected

their money to come back.

No, cos they was too busy

diving for the pot

and that trump game got interrupted.

And nobody suspected that it might

have been Reggie Porter hisself!

Hisself that pulled the lights!

No.

No, Ty. No.

No. No. No.

China Doll! You mind the place till

we get back. Hey, come on, Mace.

Where you going, Daddy?!

I promised the people Guitar Sam,

and they're going to get Guitar Sam!

Come on, Mace,

let's get out of here!

We've got work to do.

Why are you so interested

in this boy?

Got a job for him.

You must be doing pretty well

for yourself out there, Tyrone.

You're hiring new people on.

Passing well, yeah.

But this boy... Name is Sonny.

Uh-huh.

Well, he's paying off his debt

to society right now.

If I was to pull him

out of the field...

Judge Gatlin paid for your day

of prison labour.

You willing to pay for him

for the duration of his sentence?

Which might be? As long as

I care to make it.

Well, I was counting on...

more of a one-time deal.

If I can rent him out50.

It's not just the money.

There's legalistic principles

involved here. Public safety issues.

I'll pay you Sunday morning.

You going to pay me now,

or you can forget about it.

I don't have it now.

Hm.

You think you're too smart for

the rest of us, don't you, Tyrone?

Think you can go it all by yourself.

You'd rather eat roofing nails

than come to me for a favour now,

wouldn't you?

It's not a favour

if I'm gonna pay for it.

Oh, you're gonna pay all right.

If you don't hand over that money

to me by Sunday morning,

you've got yourself a new partner.

Same deal as I got with Toussaint.

What'll that be?

You'll get the 50.

And that wife of yours.

Delilah? Mm-hm.

Them fried chicken sandwiches.

If I was to come by now and then

and check in on my interests?

She be happy to fix you

whatever you want.

Good. Cos my wife's cooking

would gag a maggot.

Different people got different kinds

Yeah.

Well Lurleen ain't discovered

what hers is yet.

Let's go fetch that boy.

Is this the one you want? Mm.

You got any ideas about running

rabbit on me, best get rid of them now.

Are you paying my way out?

Till Monday.

How come?

You like dragging that cotton sack?

No. Then don't ask questions.

# Why don't you do right

# Like some other men do... #

This size, right?

But it's got to shine.

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