i never laid a hand on her in anger. not a day. not even when i's drinkin'. but this business got me wonderin' what a good shake and slap would do for her.
i didn't start this, r.l.
your mother's funeral. i's a pallbearer, remember?
if you come to talk about that muthafucka, i'm gonna get up and leave you sittin' pretty in that new suit he bought'cha.
say what you gotta say, but i ain't gonna hear you speak his name to me. not never. you hear?
carryin' on behind my back. make me out to look like a fool to all our people. tell me, what's friendly about that?
and you gonna live it with him?
rose. folks get sick. but you do what you can to get on the mend. our marriage.  it just got sick. that's all.
i keep the heat on.
kept us warm for twelve years.
better'n me?
rose.  please.
if we get with a counselor. at the church, maybe they's.
god forgive you, for how you done me.
my daddy told me that a younger woman would bleed me dry. and that's what you did. ya bled me.
would'a chopped my arm off if you asked. and this how you do me!
you better pray, gal. you better pray.
get me ten bags of mulch.
keep the change on that.
alright, lincoln. you come on by, i'll load you up.
they got blue snakes up north?
got'em pickin' peas, not strings.
mayella. it ain't happened yet. ain't happenin' tonight.
she can still spread it around.
i'm gonna finish my beer.
you laid it down.
funny. layin' it down.  for my wife.
you wanna give that a try? bo. you still got that .22 behind the tap? my little brother say he'd take a bullet for me. you come here to ease your heart. well, i ain't gonna give it to you. you took her into your bed, now you gotta lie in it.
cain slew able. slew him out of envy. and god put his mark on cain for his sin. you want that mark, deke? give you that peace you come here for? i'll give it to you, just say that shit again. say you love me. go'on! say you love me, nigga!
i'm through wit'cha both.
seem like you and me.  we drove her away. that's what we did. now we.  drinkin' muddy water.  a'sleep in a hollow log.
you gonna do this?
just like a bird without a feather, you know i'm lost without your love. just like a bird without a feather, you know i'm lost without your love. you know i need your love just like the angels need heaven above.
well i sure did shot my baby, but i did it because she did me wrong. well i sure did shot my baby, but i did it because she did me wrong. you know the judge called it murder now the penitentiary is my home.
i loved that woman, she said she didn't love no one but me. i loved that woman, she said she didn't love no one but me.
yeah but i caught my baby cheating.
now my home ain't where it used to be.
huh?
you gonna preach 'bout turnin' the other cheek?
don't know if god wanna see me.
mmmmmmmmmm.  mm!
sweet.  jesus.
little lady? miss? you need to open your eyes for me. could ya do that?
there we go. there we go. just like you doin'. go'on.
tehronne? tehronne done this?
i'm'a go into town. get you some medicine to fix you up. you just rest, okay, gal? you just sleep. get that chill out'cha.
god.  damn.
it's good, mister melvin. i'll bring ya some.
oh! gave me a start.
you hurt it?
been on the crop. may need to get some extra hands if i don't want to work on sundays.
angela?
i need to uh.
my little niece.  she got this deep cough.
no. no, she can't go. mean to say.  they's just no money fo'a doctor. her daddy left for a job, and uh.  give her to me to look on. i just.  i don't know what to do.
oh, she older than that.
this gonna get you in trouble?
thank you. oh. my wife. she had a card here for her migraine pills. she ain't gonna be around no more.  so if you.
don't make it less true.
need a word with tehronne.
word wit'cha. in private.
been years since i fooled with that. you know a white girl? dirty blond hair, split down the middle like?
huh?
this rae.  you get with her?
why you say that?
she like it rough? you like beatin' on her?
now, hold up.
you collar that dog, boy. i ain't gonna hurt nobody. just wanted to know who she was.
what'chu sayin'?
what'chu sayin'?
gal? miss rae? rae, you hear me?
hold on, now. hold on!
now, i ain't gonna hurt'cha. calm down, miss. listen.  listen.  listen now, gal! i ain't gonna hurt ya, hear? gotta get you well. now, look me.  hey! look me in the eye.
open your eyes. go'on, now. you need to see, ain't no harm here. ain't no harm. my name is lazarus woods. and i ain't gonna let you die.
i know, child, i know. gotta break that fever now. don't mean to hurt'chu. but i ain't lettin' you die. i ain't lettin' you die!
put fear of the devil in me, gal. got me spooked like i's a kid, i tell you. but the good lord, he showed me what to do. he come knockin' like my man r.l. say.  listen here.  this here matthew. he talkin' on how jesus was healin' the sick. and a man come up to the disciples and he say.  have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic, and sore vexed.  he got the devil in his mind and sores on his skin. and he brought the boy to the disciples, but they could not cure him.
then jesus answered and said, o faithless and perverse generation.  how long shall i suffer you? bring the boy hither to me. and jesus rebuked the devil. you hear that? then the disciples say.  why could not we cast the devil out? and jesus said unto them.
listen now.  this what he sayin' to us. he say.  if ye have faith.  if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto a mountain, remove hence.  and it.  shall.  move. and nothin'.  nothin' shall be impossible to you. you hear that? you just need a bit of faith. you just gotta believe you gonna get well, like i do.
that's better. you coolin' down. okay. you rest. okay. you rest.
gal? gal?
gal! you hearin' my voice?
you travelin' right now, gal. you asleep and you don't even know it. now.  come on inside with me.
come on, gal.
goin' over that hill. goin' over that hill. well, i ain't gonna stop until i reach my god's top. i'm goin' over the hill. well i went to the valley, i didn't go to stay. soul got happy, i stayed all day. i'm goin' over that hill.
what'chu sayin'?
uh-huh.
naw!
nuh-uh.
how a girl get like that?
tell me who's that writin'? john the revelator. wrote the book of the seven seals.
hey.
take it easy now. don't rush it.
you been in and out goin' on two.  maybe two days.
after your fever broke, you'd wake up in spells.  long enough to get that medicine in ya.
found you on the side of the road. someone took to beatin' on you pretty bad. you know who done that to you?
well i don't.
don't need none.
think it'd be best if you stayed put while we talk.
best try gettin' ya wits about you 'fore you try to.
let me say somethin' first.
way i see it, it's gonna take a while for you to get right.
i ain't laid a hand on ya but to ease yo fever.  remember like i say, i found you in the road.
now, no harm's come to you.  and i aim to keep it that way. ain't gonna.  gonna run a train over ya.  or however you call it.  see.  you was runnin' wild on me.  these fever dreams you was havin'.  these fits. i'd be chasin' you all night.
gal, you ain't right yet.
how you let men treat ya like they do?
these men you up under. how you let them do ya like that?
you know what i'm talkin' about. all that mess with ya teachers and.  boys in the backs of trucks.
i've saved ya life, gal. i can do and say whatever the fuck i want.
i give ya enough chain so's you can get about the house. get you to the kitchen. you need the bathroom, it'll reach.
we got everything we need. plenty of food. ya medicine still got a few good swallows in it.
god saw to it to put you in my path. and i aim to cure ya of your wickedness.
no ma'am.
in my house, you watch that lip.
you sick. you got a sickness.  we broke that fever.  we gonna break that hold the devil got on ya.
ain't gonna be moved.
gal! i ain't gonna be moved on this!
you can holla y'self hoarse. ain't gonna bend my will. right or wrong, you gonna mind me. gonna suffer you like jesus say, to the faithless and the perverse
now you get up! and you get in my house!
whose doin' is that?
say we talk. just take a seat on the sofa. i'll get us somethin' cool to drink.
you may not remember. but you spent a whole half day in my tub, tryin' to cool down. melted four ice trays.
wicked little bitch.  gonna cut me.
think i'm gonna let you do me like that.
okay, now.  i ain't gonna hit'cha. just lost my cool there. now take that look out'cha eye.
no, ma'am. you stop that foolishness.
i said.  stop!
you hungry?
i put some back ache into growin' them greens. you should slow down and see how they taste.
can't sit all day on that sofa. need to get your legs strong.
my daddy was one of the first mens to organize soil conservation in these parts. that's a group of farmers, you know, each season they'd rotate the crop. know why it's best to rotate em like that?
cuz once in a while soil need a change. corn take up a lot of nitrate in the fertilizer. so next crop what ya do is plant ya some soy beans. that give off a lot of nitrate. change keeps it all growin' and growin' strong. sting a bit?
means ya healin'. so all this farmin' make me think on matthew. matthew 13. the parable of the sower? man toss seed on rock, on the wayside, some fell in thorns.  you know the story?
the seed that land on good soil is for them who hear the word of god.  and understand the word of god. not enough for you to hear what i'm sayin', you gotta understand.
gal.  matthew ain't doin' shit.  this just a story.  look it. i've seen it in nature, i've seen it in men. ya got to change up your crop. cuz that seed ain't gettin' in. ya gotta cut this shit out. got no cause to be up under these fools, ruttin' on ya like you a bitch. like you somebody's dog. no woman.  who joins in union with almighty god.  or man.  in the sanctity of marriage.  should degrade herself.  and bend to another man's will!
my god, gal, don't you got no sense? i ain't sayin' i ain't weak? shit. playin' guitar in the blood-bucket jukes all ya life.  a nigga learn how to sin, let me tell you! i got sin in me! i ain't go'n lie! but i got respect! and all you got is bile, gal!
givin' up that switch like a tramp! behind my back and kill my baby!
didn't mean to go off on a tear like i did. i just got to thinkin' about things.
y'all know when ella mae's open up?
just some dresses.
i'm needin' some women's clothes. a few dresses. maybe some shoes. but they gotta be nice. they gotta be proper. clothes a woman would want, where she could feel and look like a woman without.  you know, lookin' like a tramp or a hussy or somethin'.
that young lady's size, right'cher.
mind i ask, what's all this business here?
for your hands?
i'll take a jar of that, too.
lookin' for miss angela.
i brung you a little basket of goodies. fresh squash, tomatoes, some okra, butter beans.
just wanted to say how much i appreciate you helping me the other day. my niece, she's cured up, and i got you to thank.
look here. i got somethin' special for you.
this here is a whipped.  body cream. and it's got a smell to it. tell me what you think.
they call this ginger souffle. best if it.  if it go on your skin just after you been in a hot tub.  or shower.
well. hope you enjoy it.
got all my honey-do's done with. i'm headin' home.
shit boy! what the hell you!
lincoln, come on back.
he's fine. just had a bad fall.
r.l., you gonna have to get on. i can't have nobody round my place.
this ain't got nothin' to do with that woman. just don't want nobody around me now.
you gotta go, r.l.  i ain't foolin' this time.
you ain't gonna talk me outta shit no more. i got my mind made up and i ain't gonna be moved on this.
got no place for preachin' here. not now. so you do as i say.
i told you to turn back!
man like you ought not take the lord's name like you just done.
i'm tellin' you the truth, dammit. i found her beat. left for dead. so i brung her home.
i haven't laid a hand. on my life, r.l., my wick is dry on this.
put yo'self in my shoes. say you out here, alone, with a beaten, half naked, white woman loves to fuck. i been toe to toe with the law in this town for no more than being black and nearby.
why don't you go'on and ask her. she need to talk wit somebody with sense. folks been ruttin' and beatin' on this gal all her days. and this is how i'm handling it.
go in and talk to her. please.
good. makin' steaks for supper. i expect you to come.
you treat folks special when they company. it's just supper, r.l., shit.
watch y'self in there. that girl'll jump on ya junk like a grasshopper.
did i hurt'chu?
what happened in there.  that won't your fault. ain't a young man alive could keep they britches on with that girl being in heat like she is.
that's between her and me. it's private. and i don't want you goin' off and tellin' ya daddy.
my mouth is shut, boy. and that's how we gonna keep it. don't go braggin' to ya buddies, ya heard me?
so.  that your first time?
you struck some gold, didn't ya?
shit. my first time was with my second cousin behind my uncle's barn. she weighed two tons, if a pound. could'a done a lot better for myself. you sho'nuf did.
now that's sharp. that is sharp. chain give you any trouble?
good. now i got the steaks on, potatoes at a boil, and biscuits ready to pop in the oven. r.l. and lincoln out yonder grillin' up the corn. what do you know how to make?
gal, i been around hard-cursin' folk all my life. and let me tell you.
if all you got is filth comin' out'cha mouth.  people just gonna tune ya out. rae. rae! i'm not fightin' with ya. i just know you got more in you than junk. now, you sayin' you don't know how to cook anything at all? you know how to boil water?
well, get to it.
y'all let me know if these steaks are too dry.
well, dig in, son. got plenty to eat.
ask the chef.
i'm dealin' with what god put before me.
not like that.
she's tied to me, r.l.  we tied to each other.
i'm through with them both.
you drink whiskey?
you take it straight?
to my baby brother. gonna be a daddy.
want another?
to freedom.
no joke.
not my place to change your mind, or anybody else's. people gonna do how they please. you only get one life.  should be lived the way you wanna live it.
if you want.  i can take you back to town now.
anything.
ain't played 'fore nobody in years.
funny how a sound just speak to ya heart.
wanted me some kids. a whole mess of 'em. but rose, my wife.  chil'ren was for another time. they's this one spring.  i saw a change in her. her breasts start swellin' up. come a few mornings i hear her heavin' in the bathroom. i seen it with women before. i knew.
come a day, rose say she had to go visit her folks in jackson. didn't want me to come.  so i stayed put. when she come back.  they talk about a woman havin' that glow. couldn't see it no more. she.  took it away. cut it out.
one night.  while she sleepin'. held a pillow in my hands. i could see myself killin' her. what evil in my heart make me wanna kill her, i don't know? it's that voice in me. each time i think it's gone, he come howlin' back. devil or no, i don't know. but i am a haunted man.
calls me when i'm ailing. when i can't find my home, lost in the pines. i calls it the black snake moan. mm-mm.  got no momma now.mm-mm.  got no momma now.it's over late last night, don't need no momma now.
mm-mm.  black snake crawlin' in my room.mm-mm.  black snake crawlin' in my room.some pretty momma better come and get this black snake soon.
black snake is evil, black snake is all i see.black snake is evil, black snake is all i see.woke up this mornin', black snake moved in on me.
my life is gone. only life i was livin'. and i lost it.
i had love in my heart. and i gave it to one woman. and she gone now. where am i gonna put all this love?
wait.  i gotta stop.  rae stop.  dammit, rae.  get off!
this ain't the way for me. i'm sorry.
tell me what to do.
you just havin' a fit. you ain't goin' nowhere.
no one's gonna hurt you no more.
we'll just stay here. wait till it passes.
right here. be here all afternoon. you ready for this?
this town ain't goin' nowhere. you take the time you need.
friend of mine.
you liked what i brung ya?
that'd be nice.
that's nice, too.
at church?
you gonna sing me somethin'?
come on, just a little somethin'. right here. go'on now, don't be shy.
rae? gal? you hearin' my voice?
i'll take you home now.
move, son. goddammit, kid, get outta my way!
i tried.
you and me, we night owls. no use fightin' this shit. get up.
what is it?
get'chu at that table up yonder.
you can handle it.
the hell is this shit?
the fuck are all these people doin' here? been drinkin' in this shit hole for years ain't seen this many people since i don't know.
nigga, you go'on kiss my ass. ya both called everybody, didn't ya?
there you go, preacher man. get me drunk so i don't stick my foot up yo ass.
we ain't here to talk about that shit.
i don't know, but i been around, tell me them women shake 'em on down.
yes, i'm goin' georgia line. see if them women sweet like mine.
i don't know, but i been told, them georgia women sweet jelly roll.
yeah, gal i been here before.
don't think that'd be wise.
i know you didn't. but you a grown girl. you can handle it. i got to.
looks like you know a song.
how you feelin' today?
i know that.
go'on and sing it, i'll play.
stop that foolishness. just do as i say and close your eyes. close your eyes. and think about.  well, for a song like this, i'd say you think about what you love.
get a good picture in your mind.
think on that. and sing wit me. you are my sunshine. my only sunshine.
good. i know another. it go like this. last night dear, as i lay sleeping. i dreamed i held you in my arms. when i awoke dear, i was mistaken. so i hung my head and i cried. close your eyes rae.  sing it.
careful how you point that gun, boy.
boy? you here to make a point, or you here to kill somebody?
you sayin' you'll do what?
boy! you so green you couldn't stomp a baby duck.
test. shit. what kind'a test you thinkin'? you mean like, if you a man or not? if you a killer? only one way to prove that. you just look me in the eye, boy, and you squeeze that trigger back.
ain't that easy, is it? i been in some scraps, son, i know. first there's that loud crack. always louder than you think. like it just come-up- a-cloud and clapped a mess thunder right in ya hand. bam!
white light. smell of smoke. taste of my blood and brains in your mouth, stingin' ya eyes.
boy! you keep that gun pointed at me! you need to kill a man, all you gotta have is a good reason. you know she been here with me, don't cha? been all over town, givin' up that switch you thought was your own.
put all your love and dreams into one woman.  she turn around and give it all to another man. that's a good reason to paint the wall with me, kid. she'd fear ya then. cuz there won't be no more question in her mind. she with a real man now. a real killer!
son, i'm grown. don't got patience to suffer you children and this monkey junk. i'm too old to play house.  . and cowboys. so let's have it. end me or get out of my face!
go'on. do it. do it!
thought you knew me better, gal. i need you at my house.  right now.
like a man.
hey. you wasn't at'cha work but that nosey gal up at the counter give me your home address. hope you don't mind me comin' over.
i need ya help again.
can i come in?
i lied to you. it was wrong. but at the time.  i didn't know what to do. imagine you got an earful from folks about that gal i's carryin'.
yes, i do. cuz i feel for you. mean to say.  i got feelings for you. and i didn't want you to think.  i didn't.  i don't want you to go away. there's better ways to say what i'm trying to say, but.  they it is. don't go away.
i do. god's truth. i do.
that'll do.
don't see generosity much these days. everything always got a catch. guess i'm tryin' to say.  thank you.
now that's sharp. that's real sharp. miss ella mae set you up, didn't she? you like it?
well, this one's yours now. you ready to take care of it?
now.  let's stop that. you and me.  we can handle this. you hear me, gal? we gonna be just fine. now live ya life. pull your shit together and live your life.
maybe i won't.
i do.
you got her now?