(Water dripping)
(Bluesy harmonica play)
(Coughs)
Damn!
(Coughs)
(Whistles)
(Whistle replies)
Shot in the hole
Danny! What in god's name are you doing i got a shot set up
Back there
Word come down from turley
(Indiscernible)
They brung it down to 90 cent a ton
Damn!
Them dagos are holding fast in #3
He says take it or leave it
Sephus what we gonna do?
Hit were 19 and 20 in the southwest field and things were
Tough
The miners was trying to bring the union to west virginia
The coal operators and their gun thugs was set on keeping em out
¶(mining song)�
Them was hard days, they paid you by the ton and they didn't
Care no more for a man that'd done for a draft mule
Them was hard people, your coalminer then they wasn't
Nobody you wanted to cross
¶(mining song)�
So push come to shove and pretty soon we had us a war down there
In mango county
Which in them days was known as bloody mango
That's where it all come to a head, there on tug fork
In the town of matewan
We done it mama, we gonna have the union
(Conductor talking) (train stopping)
(Indiscernible talking)
What in the hell are we stopping for?
Step down gentleman this here will be your new home
How come we ain't getting off in town?
-Just get in line
(Yelling)
(Train horn blows)
I'm gonna kill him!, kill him!
Get on the train! Get on!
C'mon bill!
Come on! Come on bill!
Gimme your hand man
-Get out of here!
When do we get to matewan? -You don't want to go there
Mister, ain't nothing but crazy people
Hi
Everybody was here, then the got worried and the gone on up the
Line a ways
Some kind of union bizness
Yeah i saw -You best steer clear of it
My names bridey mae tolliver
Uh, joe kenehan
Uh, you know
Radner's boarding house? -Big white house
Right on past the coal dock, she's a real sourpuss though
Elma radner
Thank you
You gonna be in town long?
It depends
I'll see you around
I hope so
These picks and shovels are to be considered a loan
From the stone mountain coal company
They're costs will be deducted from your first months' pay
Tool sharpener provided by the company's 25 cents a month
Use of the wash house is 75 cents a month
Medical doctor provided by the company is 2 dollars a month
Special procedures extra
Your train ride here provided by the company will be deducted
From your first months' pay
Your pay will be issued as company script
Redeemable for all goods and services at the stone mountain
Company store
Purchases of any items available at the company store from
Outside merchants will result in firing without pay
What's to keep y'all from jacking up the prices at your
Store?
Name?
Johnson, they calls me few clothes
Powder, fuses, lamps, head gear, all appropriate clothing will be
Available at the company store
And stone mountain will generously advance you a month's
Supply of these items
Payment to be deducted
I'm going to take you over to camp now where you'll be living
There is some italian gentleman that are very eager to meet you
Rentals will be for one room, 250 a month
Company rule, no more than two people to one room
Children included
Electricity where that is feasible will be 1 dollar a
Month
Mrs. Radner?
Yes.
My name is joe kennehan
I'm going to be in town for a bit and your place here was
Recommended
What do you do?
Uh, i guess i'm looking for work
You with the company?
The company? -If you ain't with the company,
There ain't no work
Look mister don't act a lamb with me, what's your business
Here -Mama!
Mama it's hillard the scabs done it mama off the line a mile they
Was all colored this time, they bust his nose
You got any ice?
Some in the back -Fetch me two chunks about this
Big and a piece of rag
You a doctor? -No, but i seen my share of
Broken noses
Now just put it up in the air buddy just like your watching
The clouds
We'll get that bleeding stopped
(Indiscernible)
Say what? -He said he got his licks in
Seems to be all the men around here care about wives starving
So they can get their licks in
It's just frustration is all
And you can't take care of them you care about
I know it ain't their fault
Here you go -This freezes up all them little
Veins inside
It's just so they close up and they don't let any more blood
Out
You a doctor?
No.
I'm just a guy looking for a place to stay
5 dollars a week cash
That includes dinner and clean sheets
Hope i'm not making a mistake
Name is joe kennehan
Mostly i work for the railroads laying track
Kansas, missouri
I went out west for a bit and worked in a lumbar camp
A little of whatever pays an honest dollar
I'm a coalminer at least until we come out i was had me over in
Section 3 i was a trapper boy
Ain't you a little young? -I'm almost 15
There are some in there younger than me
Of course with the strike now i work mostly on running this
Place
I help a little don't i?
It's gonna be a long one
That superintendent at stone mountain he said
He'd go broke before he let one union sumbitch so much as step
Into his coalmines
-Danny sorry ma'am but that's what he
Said
Daniel is a preacher -Is that so?
You ought to hear him testify
What church you with?
Well round here there's the missionary folks they are hard
Shell baptist and then there's the free will folks which is
Your soft shell baptist
Right now i preach for both
(Knock at door)
Ill get it
Daniel is gonna preach tonight over at the missionary
I never was religious myself
It's sephus mama
Hello elma
Ms. Knightes
Have a seat -I come to have a word with your
New boarder
If he don't mind
Excuse me
Claims he's the fella the union sent us
Can you prove it?
Don't take nothing to have a card printed up
I guess you'll just have to trust me
Who wrote the iron hill
Jack london -Where's joe hillbury dead?
All over the world they scattered his ashes
Which eye is big bill hayward missing?
His right one -How did frank little die?
Bute, montana, they hung him from a railroad trestle
You know your stuff
I was with the wobbley's -Me too
Back when it meant something
One big union -Not around here buddy
C.E. Lively
This is my restaurant, fellas are waitin'
They don't give a damn whether we live or die
Just so long as they get the coal out of the ground
They had us pulling pillars and the roof was working, you know
Like it does before it's going to fall down
If i say i ain't dying in here and walk away
They'll put me down in some damn puddle in a 2 foot seam
And no air to breathe..A man can't mine coal that way
They're just pushing us further than we can go
The check wayman he'll take 50 pound off your load for slate
When there ain't a pebble in it
It's down in the bottom where they ain't looking for it
Then they raise the prices that the company store the same god
Damn week that they lower the tonnage rate
And they still ain't rock dusted that damn hole
Who am i talking about? -Jesus
I can't hear you? -Jesus!
I still can't hear you? -Jesus!!
Jesus christ our lord do you know his name?
Hallelujah, say yeah
Have you felt the warming comfort of his precious love
Praise jesus
Praise his holy name
Parise his blessed spirit
Praise his everlasting love jesus christ our lord
Listen to me now, listen to me
The prince of darkness
Is upon the lion
Amen
-In the bible his name is beelzebub
Lord of the flies
Right now on earth today
His name is bolshevick
Socialist!, communist!, union man
Lord of untruth sower of evil seed, enemy of all that is good
And pure and this creature
Walks among us
What are we going to do about it?
First thing we got to have is all of these niggers and all
These dagos that come in here to take our jobs thrown out of the
Mines
Mines hell! They got 'em in our houses, they're setting at our
Tables right now
And they're sleeping in our beds while we're out living under a
Piece of canvas at the back of the holler
I been a union man my whole life
I know the story with these coal operators and their gun thugs
The only thing they understand is the bad end of a bullet
If we show them, we just assume blow up their damn mines than
Seen them worked by a bunch of scabs and then they gonna listen
Someone is coming, it's alex. He got someone
Where did you find him?
He come right up on the steps
They told me that c.E. Lively is where the union mens meet
So?
I biznus wit the union
That's so?
What's your name son?
They calls me few clothes (laughs)
I didn't come here looking for no trouble
A mans got to eat
-So why don't you go eat, back where you come from?
They told me that they was jobs here
Go home nigger -God damn scab
You watch your mouth peckerwood
I been called nigger and i can't help that the way white folks is
But i ain't never been called no scab!
And i ain't fixin to start up now
I got ton for ton loading coal with any man here
And when i do, i expects the same dollar for the same work
You get out of this hollar alive son you be doin' good for
Yourself
Union men my ass!
You want to be treated like men
You want to be treated fair
You ain't men to that coal company
Your equipment
Like a shovel, a gondola car
A hunk of wood brace
They'll use you till you wear out or you break down
Or your buried under a slate fall and then they'll get a new
One
And they don't care what color it is or where it comes from
It doesn't matter how much coal you can load
Or how long your family has lived on this land
If you stand alone you just so much sh*t to those people
You think this man is your enemy?
Huh?
This is a worker
Any union keeps this man out
Ain't a union
It's a god damn club
Now they got you fighting white against colored
Native against foreign, holler against holler
When you know there ain't but two sides to this world
Them that work and them that don't
You work
They don't
That's all you got to know about the enemy
You say you got guns
Well i know that you all are brave men
And i know you could shoot it out with the company if you had
To
But the coal company don't want this union
And the state government don't want it
The federal government don't want it
And all of them just waiting for an excuse to come down and crush
Us to nothing
Fellas we're in a hole full of coal gas here
The tiniest spark at the wrong time is going to be the end of
Us
So we got to pick away at this situation slow
And careful
We got to organize and build support
We got to work together
Together!
Till they can't get their coal out of the ground without us
Because we're a union
Case we're the workers damn it! And we take care of each other
How can we shut the mines down if we don't dynamite them
The men walk out
All of them
Fat chance
And every man that walks out on his own steam
We take into the union
All the dagos and all the colored?
That's what a union is fellas
You better get used to it
So this fella owns a vineyard, goes out first thing one morning
And he hires some workers
Says he'll give 'em a dollar for the day which was decent wages
In biblical times
Well then he's at the marketplace and he sees some
Other fellas and he hires them
And some more at noon and some at 2 and some at 5 and every
Time it's the same deal
A dollar for the day and he's hiring all day long right up
Till 1 hour before quitting time
Look we're real sorry to barge in on you like this
But it's come to a point where we got to talk to you
Now i know you people got it hard coming to a new country
You don't know the rules
Don't know how things work
You don't know sh*t about mining coal that's for sure
They been dying like flies in that #3 hole
But how it is
You don't have a whole lot of choice in this thing
You know what a union is?
Cindagato cindagato?
What the situation is
We need every.. -We join the union they shoot us
We no join the union you shoot us
Well, that's one way of looking at it
Those dagos are driving me crazy
Now what's he playing? -Shhhh
Now who's that?
(Harmonica playing)
Peckerwood is gone pass
Union men will be up in a few minutes
What we talking here for? -You want to walk back to
Alabama?
The sun goes down and he sends for his foreman and he says to
Go pay off the workers starting with the ones he picked up just
An hour ago and to pay everyone of them the same dollar a day
And of course the fellas that went out first
Is roped off about this
So they get to agitating, complaining so loud that the
Owner come up and he says look it
We dealt for a dollar and that's what you get
And what i pay anybody else is none of your look out so there
Now that's all the gospel story says except for the moral jesus
Drew out of it
And so jesus says
Thus it will be in the kingdom of heaven the first will be last
And the last will be first
Now it's clear from this parable
That jesus hadn't heard nothin' about the union
If he was walking the earth today and seen the situation we
Got with these coal operators he'd changed his tune
A man deserve an hourly wage he'd say for those the pit be
Gassy and the face full of slate, a man still toileth by
The sweat of his brow
And what's a better deal here on earth, no matter i got in store
For him in the hereafter
Praise jesus!
Kennehan
Out kinda late aren't you?
I met some people and we got to talking
Talking?
Yeah
Who are you?
Name is sid hatfield
I'm chief of police around here
It ain't against the law to talk is it?
Depends
I take care of my people
You bring them trouble you're a dead man
Sleep tight kennehan
Hi
Well, look at this grigsy they got up a little reception
Committee for us
(Laughs)
What is your name honey? -Bridey mae tolliver
You like to watch the trains come and go bridey mae?
Yeah
And the people that come into town
There been a lot of new people coming here lately ?
A few
Fella named joe kennehan show up?
Maybe
Are you married bridey mae?
I was
He got killed in the mine
That's too bad
Did you hear that grigsy he got killed in the mine
It's a shame
Was your husband a union man while he was living?
No. He said it wouldn't never take hold down here
He sounds like a smart fella
I think that you are real pretty you know that bridey mae
Thank you
Don't you think she's pretty grigsy?
You are the best looking mountain trash i've seen in a
Long while
We'll see you around
Let's roll grigsy
The sooner we get out of this sh*thole the better
I was putting up blackberry's when tremel blankenship come
Shouting up the hollar that the #5 had blown
I remember i took the pot off the stovetop and warshed up my
Hands before i went down
It took two days to dig through
Then when they brung 'em up you couldn't tell which was which
They found blood on the walls from fellas trying to claw their
Way out
Mrs. Elkins, mrs. Mounts, bridey mae
We all lost our men in that fire
Danny was 7 then
Now he's back in that same hole
How did it start?
Coal dust gets hanging in the air down there and there is a
Spark
Hey could spray the walls down but the company says it costs
Too much
It was..Uh, was sid hatfield ever a miner?
Not for long me don't like to be closed in sid
He's always real friendly, smiling sid
Then the war come
Cable testerman got to be the mayer
He made sid chief of police and then the girl that cable
Married..Well...
I don't want you using danny on no crazy union business
A man has to stand up for what he believes in
Danny ain't no man..
Look it mister you gonna be movin' on
Win or lose your gonna walk out of this holler and we gotta stay
Here
I intend to leave a union when i go
My husband used to talk union
I seen where it got him
-Mama people out front mama
Sorry mister we're full up -Not anymore your not sonny
Stone mountain sent us down here -We're still full up
Can i help you gentleman? -These two are trying to push
Their way in here, i told them it wasn't no use
I don't see where you got any say in the matter
If my mama says you can't stay here then you can't that's all
Danny!
Keep out of this
Look, i only got one room left
Well then somebody is going to have to move don't they?
Let me see your register? -You ain't seen nothin'
Lady we're here as guests of the stone mountain coal company,
They own this house
Good morning
You fellas movin' in?
-Yeah -No
Well you wont find a better night's sleep anywheres in town
It's a shame i got to move over to the hotel it's
Business you know
So you mind if i settle my bill ma'am?
Danny, you sign these two gentleman in
Don't think the company isn't going to hear about this
Boy sometimes you got to bend so as you don't break
Food's awful at the hotel
Mattress got lumps
Probably cooties too
I'll be all right
I'll get my things -Thank you
Now, let's mine down here
Maybe we get some luck, get a hold of something solid
Give the top a little poke
Now, if you get a ranging sound your all set
Nice solid top over your head
You get a hollow sound
Like a drum that says it's sagging a bit
You gotta put in another post
You did coal a long time? -Since i was 10
We make a shoe, everybody in the same fabric in milano
Make a shoe
-Shoes
You make shoes
As soon as they get that union they'll send us back
It could be
But you try and head out of here now, you be on all that money
Like they say company shoot you for a thief
We just be slaves up here, they own our black asses
Gentleman
-Hey few i got a question for you
Yes
Now suppose they let us in this union like they say, we gonna
Have to work with them italian people?
(Laughs)
C'mon babies
C'mon and get it now, c'mon, c'mon
C'mon now
Oh boy
Taking a walk?
I'm going up to the coal camp to meet those new fellas when they
Come off their shifts
Your doing union business ain't ya?
How you like mrs. Radner's?
Well it wasn't room, now i'm at the hotel now
Ain't she a sourpuss though?
Mr. Kennehan! They's evictin' in town mr. Kennehan
It's baldwin, baldwin thugs
This is town property
Who are you?
I'm the mayer
Well, pleased to meet you, my name is bill hickey
This is tom griggs, we're carrying out an eviction for
Stone mountain
You can do what you want up at the coal camp
But this is town property
Stone mountain holds the deeds on these houses cable
You need a writ for eviction
You the law around here?
Well good
Then you can help us, now these people are trespassing on
Company property
They all signed a contract that they wouldn't join any union
You uh, you baldwin-Felts agency?
That's right
Presently employed by the stone mountain coal company
This is from mr. Turley here
And this is from our boss mr. Thomas felts
I've met mr. Felts
Well good, we won't have any problem
I wouldn't pee on him if his heart was on fire
(Laughs)
Neither of these will do for a writ you'll have to see a judge
In charleston
What if we ain't got time to go to charleston?
Then you better find some, now i can't do nothin' about what you
Pull outside town limits
But you bother these people under my jurisdiction i'll put
You under arrest
Yeah?
You and who's army?
All you men own a gun? Go home and get it
Your deputy's as of now
The rest of you people stick close, we'll need witnesses
I'm giving you 10 minutes to get those people's belongings back
In the house
If the rest of the boys was here you wouldn't be so cocky
If the rest of the boys was here, i'd give you 5 minutes
Now move it
You can't win you know, this is going to happen with you,
Without you
You can't stop it
All right boys let's put it back in
This ain't our day
-That a boy sid!
I never seen a law man button a company gun before
He's mostly a real nice feller sid
Intention makes him nervous though
We got a motion on the floor here
And this is coal miners only
All them in favor of keeping them scabs out of the mines
Tomorrow morning using whatever force it looks like it necessary
Raise your hands
It's settled then
Pass them peas boy
Pass the peas danny
You boy deaf or dumb or what?
Daniel ain't dumb, daniel's a preacher
That right boy? You a preacher?
Who do you preach to boy? Squirrels?
Daniel preached at the meeting last night, it was a good number
Of souls there
You a soul saver boy?
You want to have a go at me and grigsy here that ought to be a
Real challenge
He's a squirrel preacher is what stands up on a stump out in the
Woods and
Testifies to the holy rodent -Danny!
You in a hurry to meet your maker boy?
Ain't no guns allowed at the table
Sit down danny
You do what your pretty mama says preacher
You put that away now mister
Pack it away grigsy
Look, we're gonna to be here a while little lady, you can have
It the easy way or the hard way
Now how about them peas?
Boys' gettin' on my nerves
Oh lord!
They told me they would talk to the fellas
I saw they're faces last night joe
They wasn't buying it
We're playing right into the company's plans
The men voted joe, what more do you want?
(Knocking)
I seen the lights on the hill
They're sneaking them in for a night shift
Let's go fellas
Keller told me you sent from the union
Uh-Huh
I bet you seen hundreds of strikes
Yeah
I got thrown clear out of the missionary the other night
Talking union from the pulpit
Are we getting close? -Up there
(Yelling)
They're down the hill!
Over here
Now fellas put their lanterns out
Just hit the dirt
I think this belongs to you
(Yelling in italian)
I'm with him
All of you union men let's welcome our new brothers
(Cheers)
From now on
Stone mountain don't move one piece of coal unless it's a
Union man that moves it
(Cheers)
Let's get out of here
(Singing in italian)
In them days the coal company owned your houses, they owned
Your land, they owned most of the town and the people who run
It
If you wasn't for the company, there wasn't too many places you
Could go that was still on the map
The union didn't have too much they could give to the people
Back then
All we got in common is our misery
Joe kennahan used to say and the least we can do is share it
(Speaking italian)
She got the evil eye that one
Oh mama
Don't you let me catch you peeking over there she got the
Evil eye if i've ever seen it
Well what do we got here?
We bring you some food mama stole it from the company
Quite danny -Well we can use anything you
Got
You people are crazy, you ain't never gonna win this thing
Then what are you helping us for?
I got work to do
Appreciate your help
I ain't never seen everybody all together like this
Company don't stand a chance
Jessie...
What's the pitch?
Well i was just saying to the mayor here how
We're all trying to do our jobs, you, and me and him
And nobody is paying us enough to be dodging no bullets for it
Um, now.
Mr. Felts has authorized me to
Make it more attractive for you gentleman to cooperate
Town ain't for sale mister
What about you?
Now i figure that little show you were putting on out there
The other day was just for bargaining power
Or are you going to be stupid too?
Either you sh*t hogs lift a finger
In town limits i'll put you away
Damn hillbillys always gotta do it the hard way
You boys are going up against some
Pretty big people
Don't push your luck
How's jesse these days? -Oh she's okay sid
You think they're bluffing?
Nope.
Neither am i
Now the way the relief fund works is kind of tricky
Cause all the different situations we got going around
The country
We stretched real thin, there's a lot of strategy to who gets
What and when
I report to the strike committee
They evaluate the progress we're making here and the political
Situation
And then they release the strike fund to us
You mean they cut us off?
No, the amount we get is based on..
What if they think we're going to lose?
Look the strike committee considers what's best for the
Union as a whole but that doesn't mean..
Politics boys
Gonna play union, you gotta play politics
I'm sure joe don't like that no more than you do
I don't like it one damn bit
Me neither, i didn't get into this thing so i can have one
More boss to tell me what to do
The union isn't your boss, it's you
Then why we gotta wait?
For some hunkies up in pittsburgh to give us the word
To move
Cause it's a democracy, it's like the united states
Democracy -That's a joke
Quiet
Get down they're shooting
Just keep your head down son
I'll make a night of it
I think he just got a little piece of bullet left in there
Company doctor said he wouldn't come out
But there's a fella in fifle on the kentucky side that'll treat
Union men on this lie
He'll be here by noon
Will he treat colored?
He treats union. He'll treat colored
More water danny -Yes ma'am
You just hold this up there against that real gentle
Don't press hard -Elma you seen any of the men?
Only them that's wounded
How's ya doing? -Not bad
At least nobody got killed
No thanks to you
Take it easy buddy
Morning joe
Hey bridey
You seen any of the fellas? -Not a one
He's real nice lookin'
He likes me, i can tell
How? -I just know men that's all
That'd make a cat laugh
If you want to make that kind of slop
For dinner you go back home and make it
This is united states here and we do things differently
Listen to me, you can learn
Something here
C'mon ladies what's the problem?
I thought she was going to make up some cornbread with it well
You should see the slop she come up with
Miss elkins
These people got their own way of doing things
Well that is a waste of good corn meal if you ask me
She makes up this porrigly kind of mess i wouldn't feed it to
The pigs
Where's all the men gone to?
That changes the whole picture
What i'm saying is unions is fine for some things
But for other things a man has to go on his own
Of course that's up to you
Roscoe
You make cindicato, you do what the cindicato say
I listen to joe
Few clothes
We gonna be shooting white folks right?
That's the idea
People you hear about black folks shooting white folks
No matter what it's for there's going to be hell to pay
You gotta point
Well then
If you gentleman will excuse us
You people have been put out of stone mountain mine housing
And some of you have seen fit to take along certain items
Of food, furniture and clothing that don't belong to you but
Belong to the company
Now as of the day of the strike your script ceased to be legal
Tender meaning
That any item of food, clothing, and furniture not paid for in
Cash money
Must be turned over to me
And my deputies and i suggest you all cooperate
See my boys
They didn't get much sleep last night so they're kinda jumpy
Besides we got the law on our side
You ain't no law you got to slip around the real law
You just got guns is all
You just thugs
Yeah maybe your right sonny
We just got guns
You still got to hand in them goods
Yellow scab herder you
You hurt? You get up from there
-You gotta list of goods
Don't need one
How you gonna know what belongs to the company and what don't?
He's the red hickey
He's the agitator
Everybody you see i don't got a gun on me
What good do you think that's going to do you red?
You shoot me folks e'll know it was murder
Well that's some cold comfort
Now you listen to me red
We was hunting
You folks are making an awful lot of commotion
You scaredt all the game away
This your machine?
Heard it last night too
It's an offense to the ear
Hold it pops your talking to the law here
He ask you anything?
Where did you get that thing pal? Spanish war?
Nope
War between the states
You all get in this machine and get into town where you belong
Ain't but one law out here and that's the law of nature
Let's get the hell out of here
Folks try and keep the noise down you'll do fine
Help yourself to the bird and the rabbit
You see any hogs they probably ours, we'd appreciate it if
You'd leave them be
Good day to you
Are you okay joe?
Yeah i'll be all right if it weren't for my ribs
Who were those people?
Rossons mostly
And a shuttleworth
They miners? -You never find them folks near
A hole, they have most of their land stole by the company
They's hill people -Foothill people really your
Genuine hill people
They can be dangerous
Now the thing you gotta remember son
Is your fuse burns 1 foot per minute
Make it too long they might see it
Make it too short,
Well i'll be meeting you on the other side
(Knocking at door)
Damn it
Air shaft #4
Go out the back way
Where is all our other friends tonight miss elma?
They get tired of the chuck or what?
I think that old bitty went on strike
Laid down her teeth and protested
They're just particular about who they eat with
What about you miss elma?
Are you particular?
Stone mountain didn't hold the lease here...
Stone mountain didn't hold lease here you'd be peddling puntang
Down in cinder bottom so just shut your mouth about it
Where's the little preacher tonight?
Bitch got no table manners
Elma?
You know where danny is?
No. I don't know where anybody is
Ain't nobody want to tell me either
You okay? -Yeah just tired is all
I been working all day this place
I been working
The day they burned my husband i started and i been working and
It don't ever stop
I get so tired
And
There ain't nobody -Look it's hard
It's hard being on your own
You don't know nothing about it
We're in business buddy let's get going
(Train whistle blows)
What is it? -Sounds like dynamite up in the
Mine, might be that #5 shaft
Might be some shootin'
Hillard! Hillard!
You seen my boy? Anybody seen my boy hillard?
Hillard!
Anybody seen my hillard?
(Gun cocks)
(Car engine running)
They're up the hill!
Shoot low boys cut 'em down
You fellas get on out of here, i'll hold 'em back
Jesus! Get up
Sephus c'mon
Okay boys let's spread out, he's here somewhere
I got him he's over here -Hold it boys it's me
Hold your fire boys it's c.E.
You all right?
You better get back to camp
Judas
Hold his leg
Hold it, hold, hold
Now i'm just going to pull this back from your leg boy
Gimme back that knife hillard
What happened?
We was sold and baldwins come up from behind
Known right when we was laying out
They know'd when the men was out of camp today too
How's she feelin' buddy
You made it. I thought we lost you back there
Well i got off a couple of rounds
Buried myself in the leaves
Seen reese hadley go down though
Sephus get back?
I don't think so
You see what happens when you pick up a gun
All i see is them niggers and dagos weren't there tonight and
We was sold and somebody gonna pay
Something bad is happening out there
Those guns
Hunting party, that's all
Now where was i?
Time to put all shyness
Time to put all shyness aside
And admit to our heartfelt
Attraction
I'm not sure how you spell attraction
How about
Heartfelt desires
Are you sure you want to do this?
Heartfelt desires
Dearest
Joseph
(Dog barking)
Look at that just a cupboard with gore, dogs didn't do all
That
Are you drawing breath son?
Baldwins, we were sold
What's your name?
Sephus
Sephus purcell
Kin to nimrod purcell?
That's daddy's uncle
Say some baldwins took ya
From behind
None of them purcells ever was too bright
Grab his ankles missus and mind your dress
He is bleeding like a stuck pig
I found 'em boys, he's here
It's reese
Got yourself a martyr
I tired to stop this
Any sign of sephus?
We'll maybe smell him before we see him
They found somebody?
Just stay right here honey, don't want to look at that mess
But i got something for mr. Kennehan
I don't think he's in no mood to be bothered right now
I'll see he gets it
Who is it?
Oh just some poor miner whose troubles is finally over
Don't look honey
I talked to elix he says your phonograph machine
Is going to be fixed in a couple days now
It's awful nice of you to do everett
Well we got to take care of our favorite lady now don't we
You been so generous
Thinking about me when that mr. Kenerhan got you all so busy
With the union
That mr. Kenerhan is what i come to talk to you about bridey
I got a suspicion he might not be what he says he is
What do you mean?
Bridey
Did you send kenerhan some sort of letter?
What do you want?
No.
He wouldn't
There's a whole crowd of fellas standing around him i seen
Kenerhan laughing and waving that letter
So i
Come over to see what was so funny
A lot of fellers?
You mind if i have another drink honey
It ain't purdy what i gotta say
He said some things bridey
She been following me around ever since i got here
Trailing after me like a dog in heat
Sniffing around my legs like a brood bitch
She don't wear no drawers he says so she can be ready for
Whatever stumbles down the pathway
He didn't!
He didn't
He said you done it with one of the coloreds
Lying bastard
Bridey
I think it might be worse than that
I think he might be a spy
In with the coal operators
Well he's got the fellas so turned around with all this talk
I need for you to help me bridey
And sometimes you gotta tell a little bit of a lie
Just to get the truth across
We fight them with guns
We lose
That's the whole damn story
I'm not going to bulls*it you fellas and tell you there won't
Ever come a time when the people that own this state send the
Word down to have us all murdered
But if we don't stand together now
As workers we got no hope at all
Help me up
You going somewhere?
This is miner's business and you ain't no miner
You two come along
So, um
Last night he comes up here and
Uh, he's all drunk and everything and i says as how i
Didn't want to have nothin' to do with him and
And i would call some of you fellers
For help and
He says that all of you was
Taking care of
Taking care of huh?
When i seen that there wasn't no help i ...
He uh, kinda
Forced me, he...
He forced me
Easy...
That's okay you better hear this first hand
Go ahead honey, what happened then
And afterwards he
Thrown money on the bed like i were some kind of a whore
You done just fine honey
Now why don't you go sit outside for a minute while we figure out
What we're going to do about this
So he don't have no sense with women
So what?
You know how bridey builds things up
Take a look at this
That our friend left laying on the floor last night
Baldwin felts agency
What it say? -It's a death warrant is what
For mr. Joseph kinerhan
(Knocks on door)
So it's goodbye mr. Kinerhan tonight
Miners?
How'd you manage that?
That tramp that goes to meet the passenger train
Seems she's got the eye for kinerhan
So he put it in her head that kinerhan has been bad mouthing
Her all around town
He's got her down there right now crying to the miners
And..He's got these papers from loufield
I didn't leave my colt like this
You spying little bastard!
What'd you hear huh?
What did you hear? -Nothin'
Horse sh*t hit him bill!
See this medal
You know how i won this preacher boy huh?
I was sitting alone in a ditch in france and this kraut jumps
In right next to me
And i took my bayonets
And i stuck him right in the face
And then another jumps in and i stick him too
And another, and another
And another they just kept coming one at a time all night
Long
And a little bit i got too worried that they weren't all
Dead so
I stuck them all again a couple times just to make sure
And in the morning
They said that i was a war hero
Well i'm going to stay close to you tonight preacher boy
And you let one wrong word fly
And i'm going to put one in your skull
And i'll do the same for your pretty mama
You know i ain't lying don't ya boy?
Yes sir
Man who draws the short straw gets to do the job
And word don't travel beyond this room about who it is
The rest of us will want a good alibi
I figure in that prayer meeting tonight
Right under the preacher's nose
Welcome to the union son
What's the story?
Flutie that the baldwins was coming out here tonight
And i'm supposed to stick by you
You got the sh*t detail again huh?
You all right danny?
You got your sermon memorized?
I bet he don't know anymore scripture than i do
And that ain't a whole hell of a lot is it grigsy?
You know any?
I never got no further was in the beginning was the word guess
We both doomed to the hot place
(Laughs)
Lord relies on little sh*ts like this one to spread his word, i
Don't want no truck with heaven
And as for hell, well we been to west virginia (laughs)
¶(singing a hymn)�
(Laughing in the back)
Ahhh
What in god's name you doin' son? I just got your licks all
Stopped and here your trying to bust them open again
I got to get down there, they got to know
You ain't goin' nowheres unless it's in a pine box
Where's your sense?
I got to
I wish those fellas'd get here
Huh?
If they're comin' i wish they'd hurry up, i don't want any more
Shooting in the woods
You ever use one of those?
10th calvary
In cuba 2nd 98th
San juan hill
Pretty rough down there?
Did what i had to
Is it true you're a red?
Yeah i suppose it is
Then how come you don't carry a gun?
Well we carry little round bombs
Don't you read the papers?
I want to tell you tonight about the blackness in the heart of
Man
Gonna warn you about the many and devious ways in which satan
Will hide from you the truth
Of who your real friends are
I'm going to do it with a story from the patriarchs
Now we all know about joseph and how out of all jacobs 12
Children he was the smartest and the smoothest and how his
Brothers got so jealous they pulled off his coat of many
Colors and whooped on him and left him out to be sold into
Slavery
But joseph was not your ordinary fella even for biblical times,
He had a special way with him
A way of looking at the grand scheme of things
So when this fella podafar bought him for a slave
Joseph just smiled and vowed he was going to be a good one,
Making the best of a bad situation
He put his heart to his work and was honest and friendly in his
Dealings and before you knew it he was just about running
Podafars households and fields and all his business' for him
The only trouble was podafar's wife
Now she was what you might call a loose woman
When i was in leavenworth there was a bunch of mennonites
Mainly because they wouldn't fight in the war, it's against
Their religion
It's also against their religion to shave their beards or
Wear buttons on their clothes and they was being forced to do
Both by the prison guards
So they refused to work
And they went on a strike right there in hell's half acre
They was handcuffed to the bars of a cell house
8 hours a day for two full weeks
They were put with their arms up like this
So's they had to stand on their toes or those cuffs would cut
Into their wrists
Can't nobody stay on their toes 8 hours
So pretty soon
Their fingers would start to swell up
They turned blue and then
They'd crack open
Blood would run down their arms
8 hours a day
Day after day
Still they wouldn't work
Still they tore the buttons off their uniforms every time they
Were sewed back on
They tore them with their teeth because they're hands wouldn't
Close no more
So now i don't claim the fame for myself
But them fellas they never lifted a gun in their lives
And you couldn't find any braver in my book
I wish them fellas would get here
Also in podafar's employ at this time were a couple of spies from
One of his enemies
Fellas that wanted to bring him down in the world and get their
Hands on his fields and houses
They seen the want and lust in miss podafar
And seen it would be good for their purposes to get shed of
The young joseph
So they come to podafar's wife
(Harmonica playing)
She calls joseph in and she asks him one more time, joseph will
You lie with me?
And he says no ma'am i won't
And she sets up and grabs a hold of his garment he's wearing and
Runs it in two before he can get clear
Podafar runs in with his guards and she's bawling her eyes out
And shaking like a leaf, your servant joseph, she says
He come in here and tried to make me lie with him
Only when i called out he fled leaving this here garment as
Evidence
And now only that she says she'd been spying and plotting against
You with your enemies he means to take over here and have you
Killed
But podafar had no reason to misbelieve his wife
Joseph was a slave and a foreigner
So he gathered up his servants and household workers and they
Went and slew joseph dead
Cut him from gut to gizzard and left him bleeding in the street
And though they never learned of miss podafar's lies and went to
Their maker unrepentant with innocent blood on their hands
Draw your own conclusions
¶(singing hymn)�
Gettin' awful late -Shhhhh
You hear something?
No.
Yeah i think i did
Like somebody moaning
Maybe it's the fellas
I think we should go out there and have a look
Who's that?
(Laughs)
That's (laughs)
(Laughs) mingala
Well we better get back to camp -(Laughs)
Wait a minute (laughs)
Well at least we didn't waste a trip
(Fire bell blaring)
No way it won't spread
Is c.E. Inside?
No such luck
Find that son of a bitch
(Fire bell blaring)
(Train whistle blowing)
How come they waste more food in one day than a poor workers
Family has on their table in a week?
Now let me ask you? Who's sweat was it that went into building
Those mansions
-Once they seen hell, they'd almost done an innocent man it
Was like joe couldn't say no wrong
We moved out into mango county then
Spreading the word about the union
Spreading like wildfire over the red jacket
The ragland and dale barton all up and down the tug fork river
Brining the union out to all the folks that needed help
Putting the spirit into them and trying to shut down the whole
Southwest field
-Helping themselves to our land and our labor for too damn long
¶(singing in italian)�
Joe kinerhan said how there was a new day comin' and sometimes i
Could just about see it
But it were a dangerous living for a union man and you didn't
Dare turn your back
Hit with hard times and hit with hungry times too
The union relief was spread thin in hope of a new day you can
Feed your soul
But leave your belly rumbling
Scoot!
Lady?
Since there's just me and hillard, and you got all these
Little ones
Well...
You know what to do with this?
Hillard brung it in
It's for you
I ain't gonna watch no babies go hungry, now here you go on
Here is some navy beans
And these here is ramps now you can cook with these
They put a taste in your stew
Anyhow
Well, i...
Figure we's all in this together
We sure got some pretty babies
Who's your favorite pitcher? -Hot eller
He's from logan county
You get to play ball much?
When the mines were open
Joe...
Yeah
You ever kill anybody?
What brought that up?
Bet sid has
Here in the war
All i saw was workers killin' workers
And it wasn't any point in it
They thrown you in jail cause you wouldn't go?
Them two years kept me from killin some poor stiff that got
Pushed out on a battlefield by rich folks and politicians
And they were worth it
It's gettin' dark danny
You better go get that coal
You see there, right there by the railroad trestle
That's where cap hatfield and his boy joe glen killed three
Men
Boy wasn't but 13
Used a winchester
You think it hurts much? A bullet?
Beats dying in a damn coal mine
Boy wasn't but 13 year old joe glen
Must be in there
He always sleeps with the lights on
Just gotta be quiet though
(Gunshot) -Let's get the little bastards
-Over here
-Grab him, cut him off
Well, well what we got here?
Smarts a little don't it boy?
Hillard right?
Now, how about you give us the names of your ring leaders up in
Logan
Give us 5 names boy, that's all, 5 names and we'll let you go
That's fair isn't it? -Never
Grigsy
Talk to us boy (punches him)
Talk to us
I'll rot in hell first -Have it your way
Mr. Lively
Boy, i sentence you to death for the crime of stealing company
Property
And being a dirty bolshevist human man
You got 10 seconds to talk
Talk
Whoo, what a smell, boy dirtied his diapers
We want names son
I can't
I swear on the bible
Then we're going to have to get down to it son, use the razor
Hold him boys
Just a little nick boy
Get it off your chest son
Clyde matts, bill mann, acer redna, j.T. Kito
5, give us 5 boy
And hiley shelton
-Kill him no!
One of them fellas he named live
Clay hill
Where's that?
It's a cemetery
Them are all fellas that was killed in a gas fire 5-6 years
Ago
Nothin' like a young boy dyin'
To stir things up
(Crying in the distance)
Baldwin's coming into town tomorrow kenerhan
You fellas have any idea what's waiting for us?
You mean they didn't tell you?
Oh i just seen a line in the papers of opportunity for red
Blooded american men
Immediate openings, high pay
Travels, chance for advancement, apply baldwin felts and write
Your own ticket
The natives get restless someplace they put that out
You ever hear of the hatfields and mccoys son?
Yeah of course i have
This is one of their stomping grounds
They'll put a bullet in your brain as soon as they look at ya
Sid, we have authorization to put these miners off company
Property here in town
Not from me you don't
And we also go a warrant for your arrest you give us any
Trouble
This ain't worth sh*t and you know it
One way or another we're going to carry out these evictions
Tomorrow morning
Gentleman
Hey come to kill me
Hillard was my friend
When i first come down to the mines it was hillard who'd show
Me what to do
He was a good coal miner, a good union man
And he always took care of his mama
I don't know how they could have done him like they did
All he wanted to do was live decent, that's all
Sometimes people say how god willed it, how everything is his
Plan
Well...i don't think he planned on hillard laying here amongst
All these elinson's not this young in his life
I think all god plans is we get born and we got to take it from
There
So you rest in peace hillard
You rest easy cause we're going to take up where you left off
Amen
You gonna tell us to turn the other cheek still
Shootin' is what they want now
Then maybe it's what we want too
Expect too much of people joe
Your still after that one big union but most of us
We can't see past this holler
¶(singing gospel)�
I need to talk to the men
Be decent now
I'll call a meeting in the morning
First thing
¶(gospel singing continues)�
Pastor said stay away from town tomorrow
Is something up?
Got a feelin' you know how white folks gets when they're all
Excited
Nothin' is going to bring hillard back you know
And i came here to help
Sure you did
First people come here to help us with some money
Next we know we got no land
Then they say they're going to help us with a job and a place
To live
And they stick us in some damn coal camp
And let us dig out their mines
Now you come here to help us bring in the new day
Well hillard ain't gonna see no new day
We had about as much help as we can stand
We gotta take care of ourselves
We got to take care of each other
¶(harmonica playing blues tune)�
Joe!, joe! The men go to town
See it?
No need for you to be in on this
It's my town too, they're my people
Y'all have no right to come to this here town with all these
People and drawing guns and terrorizing them
The writs you have are not valid for this town
If you can't get one.. -No!!!!!
Oh...
Jesus don't shoot me
I just want to talk
(Gun firing)
I can't feel my legs
(Softly sobbing)
There was a trial but there wasn't nobody going to pass
Guilty on sid hatfield in mango county
Sid got married to mayor testerman's widow and then the
Baldwins they caught him unarmed
Walking up the steps of the mcdowd county court house
They shot 15 bullets into him
Right in broad daylight and c.E. Lively stepped in and put one
Right through his skull
Wasn't even a trial on that one
That was the start of the great cold feet war and us miners took
The worst of it like joe said we would
It's just one big union the whole world over as joe kenerhan
Used to say
And from the day of the mate 1 massacre that's what i preached
That was mreligion
We buried joe kenerhan with our own
My mama she thought it wouldn't never stay
But now he's with us for always
Laying up here in these west virginia hills
¶(singing slow country song)�