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You ever record before?
Well, you just set yourself in front of that microphone
and play your heart out.
We'll take care of the rest
we got all the machines in the back.
You just get yourself ready to play, okay, Robert?
Good.
Okay, let's get to it.
Robert Johnson. Stand by.
Rolling.
J I went to the crossroads j
j fell down on my knee j
J I went to the crossroads j
j fell down on my knee j
Js asked the lord above 'have mercy' j
j save poor Bob if you please j
j standin' at the crossroads j
j I tried to flag a ride j
J standin' at the crossroads j
j I tried to flag a ride j
J ain't nobody seem to know me j
j everybody pass me by j
j you can run you can run j
j tell my friend oll' Willie brown j
I youcanrun qt
j tell my friend oll' Willie brown j
j well, I'm standin' at the crossroads j
j babe, I believe I'm sinkin' down jj'j
Attention, officer mcguire.
Please report to the east wing security gate.
Attention, officer mcguire.
Please report fo the east wing...
Hi. I'm here to see Willie brown.
He's a patient here.
What is your name, please? Eugene martone.
Guard: Excuse me.
While I'm here, I'd like to run a routine security check...
Exercise classes with the physical therapist
will begin at 9 A.M.,
Monday through Friday.
Those patients with doctors' blue cards
are asked to participate.
Security officer Larkin,
please pick up the staff phone at the nurses' station.
Security officer Larkin,
please pick up the staff phone at the nurses' station.
I'm sorry, Willie says
he doesn't know anyone named martone.
Well, to be honest, he doesn't know me,
but if I could just talk to him...
Mr. brown made it very clear he won't be seeing anyone.
No, look, just a minute. I have to ask him...
I said, Mr. brown made it very clear
he doesn't want to see anyone.
I can't b...
Shit.
Just need a signature right there.
Attention, officer macfarland.
Please report to the security office.
Attention, officer macfarland
please report to the security office.
Nurse: Uh, martone, right?
When you finish the hall,
would you take care of the coffee room.
And let's put a clean trash bag in my office.
Thank you.
Patient: They said it was me, but I didn't do it.
What's the story on hoss?
Um, twenty-five milligrams of meprobamate and he's due now.
Okay, fine.
Gary's play all the way and he made it, just nipping McGee.
Tim mccarver along with Steve zabriskie and Ralph kiner,
and we've got a dandy here at shea.
Well, regardless of whether you're a cardinals fan,
a mets fan, you've gotta love this.
This is a baseball game.
A line drive, deep.
Can't get to it.
Gets by him and Danny...
Okay, what you want, Mr. janitor man?
I ain't made no mess
Eugene: Hey, you're Willie. That's my name.
I heard you playing harp, so I dropped by to say hello.
You're new here, ain't you?
This is my first day.
Well, hello, Mr. janitor man. Now let me be.
Well, look, I just wanted you to know if there's anything
I can get for you, anything you want or anything...
Yeah, you can get gone.
Sorry to bother you.
I'll just stop back later, okay?
Mr fulton.
Mr who?
You were blind dog fulton from 1939 to 1968, weren't you?
What you been drinking, sterno?
Your name's Willie brown
I mean, blind dog fulton was born Willie brown.
He used that name up until 1938.
After his friend Robert Johnson was killed,
he headed up to Chicago, changed it to blind dog fulton.
It's all in the books.
I got six cousins named Willie brown.
Man working that grocery store down the street,
his name Willie brown
if I had a nickel for every Willie brown in this world,
I wouldn't be here now, listening to your bullshit.
You're not the Willie brown
Robert Johnson calls out for help to in "crossroad blues"?
Shit, no. Robert Johnson.
I mean, you play harmonica.
That's the real Willie brown's main instrument.
It doesn't make sense.
Where I come from, you don't blow no harp,
you don't get no pussy.
There's no way. You gotta be. It's...
All right, miss narciso, please.
That was very good, Eugene.
Very good up to a point.
Most people approach Mozart with respect.
Evidently that's an attitude you're not familiar with.
I'm sorry, I didn't mean any disrespect.
I was just making a joke.
Which one of these is a cigar lighter? Have a little...
Blasted new-fangled gadgets.
Never work.
Gramshell's folly.
Pile of junk.
Oh, what a mess.
Magoo. Hello, Magoo.
Magoo, can you hear me?
Well, well, well. Mr. janitor man.
Hey, why a white boy like you
so hot on some long-gone harmonica player?
I'm looking for a lost song.
Lost song? What tune you looking for?
Robert Johnson was supposed to record 30 songs
at his Texas sessions.
Only 29 exist. He never recorded number 30
you read that in a book too? That's right.
I figure you might be the last man alive
to know where the missing song is.
That part's not in the book.
Why you wanna know about all that kind of stuff?
I'm a bluesman
a bluesman.
You? Where you from?
I was born on long island, why?
Long island.
Oh, shit, this is rich.
Long island, the famous breeding ground for bluesmen.
Oh, man.
Okay, Willie, time for your weekly with the doctor.
Let's go have a checkup.
Hey. You gonna be a janitor, act like one.
Mop my room, you hear? Give her a good straightening.
Come on, Willie. Stop being such a pain.
Long island bluesman.
Dr. santis: You came to us as a classical student
the word "prodigy" was actually used on occasion.
And you have proven to be
one of the finest guitarists in the school.
Mr. martone, a word of advice:
Don't serve two masters
the discipline of the classical is very exacting.
And if you persist in the other,
you will squander your talent.
What if the other is my talent?
Excellence in primitive music
1s cultural
you have to be born to it.
Now, you were allowed to leave secondary school early
to pursue classical studies.
I suggest you re-examine your priorities.
Well, looky here.
The famous long island bluesman come back to pay another visit.
How's it going, Willie?
You ever been to Mississippi?
Nope.
You call yourself a bluesman?
You're not blind dog fulton, right?
Yeah, well, Willie,
I got something here that you may be interested in.
Hey, blind boy, come over here.
What's your name, four-eyes?
My name Willie brown, sir.
What you doing on these crossroads alone, Willie brown?
Robert Johnson told me I could makes a deal here.
A deal with who?
Robert say a man called legba. You him?
No, no.
I'm his assistant
now, let me see here.
You got to tell me what's on your mind, Willie brown.
I got 2 dollar.
Well, your green don't buy nothing
down where legba come from, boy.
Now, you wanna play like Robert Johnson?
You wanna play like petie wheatstraw?
Well, say good night to your soul, son.
Go on, blind boy. Sign.
Be here before 12 every Saturday night,
and you learn them blues.
Boy, about that 2 dollar,
I'm running a little low on gas.
See you in hell, blind boy.
Oh, man. Look at this shit.
Here we go. A little soul from the golden ghetto.
Hey, long island, let's hear the one
about the plantation you was born on.
You ain't gonna let me rest with this music talk, are you?
Nope.
Okay.
Meet blind dog fulton.
The original, one and only, Willie brown.
You have found your man.
Oh, this is great. This is great.
I knew it. You thought...
Look, I'm not Robert Johnson, but...
No, you ain't.
You ain't the beginning of a pimple on the late,
great Robert Johnson's ass.
You might have a little bit of lightning,
but you missing everything else.
What? Like what? Mileage.
You can't get that living at home
with your mama wiping your butt.
No, I don't live at home. Where you live?
It's like a school dormitory.
Oh, a school dormitory.
Oh, times is hard.
Times is hard
Willie, wait up. Wait up.
Hey, you know what song it was
Robert Johnson didn't record that day?
Of course I do. I was with Robert when he made it up.
Memphis, summer, 1936.
Could you let me in on it? Shit, no.
Well, why not? Why should 1?
Well, see, I could record it
you know, like Clapton did with "crossroads"
I mean, the rolling stones did it with "ll ove in vain"
I mean, it could be my whole introduction
to the blues scene
we could record it together.
You're just one more white boy ripping off our music.
No, no. Willie,
we'd be giving it to the whole world.
See, there's all kinds of people who'd give anything for that.
I mean, me and you, we could just...
No, you ain't deserving. No mileage.
All right, Willie, look, when I get out of Juilliard,
I'll put on some mileage, but right now, I just...
When you get out of Julie who?
Juilliard. It's just a music school I go to.
Ain't but one school straight on down to the delta.
That's where it all started
Willie, here's something from the delta.
Tell me this isn't son house.
Sounds like bird shit.
Come on, Willie. We could record the song
right here in the hospital.
Imagine what we could do with that track.
Just imagine what...
Eugene, get me out of here.
What?
Get me back down to fulton's point:
My piece of land outside yazoo city.
Right, escape from here. I'd wind up...
Get me out of here and you got that number 30 song.
You serious?
You're serious. What, are you trying to get me arrested?
Come on, Willie, cut the shit, now.
I'm serious about this song.
The only shit to cut around here is you.
I've been of a mind that you was another lightning boy,
but you just a chicken-ass.
Chicken-ass chickenshit.
You can walk?
I can still do a few other things too.
I may be about ready for another woman.
You know, I've been married four times.
I just wore them all out.
You're not a cripple.
I mean, you're always asking people to get things for you.
And you're not even a cripple?
Yeah, well, they find out I can walk,
they take away my Pontiac.
Man ain't no man he ain't got no car.
You got a car? No.
Then you ain't no man yet.
Not even close, are you, Mr. chicken-ass?
Come on, Willie. I'm not chicken
I'm not crazy either.
Even if I was, you want me to get you to Mississippi
on what they pay me here?
I got some money I been saving.
You're not gonna teach me the song?
Sure I will, in the great state of Mississippi.
I got a train to catch, Willie. I'll see you.
Go home to your dormitory.
Let them wipe and Polish your ass real good, you hear?
And be sure to call your mama and kiss her...
Why don't you just leave my mother out of it, Willie.
Look, that song Robert wrote is a real good one.
You could be the first man to record it.
All right. Look.
Tomorrow morning, 5:00. You be ready.
We'll go to Mississippi, all right?
You mean it?
All right, I'll be out in a few minutes, okay?
Cab driver: It's your meter, kid.
Orderly: Yeah, I just checked up this hallway.
It's George again.
Willie: Looking for me?
What are you doing dressed up like that for?
Because I'm a bluesman. Shh!
You be quiet. Come on.
Okay, let's go. Come on.
Nurse: Hey!
Feugene: Shit.
Come on.
Nurse: Where the hell you think you're going?
Shit.
Come on.
Willie
nurse: Hey, get back here!
Come back here. Open the door, open the door!
Okay, come on.
Get in.
Okay, come on.
All right, Willie, I checked this out last night.
I only have enough cash to get from here to Memphis.
That's where we need to change buses.
I want you to kick in some money to get us to Mississippi.
Got that money roll on you?
Been on my hip right next to my whip for 15 years.
Of course I got it. Let's have it. Come on.
You don't be pulling out a wad
of bacon like that in New York City.
When we get to Memphis,
I'll pick up the tickets and pay for the rest.
Okay?
All right. I'm gonna go get the tickets.
Well, half is mine. All right, here. You take this.
Willie: I traveled with Robert off and on
between 1932 and 1938
last time I saw him was a couple of months before he died.
I wanted to go on to Chicago,
but he wanted to go on back to Mississippi.
He wanted to learn real good blues and make a name.
So he went on down...
I know. I read all about this, Willie.
He went to the crossroads.
That's where Robert Johnson made his deal with the devil
you read about it?
Yeah, they have tons of books on blues folklore.
Oh, don't give me that folklore shit. It happened.
Now, that's where Robert made his deal,
and after he told me about it, that's where I made mine.
They learn you in school what happened to Robert?
Some say he was poisoned.
One said he was poisoned, then he was stabbed
I don't think anybody really knows.
Yeah, well, I know.
And it all means just one thing: Dead.
Right, Willie. And you made your deal at the crossroads.
Yeah, I made a deal.
I had my piece of fame and fortune.
What come of me?
The state pen, prison ward, old folks' cage.
You really did shoot somebody, didn't you?
I know that's why they put you in jail and everything,
but you really did it?
Damn right.
Snooks Jordan.
Guitar man.
He was doing the business.
Come to find out he was taking more
than his part of the money,
telling me that's all the man was paying.
I smacked him right in his face while he was driving.
He pulled over, took this half-pint,
broke it on the road and come back in on me.
Shot him in the neck.
And you didn't get out on parole or nothing.
No, I didn't have nobody to stand for me.
I didn't have no place to go.
All I got was hellhounds on my trail.
Well, it's not over yet, Willie brown.
Well, this is it. We're down south, Willie.
How does it feel to be back in the land of cotton?
Tennessee ain't bad,
but she ain't a pretty piece like old home Mississippi.
It won't be long now.
This is where we change buses, remember?
Of course I remember.
What do you think, I done lost all my faculties?
Give me the money, Willie. I'll go get the tickets.
I thought you was paying the freight.
No. You know I paid from New York to here.
You're taking care of the rest, pal. Come on.
I'm taking care of the rest?
Damn right you are. Give me the money. We'll get the tickets.
That's gonna be a problem. Why is that?
What do I look like to you, John d. Rockefeller?
I ain't got that kind of money.
Stop joking around. We don't have much time
just give me the money, we can get out of here.
The money, Willie. Come on. Give me the money roll.
Otherwise we're not getting anyplace.
Thank you.
Now, count it up, because I don't know
exactly how much I got.
Willie, what the hell is this newspaper shit?
There's only $40 here. That's about right. That's it.
What are you trying to pull with this? $40 ain't nothing to sneeze at.
Well, it's certainly not gonna get us to Mississippi,
you know that. You...
Just wait here. I'll find out what shit you got me in now.
Excuse me, sir. Clerk: Yes, sir.
Yeah, I need to get to yazoo city, Mississippi.
How far is that from here?
Yazoo city, about, uh, 200 miles
two hundred miles. I got $40. I need to get two people there.
How far will that get me? Two people?
That ain't even gonna get you one-third the way.
That's what I thought. Thank you.
Nice going, Willie. Yazoo city is over 200 miles from here
what are we gonna do now with $407?
Simple, call your mama.
Tell her to put it on one of her credit cards.
I told you to leave her out of it.
I'm not calling my father in Chicago.
Why's your daddy in Chicago? They're divorced.
It's none of your business anyway.
That's what they get for getting married.
The hell with you. I'm not calling them.
We got $40. We're gonna handle this now.
Ain't you got pride.
Ain't but one thing we can do in that circumstance.
What? What's that? Hobo.
Hobo?
Yeah, I done it for 70 years of my life.
Robert Johnson done it all of his.
Ain't no sense in stopping now.
Welcome to bluesville, son.
Now boarding gate number seven...
Okay.
What's the matter with you, lightning?
Why are you looking so down in the mouth?
Hey, no problem.
I like sharing the back of a truck with chickens.
It's my idea of a real good time.
Well, it should be. You in Mississippi,
the home of the blues and standing on highway 61.
Wonderful
look, you go down this road
and you run right smack-dab
into the heart of where it all started.
I can understand why you ain't happy.
This is the real thing.
This ain't no book
what are you doing?
I'm changing my tie.
And I could use a little help.
I ought to choke you.
You do and you get knocked on your ass.
This is a Mississippi string tie.
This is what a bluesman wear in this state.
Them other ties, they for city folk.
Thanks, lightning.
Get your thumb on back out there and get us another ride.
We got a long way to go to fulton's point.
About 40 more miles and we make it into Greenville.
Great. Greenville, Mississippi,
is where I've always wanted to be.
You don't know nothing.
A lot of good bluesmen from around Greenville.
A lot of fine, foxy mamas too, yes, sir.
Greenville is famous for pussy.
Hey, look at that train over there.
You ain't gonna never get that lost song
if you can't make the train talk.
Yeah, the way you playing, it's gonna take you 10 years.
Well, maybe I'll just have to do what you did, Willie.
I'll go down to the crossroads,
I'll strike up a deal with the devil.
That'll take care of the whole th...
Don't you ever say that again.
Girl: What you waiting for, huh?
What you waiting for, four-eyes?
Eugene: Willie, what's the matter?
Hey, come on, Willie. You okay?
Of course I'm okay.
You ain't drinking your beer.
Now, come on, we gotta get moving.
Maybe I just wanna hang for a minute, all right?
Look, there's a pay phone outside. Go call your mama.
She be checking up on you by now.
She's in Europe, Willie
nobody's gonna notice I'm gone for a week,
not that it's any of your business anyway.
Kind of testy, ain't you?
Oh. Well, I got no reason to be, right?
I came down here to learn Robert Johnson's lost song,
not get slapped in the face by an old man.
Or find out I gotta become king of the hobos and go broke...
I'm sorry your life turned out so hard, Eugene.
But I got my own business to tend to down here.
And I don't mean for you to slow me down.
Business? What business? Personal business.
And given your attitude, you got no reason to know what.
My attitude? What the hell's the matter with my attitude?
I have a great attitude.
You got your mind made up
about how everything works, don't you?
How you ever gonna learn anything new
when you know everything already?
Look at this old guitar you been squeaking on.
I bet you saw this thing in a music store and bought it
just because you thought it was beat-up.
Well, you got it all wrong.
Muddy waters invented electricity.
Yes, sir. Now, I can tell
you're a real musical-type young fellow.
Good-looking boy too.
Know what you're talking about.
Now, I got something right here...
Something right here for you.
They call this here a pignose.
Now, you just hook it on your belt,
plug it right in there and you're amplified.
I can walk around with this amp on?
Oh, sure thing.
I mean, you'll be a walking concert.
I et me check this out
you got that on? Yeah, go ahead.
All right.
This is a great rig. It's great. I can go electric and portable.
So you're right. It's like I'll be a walking concert.
You ain't lacking in confidence, I'll give you that.
Now, we'll cut off a couple of inches off this tubing here
and make you a slide.
You wanna play some delta blues, you gotta use a slide.
All right, now, if you can come up with $400,
you can take the whole rig.
Mighty fine watch.
Let's move on down here and let's talk some business.
I ook here
let's see what we got here, now.
Look, this watch is worth over $1100.
His mama bought it for him, you understand what I mean?
Clerk: How long... 7? Willie, take a look at this hat.
All I need is a Mississippi string tie, I'm ready to roll.
Yeah, you need 3 lot more than that
Come on, Willie.
Move your ass right back out that door, sucker.
Come on, get the hell out of here
so that's the way it's gonna be? All right.
Come on, missy. You won't be the first woman to ever cut me.
Let me tell you, you won't be the first woman
I ever whoop her ass either.
That's the way you want it? It's your funeral.
Come on, keep coming.
Come on. Come on.
Go ahead. Are you gonna stand there
or are you gonna carve me up?
Jump! Shit.
You ought to be ashamed of yourself.
Pulling a knife on an old man half blind,
then wanna chase him back out in the rain.
Back in my day, hobos respected each other.
What name you go by?
Frances
they call me blind dog fulton.
Also known as Willie brown.
Also... what about him?
Lightning boy martone. Also known as Eugene.
Lightning boy and blind dog.
What the hell are you guys supposed to be, huh?
We're both bluesmen
well, I'm the bluesman.
He's from long island.
We're hoboing. What about you?
I'm hitching from Philadelphia, going out to L.A.
I got a dancing gig out there.
Yeah, well, this road ain't no place
for a sweet-pants like you.
Now, you take that from the greatest hobo that ever lived.
How old are you, anyway? You under 167?
Yeah, you're right, Willie.
I'd say she's definitely jailbait.
Oh, yeah? I don't see too many signs of puberty on you, honey.
Anyway, I'm 17. How old are you?
I'm 17. Oh.
What are you, a runaway?
Yeah four-time vet
I think I threw them a curve, heading south.
Willie: Yeah, well, they threw us a few curves too
since lightning broke me out.
You broke him out of jail?
No
Well, no, it was like a nursing home.
A nursing home?
Oh, give me a break.
Excuse me while I go put my pants on.
Pack up. What?
Why? Pack up.
Get your bags packed.
Get your stuff together.
Which way you guys headed? Eugene: Uh, uh, south,
towards, um, yazoo city and vicksburg.
Frances: Staying on 61?
Damn right, that's the road home. Come on.
What are you doing?
Just wait a minute. I'll tell you about it later.
It's raining.
Well, I got a longer hike. I'm going down to Jackson.
I'll see you around.
Yeah, sure. I hope you make itto I a fast.
Come on now, we can't let that get away.
What are you talking about? She's bad news.
That thing's got a leg on it.
Now, it'll get lots more rides than your thumb. Come on.
Yeah, could you take me as far south as you can?
Sure enough. Oh, great.
Shit.
This dude's taking us to the next town.
From there we're going our separate ways.
Hey, no problem. We don't want you slowing us down anyway.
What the hell is going on here?
What, are y'all trying to run off my business?
Hey, hey, boy, I'm talking to you.
Hey, relax, we're going.
You're damn right you're going.
And you can tell that old mud duck
to get his ass off my property.
Lay off. You got no right talking to people like that.
Where you from, boy?
New York.
Woo-hoo
well, Mr. New York, I tell you what.
See now, I'll go in my office and I'll get my .357 Magnum
and I'll bring it out here
and then you and I can discuss just who's got the right.
Come on, let's go.
Don't come back.
All right, all right, folks.
Come on, it's Lloyd's turn to buy. Darling?
Louise, where the hell have you been, baby?
I've been looking all over for you all week.
I didn't know that kind of thing still went on.
Well, now you starting to learn some deep blues.
She's not doing what I think she's doing, is she?
Mm-hm
shit.
She's only 17. What if that bum does something to her?
I can't believe she's doing this.
It's a dangerous road, lightning.
And 17 ain't no minor in this state
why don't we just call this, oh,
an introductory offer?
You know, on the house. And in return,
to show you what a nice fellow I really am,
why, I'm gonna let you push ass out of this room all night long.
Didn't look to me like she was going against her will.
Looked to me like she thought she knew what she was doing.
Hell, I got girls coming up from Jackson
work out of here on weekends.
Now, I keep a real orderly shop.
Nobody gets in trouble.
Matter of fact, a girl as young
and pretty as you are
well, I bet she'd be real popular around here.
We probably got a deal, huh?
I mean, I always liked showering with a healthy, young girl.
Why don't you go start the shower, okay.
I like it nice and hot
you want it hot? Yeah
you're gonna get it.
You're gonna get it steaming, baby.
Now, you get those clothes off, you hear?
What are you doing here? What are you crazy?
Come on, let's get you out of here. Come on.
Lloyd: Frances, get your ass in here
or I'm gonna get nasty, now.
Okay, I'll be right in.
I'm coming right in, okay?
Well, hurry up, darling. Henry's waiting.
Shit. What?
What? Lloyd: Frances.
When he comes out of the shower, I want you put his lights out.
We'll grab his wallet and get out of here.
Are you crazy?
You wanted to rescue me, didn't you?
So when he comes out, knock him on his ass
dear god, she is more problem than she is worth
here he comes.
Goddamn it.
How come you still got your clothes on?
What the hell's going on here, bitch?
Get him, Eugene! Get that son of a bitch, Eugene.
Come on, get him! Goddamn it! Get off of him!
Back off, mister.
Or these walls will be getting a free paint job.
All right, now. Just hold on. Don't shoot.
Little underdressed, Lloyd.
She's right. Maybe you better put your coat on.
Listen, why don't we all just quit here,
because, uh, things are getting just...
Just a bit out of hand.
You just have a seat on the bed there, mister.
Where'd you get the gun?
Same place you got your guitar, at the pawn shop.
A bluesman never travels the road without a pistol.
No, sir. His wallet and his keys
are probably in his pants in the bathroom.
You heard what the lady said, lightning boy.
Wait. What are we gonna steal his car too?
That's right. Go get the wallet and the keys.
Willie, come on. Let's just get out of here.
What'd you expect out here, a picnic?
Now, you gonna stand up and be somebody
or you gonna call your mama on the telephone?
Move
shit.
Listen, Lloyd,
we're gonna borrow that car of yours
for about 24 hours, okay?
If we get any heat before then,
well, then, I'm just gonna have to tell a statutory story,
since I'm only 15.
Yeah, we're gonna blow the whistle
on your whole family meat market.
It wouldn't be too good for your business,
would it, Mr. motel man?
Huh-uh
now, like the lady said, 24 hours.
You'll find your car safe and sound
in the parking lot
of the bus station in Jacksonville, Florida.
Willie teach you how to play this thing?
No, I've been on it since I was 6.
Six?
Late bloomer, huh?
It took my parents a few years
to decide what instrument they wanted me to play.
I think my father wanted me on accordion.
I was just kidding, Eugene.
Who the hell plays guitar when they're 6 years old?
You're supposed to be playing with crayons or something.
Oh, yeah? Hey, Willie, tell Frances how old you were
when you started blowing harp.
Started on harmonica at 3.
Made my first music dollar with Mr. son house
at the big fish fry in...
Hey, I think that was a state trooper back there.
Are you kidding? That's a guy in an old Chrysler.
Oh, yeah? You ever hear of unmarked cars?
One thing I learned and that's when you running,
you stay running till you get where you're trying to go.
Bullshit, Willie, we're driving a stolen Cadillac here, man.
We ripped off money from the guy who owns the Cadillac.
We got an 80-year-old fugitive in the back,
a runaway from Philadelphia in the front, man.
I think we're pushing our luck. Come on.
Pull up over there. Shit. What?
You heard me, right over there.
Eugene: It's funny, I thought I'd be missing New York by now.
But I don't
Frances: I miss my mom.
And I miss my little brother, he's great.
But I don't miss Hank. He's my stepdad.
He gives you a hard time? Yells at you and shit?
Hank? He hardly ever talks to me.
I don't want no bullshit about papers and licenses
and that kind of stuff
you understand what I mean?
Well, sir, that Cadillac you got there
is a mighty fine-looking car.
Now you talking business.
Well, what about your mother? Why doesn't she throw him out?
She doesn't believe it.
She knows I don't like him,
so she thinks I'm making this whole thing up
just to get him out of the house.
So Hank keeps hitting on me and I just keep running away.
You really got a dancing job out there?
Oh, yeah.
It's 100 bucks a night.
A hundred bucks a night? Yeah
sounds like some dancing.
Eugene: Guys like son house, Charlie patton,
Robert Johnson, they were the best slide players in the world.
Total influence on rock 'n' roll.
Come on, Willie, we're gonna get you to this old barn
and get some rest, all right?
Don't worry, lightning,
I ain't gonna drop down dead on you tonight.
See, Willie was one of the last guys to play
with Robert Johnson before he died.
Frances: Wait a minute. You think Willie'll teach you
this lost song you keep talking about
and that's gonna make you famous?
Right. I'm gonna learn the tune, you know.
Get it down to the note, add a little of my own stuff.
I'll make it special, but it's my ticket to the blues scene.
Yeah, well, I hate to tell you this, lightning boy,
but it all sounds like 3 crock of shit to me.
Me too
Hey, you feeling okay, Willie?
Let me be now. I'm tired.
All right. Look, if you need anything, just holler. Okay?
I said, let me be now. I'm tired.
What's with Willie?
I don't know. He looks really tired.
I mean, he's almost 80 years old.
This trip's gotta be wearing him down.
Jesus, if something happens to him out here, man...
Do you think we should get him to a doctor?
Well, I can't. I can't. They'll find out who he is.
They'll ship him back to Harlem to die.
I'm not gonna let that happen. I promised I'd get him home.
Do you really think there is a home, Eugene?
Well, what the hell's that supposed to mean?
Look, how are we supposed to know
he's this famous blues dude?
You got any proof? Well, yeah, he told me.
I trust him, that's all. Look, Eugene,
I'm falling in love with the old guy too.
He's a son of a bitch, but he's okay.
But I know a con man when I see one,
and I think Willie has made up this whole story
to get at a gullible kid
so he can stay out of rest homes and hospitals
for the rest of his life.
You're full of shit. Oh, yeah?
What are you gonna do if he kicks off here?
It could happen. He is Willie brown.
He's the first acknowledged master
of the country blues harmonica.
The guy is a legend. You understand?
You're just a runaway shit with a quick mouth.
Why don't you just get off my case, all right?
Go migrate someplace else.
Do me a favor. I eave us alone.
Don't worry, I'll be out of here in the morning.
Look, I really didn't mean anything.
I'm just...
I'm just a little rattled about everything.
Okay? I'm sorry.
I'd really like you to hang with us.
I mean, I don't want you to take off.
It's not like I don't like you. I really like you.
That was nice.
Really? Yeah.
Ah, here's one of the vagrants right here.
Keep the 12 on him.
Bring him on back.
What you doing? What's going on?
Hey, Willie, you all right? What's...?
Look like we got a couple of lovebirds up top.
Oh, shit.
Hey, we wasn't doing nothing, officer.
I'm a sick man. These children just tending to me.
Keep him quiet, Chester.
Officer: Looky here, looky here.
Well
I hate to inform you good folks,
but I got to be leaving you in the hands of sheriff tilford.
Police radio: Mobile weather
what do you think this sheriff's tilford's
gonna do with us, Willie?
I don't know
back in my day they'd put us in a police car like this
and drive us way off in the field and.
Great.
I ook.
How come they didn't find the gun?
You just keep your mouth shut about that gun, you hear?
They can't hear me. Keep your mouth shut anyway.
Well, well...
Sleeping up in Nate Edward's barn, huh?
Fooling about indecent up in the loft.
Now, no identification.
Electric, uh, guitar.
Well, vagrants aren't real popular in this county.
Come on. Get out.
O.z.. Uncuff them.
You don't come into my county
and break and enter an honest man's barn.
But you three caught me on a morning
when I'm in a good mood.
Now, once you cross that bridge,
you in sheriff Larry Fowler's county,
and you his problem, not mine.
Now, you pick up your personal belongings and start walking.
I don't like vagrants and I don't like trespassers.
What about our money?
What money?
Your deputy took all my money out of my bag.
O.z. Didn't say nothing about it to me
now, get going. That's not right, not fair.
Come on. No! You stole our money.
That's not fucking fair.
Oh, really? Yeah
well, I tell you what I can do.
I can put you in the county farm for criminal women
and you can stay there while you pressing your charges.
Oh, they treat you real nice out at the county farm.
Yes, ma'am. Come on, let's go.
Things seem to have changed in this county.
Then again, they kind of seem the same, don't they?
We just be on our way, captain.
Ain't no point in making a fuss.
Clerk: Two rooms, $25 for the night.
Just about what we got here in the emergency fund.
You're all traveling together? That's right.
We'll be on our way come morning.
You recognize this place?
This old crossroads around here?
Nope. Never seen it
now, you look hard. It's gotta be around here someplace.
Ain't nothing around here but the town of weevil.
And that's two miles down the road.
Weevil. I know that old town.
And I don't know nothing about no crossroads either.
Do you know where fulton's point is?
I know where fulton's point is. Come on.
Let's be getting up to our rooms.
Man: I'm telling you, man, it's easy.
Willie: Yes, sir. Sonny crupp's place.
Looks almost the same as it did 40 years ago.
They used to charge a good 50 cents for a glass of whiskey.
That was robbery.
You know that place?
Like yesterday.
Looks like a good place to pick up some bucks.
How we gonna do that?
That's my boy, green as always.
I hope you wasn't too green up in that hay loft.
If you wanna be a bluesman,
you gotta be able to use your whip.
He was an animal, Willie.
You don't have to worry about him.
All his parts are in working order.
Well, well, big man, ain't you?
Now, you take this piece
and go in there and bring home the big eagle.
You go in there and have a drink and play a few songs.
Now, they probably some rough boys,
so you keep that iron handy.
What you got to say for yourself, long island?
I should be committed,
that's what I have to say, Willie.
I should be committed for ever listening to you.
My, my, my. What happened to Willie brown?
Greatest hobo that ever lived, all-time great harp player.
Wouldn't he just be able to walk in there and clean up?
Sure thing. I done it lots of times
yeah, well, problem is, I'm starting to think
Robert Johnson's friend Willie brown
isn't within 1000 miles of here.
And if he is, he's probably just out there
buried in some unmarked grave.
Somebody saying they ain't believing what I been speaking?
That's right, Willie. I'm saying you're full of shit.
You know something?
Every time you mention fulton's point,
nobody's heard of the goddamn place.
I'm starting to think you're just a con man who used me
just to get your ass out of a nursing home.
Where are you going?
Look, you smart-ass kids, you don't need me.
I do my business on this side of the road
and you white folks do your business on that side.
That's the way they get things done in Mississippi.
Os come on back, sweet daddy back where you belong j
j I gambled over town and I found that I can't win j
j come on back, and pick me up again j
j now if I lose, let me lose j
j I don't care how much I lose j
j if I lose a hundred dollars j
j while I'm tryin' to win a dime
j my baby's got money all the time... j
well, well, well. What can we do you tonight?
I don't... I don't know. Whiskey, I guess.
You look kind of young. Got any ID?
No, sir. Not with me, I don't.
Well, I reckon one snort ain't gonna hurt you.
J all the other boys I know, none can take your place j
j 'cause when I get into a jam, they just ain't in the race j
s come on back, sweet daddy, let's make another round j
hey, cutie, where you going?
Oh, you are one pretty lady.
You're not from around here, are you?
Uh, no, I just got into town.
Not that we got anything against late arrivals.
Wanna dance? Yeah, I do.
Well, let's do it. All right.
Bartender: That'll be a dollar, friend.
How about I play some songs on my guitar for the drink?
I'll stand you that drink, then you haul ass out of here.
Thank you.
J cotton needs pickin' so bad I
j we gonna pick all over this field j
j you know I went down and laid down my head last night j
he jumped up and started going out the window, shouting:
"Oh, shit! Here come blind dog!"
I say, "hey," I call out my .38 special, see.
I say, "ain't so blind I can't see
your naked ass going out my window."
Willie: Shot him in the left side.
That's how I come to making up that song.
I'm supposed to believe you Willie brown
and blind dog fulton?
You ain't supposed to believe nothing.
Now, if you wanna do something, here I am.
Maybe later, honey.
Let me through.
Give me another beer and a vodka on the rocks for a pretty lady.
Yeah, I think I might have to dance here.
Okay, where is it?
What? My wallet.
What are you trying to say?
Come on, come on, you little thief, cough it up.
You think I took your wallet. That's right.
Go ahead and search me. I don't give a fuck. I just believe I will.
Come on, why don't you get your hands off her, all right?
This your lady? Yeah, she's with me.
She snagged my wallet and she don't wanna give it back.
Look, she said she didn't take it. Did you take it?
No, I didn't take his wallet.
And I'll tell you he'd better shut his mouth
before my friend takes out his gun, huh?
A gun? Yeah.
You got a gun?
Yeah
I et me see it
go ahead, show it to him. Go on. Come on.
Fella comes in here, packing a gun.
I don't want any trouble, all right? It's not...
Hey!
Holy shit, mister. I don't want any trouble.
Hand that piece over.
Don't you dare. Will you come on?
Great, fine. I don't want the gun.
I just wanna get out of here. Let's get out.
Now, now, hold it, hold it.
Now, you can get out of here.
I just wanna give you something...
Duck!
You son of a bitch. You son of a bitch, Harley!
Now, hold it just a goddamn minute.
There ain't gonna be no more fighting.
Harley, Alvin, you settle down.
Did you take his wallet, miss?
Because if you did, give it back to him.
Harley's dumb, but that don't mean
he deserves to have his wallet stolen.
He's got a family and they need the money.
Bartender: You both got a lot of growing up to do.
Now, get on out of here.
All right, now, let's everybody get back to drinking!
J I'm a maintanance man, baby j
j baby, I'll fix anything for you j
J I'm a maintanance man, baby j
woman: What you doing in here, honey?
You on the wrong side of the tracks, ain't you?
You looking for crupp's. Crupp's across the road.
Uh, no, we were there already. We're just...
We're just looking for a friend of ours, that's it.
You see this boy, I edell?
You come in the juke with your guitar, dressed to play?
In a black man's juke?
I'm surprised you can walk, boy.
You got balls this big.
Man: Let's take his guitar from him.
Yes, sir, people!
The lightning boy has arrived, and if you'd be so kind
to let him and his girl toward the stage,
we gonna blow the roof off this joint.
Let him to the stage, I say!
I said, let him toward the stage.
Now, this boy's come a long way to show you
how good he can play that thing.
You wanna hear some music, people?!
Come on up here.
How's the lightning boy? Yeah
what's wrong with you? I told you not to come in here.
I got some heat from the other side. I lost the gun too.
You dumb shit, we gonna get heat from this side
if we don't take them back home.
J hey, call me Willie j
j hey, call me Willie j
j blind dog fulton j
I smokehouse brown j
j call me Willie the one and only Willie brown j
j I'm built for comfort not built for speed j
j got everything you good girls need j
j see me comin' throw your man outdoors j
js may not get this way no more I
j call me Willie the one and only Willie brown j
j yeah, yeah j
yeah
That's Willie brown!
That's Willie brown up there singing.
It 187
sure, I used to see him all the time when I was tiny.
Used to play for all the big ones. Yeah, that's him.
He's a friend of mine. A friend of yours?
Yeah
j yeah, call me Willie j
I call me Willie j
j blind dog fulton j
I smokehouse brown j
j call me Willie the one and only Willie brown j
j yeah, yeah j
Eugene: Willie brown, prince of the delta blues,
blows into some old juke house that's been dead for 40 years
and turns the place inside out, man.
And who was up there filling Robert Johnson's shoes, huh?
Looked like a dipshit from long island.
Come on. I was great and you know it.
You know, the owner walked up to Willie,
gave him three one hundred dollar bills and says:
"Your boy can play."
They know what they're talking about down here.
You guys were terrific. You guys? Us guys.
Don't count yourself out.
Looks like weevil's right outside vicksburg
which is about 30 miles shy of yazoo county.
You're almost there
Willie says that's the most beautiful land in the state.
I think when we get there we should hang with Willie.
We should settle into fulton's point
until he teaches me the lost song, right?
Then we'll get a Van. We'll tour the country.
Blind dog, lightning boy, peddling the lost blues.
This stuff is happening... Yeah, it sounds great.
It really does. What do I get to do, drive the Van?
Oh, we could get a blazer. We could go...
Ladies and gentlemen.
Here he is, prince of the delta blues, Willie brown!
Bright lights fry your brain?
I guess that's why you forgot your hat.
Willie, I just played my first barrelhouse.
I'm a bluesman now
bluesman, shit. Only one bluesman in town tonight,
that was me.
Where you learn to play them pussy chords, in music school?
Only one school, Willie.
I played the chords I learned on the road and I kicked ass.
People felt it, so don't give me that garbage.
People felt whiskey. Same as I'm feeling right now.
And just about to feel some more.
Hey, Willie, lay off him, okay? He was great.
Got a problem with that, huh?
Look, he's on the road to learn something.
Now, he can't be learning nothing if he's thinking
he's the boss...
You won't give an inch, will you, Willie?
You can't even come in here after what happened tonight
and say, "nice job, kid."
You can't even give me a simple "congratulations."
You know what you want, lightning?
You want me to stand here and say:
"Boy, you as good as Robert Johnson." But you ain't.
If you'd spend as much time with your hands on them strings
as you do on this girl's ass, you might get somewhere.
Excuse me, I think I'll go to my room
and leave you two lovebirds be.
He's a mean, shitty old man.
Shame on you, Willie brown,
traveling all the way back down home as if you had a chance.
Ain't got no chance, blind dog.
You sold your soul.
You going down. All the way down.
Hellhounds on your trail, boy.
Hellhounds on your trail.
All right.
Why you sneaking around?
I'm going. Going where?
Gotta get to L.A.
I'm just like you and Eugene, you know.
I got places to go.
What about the boy? Now, you know...
There's no goodbyes on the road. It doesn't work that way.
You give lightning boy a hug for me, okay?
Tell him I'll miss him.
You're right. Ain't no goodbyes on the road.
See you around, huh?
What's this?
$100 take care of you for a while.
Keep you out of trouble. Get you to L.A. safe.
I don't want you having to deal
with no more of them motel men, you understand?
Jesus, I can't believe you.
Go ahead. Take care of yourself.
I'll miss you, Willie.
Willie, where's Frances?
What, is she getting breakfast?
Willie, where's Frances?
Where'd she go?
Look, Willie, I know I'm not supposed
to feel sorry for myself.
And I know that you've been through things
that are a million times tougher than my life's been,
but I'm gonna miss her.
I'm really gonna miss her.
A man with a whole lot of sense said:
"Blues ain't nothing but a good man feeling bad,
thinking about the woman he once was with."
You're gonna teach me the song.
Ain't no song.
I'm sorry, Eugene. I lied to you.
I just wanted to get out of that place so bad.
Robert give us 29 songs.
It was enough.
Never was a number 30, not that I know of.
You gotta do it for yourself.
That's what Robert would have told you.
Lots of towns,
lots of songs,
lots of women.
Good times. Bad times.
The only thing I want anybody to say is:
"He could really play.
He was good.”
What are we stopping here for?
Why don't we head on to fulton's point?
It can't be too far from here.
I gotta deal with something, lightning,
or there ain't no going home.
What are you talking about?
What do you have to deal with?
Yeah, this is the one.
The hottest cathouse in the great state of Mississippi.
Is this another lesson, Willie?
You listen and you'll find out.
These are some old friends of mine.
A woman named Lily la fontaine still live here?
Lily dead, long time.
You related?
You a friend of her?
Yes, ma'am.
I used to make music here when Lily run the place.
Where are all the girls?
Boarding house now.
Got a room open.
That one over there keep wet his mattress, so he going.
Lily always say you play all the time
and flirt with the girls
and always in some mess with the law.
Glad to be remembered.
It was such a long time ago.
My grandma talk about you a lot.
She was a real good woman, your grandma.
I remember me and slim waterman
got into a fight over her one time.
A real knockdown,
gouge-your-eyes-out kind of fight.
Oh, yeah? Who won?
I don't know. I guess we both took our lumps.
But she was a real good woman.
Somewhere around here
there's a real special place.
A crossroads
Willie: You know the language I'm talking?
I need to get back to the crossroads.
You tell me how to get there?
Holice?
Holice
you drive these fellas out on grange road, past dockery's.
This is it
this is the place where it all happened.
I tell you what you gotta do.
See, you go on over there and start playing a piece.
Why?
Because there's a fella I've got to see.
And if you're playing it right, he's gonna come around.
Yeah, right, Willie. Who is this guy?
Don't ask me who
you know damn well who.
Keep it going. You standing at the crossroad now.
This is where it count.
Thought I wasn't supposed to go to the crossroads, Willie.
We ain't here for you, we here for me.
Man: Y'all need a ride?
What you waiting for, huh?
Come on, Willie. Let's get to fulton's point, huh?
What time he coming around?
What time who coming around?
You don't be fooling with me.
I'm talking about legba.
Legba? Where you been at, slick?
He done changed his name to scratch.
I don't want none of your sass. I got business with the man.
Mean old bastard, ain't you?
Forget it, honey. He's crazy.
Now, y'all sure you don't need a ride?
Ain't riding with the likes of you, smart-ass.
Or your bitch neither.
Tsk-tsk-tsk.
Suit yourself, old man.
Scratch: You looking for me, Willie brown?
Been a long time, hasn't it, Willie?
Yes, yes, it has.
What's going on here?
Yes, sir, been a long time.
You about 17 last time we saw each other.
One night on this old crossroads, wasn't it?
What can I do for you, Willie brown?
I come to see you, tell you the deal's off.
Oh, no.
According to this here piece of paper,
the deal's still on
you can tear that up and give me some peace.
Why on earth would I wanna do that?
Now, you sloughed up on your end of things.
I didn't end up where I wanted.
I didn't end up with nothing. Didn't get nothing!
You got what you were supposed to get, bluesman.
Ain't nothing ever as good as we want it to be.
But that ain't no reason to break a deal
of course...
If you had something to offer me.
I got a couple of hundred dollars.
I ain't interested in your money, you know that.
How about cutting heads?
Oh, I get it.
You want some kind of contest, huh?
You're a real smart boy, ain't you?
Well, smart boy...
I got a big white fella from Memphis
made a deal with me a few years back.
Real good guitar player, name of Jack Butler.
Cuts heads every Saturday night. Yes, sir.
He discourages a lot of up-and-coming boys.
But Willie doesn't even play guitar.
Oh, yeah. I forgot that.
Ain't that too bad
guess there ain't much hope at all for Willie brown
unless you might wanna sit in for him.
Don't do it. Sure, he's my friend.
I don't believe in any of this shit anyway.
I said, don't do it, lightning.
You win
I tear up Willie's contract.
But what happens if my man Jack Butler win?
You get me.
I already got you.
Well, then, you got me too.
Shut up, you hear? I don't want you making no deals.
Take it easy, Willie. I'm just calling his bluff for you.
We'll get to fulton's point after this.
Where and when for this thing?
Oh, I can get us there real quick.
Jack Butler's gonna like you.
Js oh, brother, hush j
j hush, hush, hush j
j somebody's calling my name j
j you better hu-sh j
j somebody... j
you know what I got here?
This is the mojo hand.
The I ouisiana voodoo charm.
The winning boy's magic.
You see, there's only one last true mojo
left in the world
take it, lightning.
Take it and go up there and do your stuff.
I'm giving you all the magic I got.
I what shall I do? J
j then you can call... j
who's next up there? Hm?
Who's coming on up?
Who's gonna get their head cut?
How about you, chicken boy?
J oh, my lord, what shall I do? J
I what shall I do? J'j'j
Well, well, well.
Who sent you here?
Can't talk, little man?
Bet can't play none either.
Uh-huh...
Willie: Now, don't be standing there
with that dumb look on your face. Let's go.
I'm sick of this down-home Mississippi.
Living up north made a city boy out of me.
I hear Chicago calling.
B.b. King and Johnny shines saying:
"Where's the new kid in town?"
You ready for the windy city?
Sure, I was born ready. Let's go get them.
All right. Now, after I show you Chicago, you're on your own.
You understand? Wait. Why can't I hang with you?
I mean, after Chicago, we can move onto! A
that ain't the way the song go.
You gotta move on without me.
Take the music someplace else.
Take it past where you found it.
Because that's what we did.
We got a deal?
All right.
You know something, lightning? What?
I'm tired of all this walking and hitchhiking.
I wanna go to Chicago in style.
I wanna fly in an airplane.