Fences

Troy, you ought to stop that lying.

I ain't lying.

Nigger had a watermelon this big,

talking about, "What watermelon, Mr. Rand?"

I'd like to fell out. "What watermelon, Mr. Rand?"

And it sitting there, big as life.

What Mr. Rand say? - He ain't said nothing.

He figure, if the nigger was too dumb to know he's carrying a watermelon,

he wasn't going to get much sense out of him.

Trying to hide that great, big, old watermelon under his coat.

Afraid to let the white man see him carry it home.

I'm like you. I ain't got no time for them kinda people.

Now, what he look like getting mad

'cause he seen the man from the union talking to Mr. Rand?

He come up to me, talking about "Troy Maxson gonna get us fired."

I told him, "Get away from me with that."

He walked away from me calling you a troublemaker.

What Mr. Rand say?

He ain't said nothing. Told me to go down

to the Commissioner's office next Friday. Whoa!

They called me down there to see them.

Well, as long as you got your complaint filed,

they can't fire you.

That's what one of them white fellas tell me.

I ain't worried about them firing me.

What, they gonna fire me 'cause I asked a question?

That's all I did.

I went to Mr. Rand and I asked him.

I asked him, "Why?

"Why you got all the white mens driving, and the colored lifting?"

Told him, "What's the matter? Don't I count?

"Think only white fellows got sense enough to drive a truck?"

"Hell, that ain't no paper job. Anybody can drive a truck.

"How come you got all the whites driving and the colored lifting?"

He told me, "Take it to the union."

Well, hell, that's what I done.

Now they want to come up with this pack of lies.

I told Brownie if the man come and ask him any questions,

just tell the truth.

Ain't nothing but somebody trumped it up on you

'cause you filed a complaint on.

Brownie ain't got that much sense.

Man wasn't thinking about nothing.

All I want them to do is change the job description,

give everybody a chance to drive the truck. Oi!

Brownie can't see that. He ain't got that much sense.

How you figure he be making out

with that gal, be up in Taylors' all the time?

- That Alberta gal? - Who?

Brownie.

Same as you and me, getting about as much as we is.

- Which is to say nothing. - It is, huh?

Well, I figure you doing a little better than me.

And I ain't saying what I'm doing!

Nigger, look here. I know you.

If you had gotten anywhere near that gal,

20 minutes later, you'd be looking to tell somebody.

And the first one you gonna want to tell,

that you gonna want to brag to is going to be me.

Oh, I ain't saying that.

I see where you be eyeing her.

I eye all the women. I don't miss nothing.

Don't never let nobody tell you Troy Maxson don't eye the women.

Hey, you been doing more than eyeing her.

You done bought her a drink or two.

Hell, yeah, I bought her a drink. What that mean?

- I bought you one, too. - (SCOFFS)

What that mean, 'cause I buy her a drink?

I'm just being polite.

It's all right to buy her one drink.

That's what you call being polite.

But when you want to be buying two or three,

that's what you call eyeing her.

Look here. As long as you've known me,

you ever known me to chase after women?

Hell, yeah! Long as I've known you.

You're forgetting, I knew you when.

I'm talking about since I been married to Rose.

Oh... Not since you been married to Rose.

That's the truth, though. I can say that.

All right then. Case closed.

I see you be walking up around Alberta's house.

You supposed to be at Taylors', and you be walking up around there.

What you watching where I'm walking for?

I don't be watching after you.

No, I seen you walking around there more than once.

Hell, you liable to see me walking anywhere.

That don't mean nothing 'cause you seen me walking around there.

Where'd she come from, anyway?

She just kinda showed up one day.

Tallahassee. You can look at that and tell she one of them Florida gals.

They got some big, healthy women down there.

Grow them right up out of the ground.

She got a little bit of Indian in her.

Most of them niggers in Florida got some Indian in them.

Yeah, I don't know about that Indian part,

but she damn sure big and healthy.

- Woman wears some big stockings. - (BOTH LAUGHING)

Got them crazy big legs, and hips wide as the Mississippi River.

Legs don't mean nothing.

You don't do nothing but push 'em out of the way.

But them hips,

- they cushion the ride. - Troy, you ain't got no sense!

It's the truth. Like you riding on Goodyears!

What you all out here getting into?

What you worried about what we getting into for, woman?

This is men talk.

What I care what you all are talking about?

Bono, you gonna stay for supper?

No, thank you, Rose,

but Lucille say she cooking up a pot of pigfeet.

Pigfeet? Hell, I'm going home with you.

I might even stay the night, you got some pigfeet.

You got something in there to top them pigfeet, Rose?

I'm cooking up some chicken. I got some chicken and collard greens.

Well, you go on back in the house.

Let me and Bono finish what we talking about.

This is men talk. I got some talk for you later.

And you know what kind of talk I mean, too.

You go on in there and powder it up.

Troy, stop it!

Oh, woman, come here.

Oh! Look here, Bono.

When I first met this woman,

I got out that place.

Hitch up my pony Saddle up my mare

There's a woman out there for me somewhere

I looked at here, looked at there, saw Rose, and I latched on to her.

I latched on to her and I told her...

Now, I'm gonna tell you the truth.

I latched on to her and told her, "Baby, I don't want to marry.

"I just want to be your man."

Rose told me... Tell him what you told me, Ro.

I told him if he wasn't the marrying kind,

then move out of the way, so the marrying kind could find me.

That's what she told me, "Nigger, you in my way.

"You blocking the view.

"Move out the way, so I can find me a husband."

- I thought it over 2-3 days. - Two-three days, nothing.

You was back the same night.

I come back, told her, "Okay, baby,

"but I'm gonna buy me a banty rooster

"and put him out there in the backyard.

"And when he see a stranger come,

"he gonna flap his wings and crow."

Look here, Bono. I done watched that front door by myself.

It was that back door I was worried about.

Don't talk like that! Troy, you're not but telling a lie.

Only thing was, we first got married, forget the rooster. We ain't had no yard.

I hear you tell it.

Me and Lucille was staying down there on Logan Street.

Had two rooms with the outhouse in the back.

I ain't mind the outhouse none.

But when that goddamn wind blew through there in the winter,

that's what I'm talking about!

To this day, I wonder why the hell

I ever stayed down there for six long years.

But, see, I didn't know I could do no better.

I thought only white folks had inside toilets and things.

A lot of folks don't think

they can do no better than they're doing now.

Just something you gotta learn. A lot of folks still shop at Bella's.

Ain't nothing wrong with Bella's. She got fresh food.

I ain't said nothing about if she got fresh food.

I'm talking about what she charge.

She charges 10 cents more than the A&P.

A&P ain't never done nothing for me.

I spend my money where I'm treated right.

I go down to Bella, say,

"I need a loaf of bread, I'll pay you Friday," she gives it to me.

What sense that make when I got money

to spend it somewhere else

and ignore the person who done right by me?

That ain't in the Bible.

We ain't talking about what's in the Bible.

What sense it make to shop there when she overcharges?

Well, you do your shopping where you want to,

I do my shopping where people been good to me.

Oh, I don't think it's right for her to overcharge, that's all.

Look here, I got to be getting on.

Lucille gonna be raising all kind of hell.

Where you going, nigger? We ain't finished this pint.

Come here finish this pint.

Well, hell, I am, if you ever turn the bottle loose.

Only thing I'll say about the A&P is, I'm glad Cory got that job down there.

Help him with his school clothes and things.

Gabe done moved out, things getting tight around here.

He got that job,

he can start to look out for himself.

Cory done got recruited by a college football team.

I told that boy about that college football stuff.

The white man ain't gonna let him get nowhere with that football.

I told him when he first come to me with it.

Now, you come telling me he done got more tied up in it.

He ought to get recruited in how to fix cars,

or some way he can make a living.

He ain't talking about making no living playing football.

It's just something the boys in school do.

They're gonna send a recruiter by to talk to you. He'll tell you.

He ain't talking about making no living playing football.