The Romance of Rosy Ridge

* I long for Missouri *

* and I'ma goin' *

* back there yonder again someday *

* come along *

* I'ma goin' *

* come along *

* I'm a goin' *

* to roam again home again *

* I...Come from Missouri *

* and I'm a goin' *

* to Missouri again someday *

Hello, Ninny Nat. Any news?

Yep, a bushel of it.

No, there ain't gonna be no play party.

Reckon folks is just too ornery

ever to get dancin' or laughin' again.

I don't know why I keep on practicin' on this dang fiddle.

What's the news?

Where's your pa?

Is it about my brother, Ben?

Come to think of it, got news of Ben, too.

Ben, he's alive. He's coming home.

Hold on there! Hold on there!

Hold on there!

Pa, it's about Ben!

Ben's alive! Ben's coming home from the war!

Pa!

Ben.

Ben!

I knew they couldn't kill my boy.

Ma! Ma!

Can't you answer!

I said Ben's come home from the war!

Aaahhh!

Ben's alive! He's coming home from the war!

Ben's coming!

Lissy! Lissy! Where is he? Where's Ben?

Doggone that female woman anyhow.

He's coming home!

Where's Ben?

I told ya them Yankees could never kill that boy!

Hey, hey!

Doggone women. Mouths always running off with your feet.

I'll tan his hide the color of buffalo skin when he finally homes hisself.

All this work to be done on the farm,

and him a Larkin' over the country side.

Are you gonna allow me to speak my piece, or ain't ya?

It's time you learned not to conclusion people afore they're outspoke.

Now I'll tell you the news.

All them that's fought for the south

are gettin' together afore sundown today

to put an end to this here barn burning.

A meeting's been called at Cal Baggett's store.

What's the meeting got to do with Ben?

Nary a thing.

But you said you had news of him acomin' home.

Never did. You asked me was there news about Ben.

And I said, "come to think of it, I did have some."

And I have.

Appears about a week ago,

Ad Buchanan homed himself from a hospital in Memphis.

Everyone thinkin' ad killed.

And nothing worse wrong with him than the bottom of his leg shot off.

I heard as how ad fought in just about every bit of fighting there was.

And if that's true, I reckoned he must have seen that boy of yours somewhere.

That's all the news there is.

And if Lissy Anne here hadn'ta jumped right down my throat,

I'da said just that right off and nothing more.

Come on, Beulah.

When he said he had news of Ben so cheerful-like, I--

I'm sorry, ma.

It ain't your fault.

Ben ain'ta comin' home, Lissy Anne.

I knowed it right along from the minute he left 2 year ago.

Giddyup.

Whoa. Fetch my gun.

Gill.

Now don't go getting all uneasy-like.

We'll be back afore dark.

Gill, don't go accountin' on what Ninny Nat said about Ben.

I wish you wouldn't be in such a hurry to bury that boy.

The war's only been over 4 months.

You didn't think I was coming home neither.

And the same with ad Buchanan, but he's home, too.

I tell you, I know nothing's happened to Ben.

Giddyup!

We been waiting on you, Gill.

Everybody's here.

Ad, Jim, reckon we're about ready to start.

Come along.

Bill, you and Clancy just keep right on aworkin'.

What are you gonna do?

Just mosey around a bit, pa.

See that you keep yourself outta trouble.

Oh. Fishing's been right good down the creek lately.

Too bad you ain't brought your line.

Ain't never without it, Mr. Baggett.

Ha ha ha.

Well, glad you're here. We been waiting for you.

Now that Gill's here, let's get it going.

Well, first off, let's do a bit of checking.

Now, renny, your barn's been burned down.

And you, bill.

No need to count 'em.

Barn for barn, drive 'em out.

Pay 'em in kind for burning down Cal Baggett's mill and grainery.

Yeah!

My granary's down, but I want it understood straight-- I'm neutral.

My wife give me five fine gals.

Four of 'em married right good men.

Two of 'em here fought in the war with you.

The other two out there rebuilding the granary, fought for the north.

For us, the war's over, and I don't want it to start again

in this house where we all gotta live.

Being neutral don't stop barns from being burnt.

No, it doesn't.

That's the truth, but we don't know who's doing the burning.

We do know there ain't been no northern barns burned.

That speaks right loud to me.

Burn their barns! Hang 'em! Run 'em out of these hills!

Kill 'em!

Won't get peace that way.

Let's hear what Gill has to say.

I've been listening, trying to think.

But I see it this way.

When I home myself, there's my family sick and hungry.

The land is 3 years back in taxes and interest

and I hadda start rubbing hard right off.

It's a good growing spring,

and I've got the biggest crop growing I ever did plant.

Enough to square me off.

But there ain't no hands to work the crops and none to harvest them.

There's only one way I know.

We that fought the war together, we've gotta work together now.

Start trading labor.

Oh, it can't be done.

That's when they burn you out,

when you're off of your place and over the hill somewhere.

Neighbors can trade labor.

Gill, you live right next to the yearys.

The yearys.

I said them that's fought together.

I'd rather see the crops rot in the ground

than neighbor up with a northerner.

Gill's right. There's only one way.

Run the northerners out afore they run us out.

Hold on! I didn't say that!

Now hold on, now hold on.

We can't go dividing ourselves on opposite sides.

If you all think you can get your crops in first and tend to barn burning later,

go ahead and try.

Maybe when they burn some more of you out,

you'll change your minds and we'll all be together on this.

Now, come on, Badge.

I've had enough of this here...

Hey, hey. Hey, ad.

Ad!

I hear you might have some news of my boy, Ben.

Ain't heard a word from nowhere about him.

Never seed him, Gill, nowhere.

Reckon I musta left before he did.

I reckon you did.

Somebody said they heard you mighta run into him somewhere.

Never seed him.

I didn't reckon you had.

Andrew!

Andrew!

You hear me!

Dang it, boy! You gone deaf?

I've been shouting for 10 minutes.

Pa!

Huh?

Appears like the biggest trout I ever did hook onto.

Here, boy, better give that to me afore you lose him.

Easy.

Easy now, boy.

Ha ha ha!

What'd I tell ya?!

Well, I swore.

He didn't say Ben weren't comin' home, did he?

He don't know nothin' about him.

Pa?

Hmm?

Ben was the best shot in the whole world.

And if you're the best, nobody can be better, can they?

Nope.

Well, then it'd be as Ben's done all the killing

and he'll be acomin' home.

Pa, look!

That smoke's down our holler!

Hold tight, Sonny! Giddy on now!

Go!

Think we can still save the walls.

Stinkin' snakes! Why didn't ya shoot 'em?

It's alright, pa, the fire's out.

It's out.

The livestock's roasted, I reckon.

No, the fire hurried the cows freshenin'.

She dropped her calf real sudden-like.

Tom Yeary saved it. It's a right nice heifer.