(sobs)

- I'll go, I'll go, shall l?
- No,

I don't want you to,

Thing is,,,

I love someone,

(Sara sobs)

I love someone very much,

(Sara sobs)

Try and sleep,

(mournful fiddle and banjo music)

¢Ü I know dark clouds will hover o'er me

¢Ü I know my pathway is rough and steep

¢Ü But golden fields lie out before me

¢Ü Where weary eyes no more will weep

¢Ü I'm goin ' home to see my father

¢Ü I'm goin ' home no more to roam

¢Ü I am just goin ' over Jordan

¢Ü I am just goin '...
over home

- Merry Christmas, Pangle,
- Night, ma'am,

Merry Christmas, Georgia,
Nice to meet you,

- Merry Christmas, Miss Ada,
- Merry Christmas,

- Merry Christmas, darlin',
- Don't sleep here,

- We won't,
- It's dangerous, Don't sleep here,

Oh, it's bitter,

They stop one night,
they're gonna wanna stop two,

I'll be all right,
This coat's warm,

What about next Sunday?
It'll be New Year,

- Maybe,
- Gonna be a better one than 1 864,

- This war's over in a month,
- That's what he said a month ago,

It started off bein' over in a month,

Night, Miss Sally,
Merry Christmas,

- (Georgia) Night, Miss Ruby,
- Night,

- Night, ma'am,
- Night,

You're stayin' with us tonight, Sally,

- That's my Ruby,
- She's an original,

- (Ruby) What kind of name's Georgia?
- It's where he's from, It's not his name,

Well, I know it's meant to be

Why do you care what his name is?

Hey, what do you call
that cluster of stars right there?

Right there,

Uh,,, There? That's Orion,

And that's Gemini,

Canis Major,

Listen to her, Sal,

She's turned into a regular highland girl,

Nah, I could always name the stars, Ruby,
That was never my problem,

I love you, darlin',

in case that big old sky falls on our heads,

Aw,,,

And I love you too, Sally,
I do,

- Get up!
- (baby cries)

Get up! Get out of here, quick!
The Yankees are coming!

The Yankees, they're here,

If they find you here,
things'll go bad on all of us,

- I can try and fight 'em,
- No, My baby, Please, no, Just,,,

Please, just git!

(soldier) We're Union army!
We're lookin' for food!

(soldier #2)
Come on, open up! We're hungry!

- I got nothin'! I got nothin'!
- We'll see about that,

(Ethan crying)

- There's a baby inside, Get it,
- Please, he's sick, Don't hurt him, please,

Please, I got nothin'!

(sobs)

That's right, Take the chickens,
Take the chickens, They're all I got,

Says she's only got chickens,

- You lyin' Southern trash,
- (Sara sobbing)

We're hungry,

We got all day,

See, those birds

Please cover up my boy,

Just tell us where the food is,

- Please, my baby's sick,
- (baby coughs)

Please, just cover him up,

(sobs) Please, I'm beggin' you!

Please! Have mercy!

- I got a hog!
- (baby cries)

I got a hog!

- He's hid out behind the house!
- Take a look,

Please! (sobs)

Please, sir, Please,

He's just a baby!

- He's shaking!
- (Ethan cries)

Please, just cover him up,

What's wrong with you?
What's wrong with you?

(hog squeals)

I ain't got nothin' else, I swear,

- That ain't necessarily so,
- Yes,

Take me inside,
We'll do whatever you want,

Take my baby inside,
Let's all go inside! Please!

Please! Please!

You take that hog!
I'm as good as dead!

Take that hog 'cause I'm as good as dead!

- Shut up!
- (sobbing)

No! Agh!

(Sara groaning)

(Ethan crying)

- You know, he's gettin' ready to take a fit,
- What do you care?

(Ethan crying)

(hog squealing)

- Shh,,, Shh,,,
- (crying stops)

That's better, Shh, That's better,

Hey, come on,
Leave some for the rest of us,

(Sara sobbing)

Move away from the baby!

Towards me!

Don't shoot,
We just wanted food,

Take off your boots,

Take off your pants,
Take off your shirt,

(sobbing)

Don't shoot me, please,

We're starvin',
We haven't eaten in days,

- Come on,
- We're starving, We haven't eaten in days,

Come on!

Thanks, Thank you,

- Now you get runnin',
- I will,

- And keep runnin',
- Thank you,

(hog squeals)

(horses whinny)

- (Pangle) I love the snow,
- I hate the snow, I hate the cold,

- Come on!
- (Georgia) Fellas, what's the rush?

If Ruby finds out we've spent the night,
there'll be hell to pay,

(Ada) "My love, where are you?

"With no hope of reaching you,
I write to you,

"as I always do,

as I have always done. "

¢Ü I'm alone, but I don't worry

¢Ü 'Cause I'm sittin' on top of the world

(hums)

You reckon we could eat this?

Hey,

Well, you know, you cook somethin'
long enough, you can eat anything,

It's froze,
How long it been there for?

- You hungry?
- Yeah,

Not very long,

(groaning)

(groaning)

(vomits)

(horse whinnies)

Good evenin',

Hope we didn't disturb you,

D'you mind if I warm myself by your fire?

Name's Teague,

- Do I know you?
- Stobrod Thewes,

(coughs)

- That your wife?
- That's a "he."

Is "he" your wife?

We're musicians,
He picks a banjo, I got a fiddle,

Your sweetheart's got
a nice piece of flesh on him,

- He looks pretty romantic by the fire,
- It's a picture of love,

(sniggering)

You gonna play that fiddle?

Sure,

Sure,

Hey, wake up,

Evenin', missis,

- Where's Georgia?
- "Where's Georgia"?

(laughter)

- Captain Teague wants us to play now,
- Love to,

We heard there were some deserters
up in these parts hidden out in a big cave,

- Not come to my ears,
- So you don't know where this big cave is?

- No, sir,

No, right, No, no,

There is a cave right up near Bearpen
Branch, We played some music up there,

- Never occurred to me they were outliers,
- It ain't nowhere near Bearpen Branch,

He's always gettin' lost,

That cave - we live there,

I used to freeze up in that cave
till I got gived this new coat,

Ruby made me this coat,
I like my coat,

This part belonged to a reverend
and this part belonged to a horse,

Ruby said - what is it? -
I should pray or neigh, dependin',

He don't,,,
he don't know what he's sayin',

He got a mind
no bigger than a pickled walnut,

- It's a good coat,
- (Pangle giggles)

¢Ü I wish, I wish my baby was born

¢Ü And sittin' on its papa's knee

¢Ü And me, poor girl

¢Ü And me, poor girl, were dead and gone

¢Ü And the green grass growin' o'er my feet

¢Ü I ain't ahead, nor never will be

¢Ü Till the sweet apple grows
on a sour apple tree

¢Ü The owl, the owl

¢Ü Is a lonely bird

¢Ü It chills my heart

¢Ü With dread and terror

¢Ü That someone's blood

¢Ü Someone's blood

¢Ü There on his wing

¢Ü That someone's blood

¢Ü There on his... feather

Broke my young heart,

(hoots like an owl)

We gonna be here all night?

Stand over there,

Ruby, she don't know
one end of the war from the other,

You don't have to worry yourself about her,
is what I'm sayin',

Or Ada, neither,

You too,
You stand over there,

We gonna get our tintype made?

Don't smile,

- What?
- Quit smilin',

He always smiles,
He don't mean nothin' by it,

I told him, there ain't nothin' in this world

Put your hat over your face,

Cover your face with your hat,

- (Georgia) Ruby!
- What?

- Ruby!
- What's wrong?

- Teague,,, The Home Guard,,,
- What?

They shot your daddy!

They shot your daddy, and Pangle too!

I told Georgia he can stop here,
I told him he can sleep in the barn,

He's got nothin' inside him,
He'll walk out of here and die in the snow,

He can milk the cows,
I was worried about that,

It's five hours' climb from here,
He drew a map,

I'm ready,

You know them fools
stayed the night in the mill?

That's Stobrod Thewes, Can't do
one good thing without addin' the bad,

Left tracks in the snow all the way up
for the Home Guard to follow,

- Sign that says "Shoot me."
- Ruby,,,

Ruby,

I'm sorry,

Every piece of this is man's bullshit,

They call this war a cloud over the land,

but they made the weather, and then they
stand in the rain and say "Shit, it's rainin'!"

If I cry one tear for my daddy,
I stole it off a crocodile,

All right, then,

All right, then,

Dear God, (gasps)

Oh, dear God,

He ain't here,

Agh! Teague's probably took him,

They did that with the Swanger boys,
didn't they?

Strung 'em up, as a warnin',

They took his coat,

Why would they take his coat?

(plucks strings)

Daddy? Daddy!

Daddy!

- Daddy?
- (soft groan)

He's still breathin'!

It's Ruby!

Don't you die on me again!

- We gotta get him home,
- He won't make it, He'll die first,

He's got hardly no blood left in him,

(Ada) There it is, I feel it,

- You got it?
- Yep,

(Ruby) There's a place close.
Old Cherokee, it used to be.

It's got shelter, water.

I used to hide up there
when he'd get a temper goin'.

God!

- I'll go look for some food,
- T ake the shotgun,

Goddamn,

(footfall)

Turn around!

Go back where you came from!

Go back!

Ada?

Ada Monroe?

Turn around or I'll shoot!

Inman?

Inman?

(whispers) lnman,

You better come with me,

Ruby,

This is lnman,

Oh! Congratulations!

Oughta send you out with a shotgun
a lot more!

Looks if he's about to topple over,

- I may need to,
- You shot or somethin'?

Not lately,

- He's asleep,
- I ain't surprised,

- Your man looked tuckered out,
- I saw him,

In Sally Swanger's well,
A man like a black smudge in the snow,

- Well, there you go,
- It wasn't the same, what I saw,

In the well it was as if he were falling,

- You probably just don't remember it right,
- I remember it exactly,

There were crows - black crows,

They were flyin' towards me,

Ruby, I thought I was seein' him fall,

Instead, I was seein' him come back to me,

I got big plans for that farm,

I know,

I know you have,

I got a vision in my mind
of how Black Cove oughta be,

I don't know, Ruby,

All this while
I've been packin' ice around my heart,

How do I make it melt?

(Ruby) Hey!

You about done with my knife?

We got a bird to cook,

(Inman) Just about,

You're makin' a pig's ear of that job,

Give it to me,

Oh, I ain't gonna cut you,

Can't see that it'd make
a bit of difference if I did,

You got the right feelings for her?

Don't turn your head! Tsk,

I do,

(rustling)

I'm sorry,
I was tryin' to be quiet,

Did you get my letters?

I got three letters,

I carried them,
I carried them in the book you gave me,

The Bartram,

I probably sent 1 03,

Did you write to me?

Whenever I could,

If you never got them, I can summarize,

- No, No, no,

"l pray I am in your thoughts,

You are all that keeps me
from slidin' into some dark place."

How did I keep you?

We barely knew each other,
It was a few moments,

A thousand moments,

They're like a bag,,,
of tiny diamonds,

Don't matter if they're real
or things I made up,

The shape of your neck,

That's real,

The way you felt under my hands
when I pulled you to me,

You were plowing a field,

You were carrying a tray,

- You wouldn't come in,
- No, I wouldn't go in,

So that's why I had to carry a tray,
So I could come out to see you,

That kiss,

Which I kissed every day of my walking,

Every day I was waiting,

Longing,

Longing to see your face,

If you could see my inside,,,

Now, whatever you wanna name it -
my spirit? That's what I fear,

I think I'm ruined,

They kept tryin' to put me in the ground,

- But I wasn't ready,
- lnman,,,

But if I had,,, if I had goodness,
I lost it,

If I had anything tender in me,
I shot it dead,

How could I write to you after what I done,

what I seen?

(Ruby) Number one,

shut this door,
It's freezin',

Number two, shut that door,

Layin' on my back,
my fingers poked in my ears,

tryin' to shut out
who's got a bag of diamonds,

who's carrying a tray,,,

If you wanna get three feet up a bull's ass,

just listen to what sweethearts
whisper to one another,

In fact, if y'all gonna wimble-wimble
all night, I'm gonna sleep in with him,

- I'll say good night,
- No,

Please,,,

don't say good night,

Wars make some things pointless,

It's hard to imagine a wedding,

I think even my father
would recognize that,

Ada, I wanna marry you,

If you'll have me,

Isn't there some religion where you just
have to say "l marry you" three times,

and you're man and wife?

I marry you,

I marry you, I marry you,

Why is that funny?

I think it's "l divorce you" three times
and you're not married anymore,

I can wait for you,

Oh, lnman,

I marry you, I marry you,

I have so,,,
I have so many buttons, Sorry,

Will you turn your back?

No,

No, I will not,

(Ada gasps)

(Inman moans)

I'll lead the horse
at a pace your daddy can tolerate,

- You two go ahead now,
- No, I don't wanna do that,

- No, We can all go together,
- It's safer this way,

We're deserters,
No one has a quarrel with you,

He's right,

I gather l,,,
I need permission from you, Ruby,

if I reckon on livin' at Black Cove,

All right, then,

(horse nickers)

You stay on that horse,

And don't lose it,
Or sell it,

Gonna need it back on the farm,

(mumbles)

All right, Daddy,

I don't wanna let you go,

I'll be with you by nightfall,

Ugh,

All right, then,

Hope that Georgia boy's
been tendin' to the animals,

- I knew you were thinkin' on him,
- I was not!

- I was thinkin' on swollen udders,
- Oh,,,!

- And before you say "same difference",,,
- I'm sayin' nothin'!

Miss Lovey-Dovey!
Miss Lovey-Dovey!

Hey!

- That was a long funeral for your daddy,
- That was a wake,

That was lrish,

Now, your friend Georgia here,,,

We went down to visit you when
we heard you were harborin' deserters,

and he told us - after some persuasion -
you were up here,

(Bosie) We were up and down
this mountain,

Up and down,

There will be a reckoning,

When this war is over,

Did you make this coat?

Helpin' a deserter - that's treason,

Now, I know

A reckonin'?

The reckoning's for yourworld,

- It's not mine,
- (horse whinnies)

I'l be damned,
He's a hard bastard to kill,

(Ruby yells)

- (Ada) No!
- Ruby!

(Ruby groans)

(Ada) lnman!

- (yells)
- Captain Teague!

(Ruby groaning)

(gun clicks)

- Come down from there!
- No, sir, Here is fine,

I'll just shoot the horse out from under you,

- You ridin' Captain Teague's animal?
- I am,

- He dead?
- I hope so,

Look, give me your gun and ride on home,
I'm done fightin', I'm sick of it!

I give you my gun,
you're gonna shoot me dead,

I will not shoot you,

but nor am I goin' down this mountain
lookin' over my shoulder for you,

That's what they call a conundrum,

- I'll tell you what I got on my side,
- What you got on your side?

The confidence of youth,

Inman!

(coughs)

(horse whinnies)

(Ada sobs)

No!

I,,,

came,,, back,

I love you,

(sobs)

(whispers) Baby,

(Ada) What we have lost
will never be returned to us.

The land will not heal.

Too much blood.

The heart will not heal.

All we can do is make peace with the past

and try to learn from it.

- What are you doing?
- He died in the night, love,

Bring him here,

- Don't kill him,
- I'm not gonna kill him,

We have to try somethin'
or else he's gonna die too,

- (bleats)
- It's all right,

We're gonna try a little trick,

- (bleats)
- Shh,

(lamb bleats)

(ewe bleats)

There are days now
when I manage not to think of you.

When the needs of the farm
call with more urgency than my heart.

This time of year
there's so much life everywhere.

I find you in all of it.

As if you were still walking home to me.

If you could see us now
this Easter day at Black Cove,

you would know
every step of your journey was worth it.

¢Ü I'm still climbing upwards

¢Ü And my journey's almost ended

(all) ¢Ü So, friend, if you're thirsty

¢Ü Climb this mountain with me

Grace lnman, nobody said "Eat."

(music ends with a flourish)

For good friends, good food, good family,

all our blessings, O Lord, we thank thee,

- Amen,
- Amen,

- Amen,
- Amen,

- (Ruby) Amen!
- (clears throat)

- Sweetheart, there's no cider,

Right, I'd best,,,
I'd best fetch it, I got my orders,

I looked once more down Sally's well,

and this time
there was nothin' there to haunt me.

Just clouds.

Clouds, and then... sun.

(¢Ü "The Scarlet Tide" by Alison Krauss)

¢Ü Well I recall his parting words

¢Ü Must I accept his fate

¢Ü Or take myself far from this place?

¢Ü I thought I heard a black bell toll

¢Ü A little bird did sing

¢Ü Man has no choice

¢Ü When he wants every thing

¢Ü We'll rise above the scarlet tide

¢Ü That trickles down through the mountain

¢Ü And separates the widow from the bride

¢Ü Man goes beyond his own decision

¢Ü Gets caught up in the mechanism

¢Ü Of swindlers who act like kings

¢Ü And brokers who break everything

¢Ü The dark of night was swiftly fading

¢Ü Close to the dawn of day

¢Ü Why would I want him
just to lose him again?

¢Ü We'll rise above the scarlet tide

¢Ü That trickles down through the mountain

¢Ü And separates the widow from the bride

(¢Ü "You Will Be My Ain True Love")

¢Ü You'll walk unscathed
through musket fire

¢Ü No plowman's blade will cut thee down

¢Ü No cutler's horn will mark thy face

¢Ü And you will be my ain true love

¢Ü And you will be my ain true love

¢Ü And as you walk
through death's dark veil

¢Ü The cannon's thunder can't prevail

¢Ü And those who hunt thee down will fail

¢Ü And you will be my ain true love

¢Ü And you will be my ain true love

¢Ü Asleep inside the cannon's mouth

¢Ü The captain cries "Here comes the rout"

¢Ü They'll seek to find me north and south

¢Ü I've gone to find my ain true love

¢Ü The field is cut and bleeds to red

¢Ü The cannonballs fly round my head

¢Ü The infirmary man may count me dead

¢Ü When I've gone to find my ain true love

¢Ü I've gone to find my ain true love