Original subtitles

Hmm.

Hmm.

Men! Charge!

Nanye!

You really wanna know me?

Take a number

Pretty purse on ya head

Might attract a bounty hunter

I'm not, I'm not, I'm not the shooter But you might wanna runna

I'm not the shooter But you might wanna take cover

Look in the mirror Do you recognize who's staring back?

I'm not your sh-sh-sh-sh-shadow But I'm just as black

I'm not your brother's keeper I'm not your nigger either

Don't fear the Reaper Not your shadow, shadow, shadow, ow!

Straight up, don't turn your back Boy, check your cardiac

Straight up, don't turn your back

Face up, don't turn your back

Too late you hear the clack

Check your cardiac

I'm not your sh-sh-sh-sh-shadow But I'm just as black

Hmm?

Ahni.

Name her… Ahni.

Hmm.

You said my father was dead.

I thought he was.

You said he was a good man.

How do you know he is not?

It doesn't matter. If this man fights with the whites, he's not my father.

He is the enemy, and he will die with them.

Be sure, young one.

Before you shed your father's blood, be sure of who he really is.

Make sure he really is this enemy that you have decided to see everywhere you look.

I thank you for saving my life, for getting me here,

but I can't bring you along against him. I just can't risk it.

They say where they're headed?

I… I'm not telling.

You don't know what you're fooling with.

What you in the way of.

-Tell me where they went, now! -No!

Your head's still all mushy from Etta's concoction,

and you got an ornery, fussy new arm with upgrades you don't even know about.

You got no chance of stopping Rivenbark without my help.

Then I'd lose you, and Uncle Eugene, and Etta. No!

I don't care what he might do to me.

You need my help, and I'm helping you, and that's final.

What is wrong with you, girl?

Do I need your blood on my hands with all the rest I gotta carry?

When you gonna learn? This ain't no storybook.

I'm trying to save your life, you damn fool.

Go home!

I don't have a home!

I don't have anything but a wood cot in the back of a hardware shop.

No mother, no father, no brothers or sisters.

The whole town ignores me or laughs at me,

and I'm nothing to Mr. Mason but a slave.

And the only thing, the one thing, that made it all bearable, sir,

the only sweetness I had in my life was…

was…

Nobody in the world loves me, Mr. Bass.

Nobody at all.

Nobody except my Uncle Eugene.

So, yes, I would rather die out here searching for him

than go home without him, because without him, there's just…

There's just nothing to go back to, sir.

No reason to go back at all.

Well, reckon if I did send you back,

you'd just wait an hour and follow along anyway.

Mr. Bass Reeves, sir, that is exactly what I would do.

Hmm. Fine.

Hey!

But we ain't got time to wait on your little scooter.

All right, where we headed?

The flyer mentioned a science fair in Tuskaheegee.

Okay, then we in for some rough terrain. Ha!

Holy shit.

Tickets here! Tickets!

Tickets here! Tickets!

So much security.

See to our passage.

Where will you be?

I got something I gotta do.

But… but… but, Mr. Bass, I… I'm not good at…

All aboard!

Mommy…

Do I have to wear this hat? It itches.

Honey, leave it be.

Do not take that hat off, do you understand me?

But why?

Apologies, ma'am,

but your nigger here is gonna have to ride in the colored car.

You go on now, Mrs. Starr.

Your husband will reunite with you once we all reach our destination.

But Mommy, why can't we go with Daddy?

"Daddy."

Did she just call that nigger father?

The poor dear. My, uh, manservant looks after her with such tender care

she often mistakes him for her own father.

The child will have to ride in the colored car too

with her "manservant."

But why?

-Ahh! -Hush now, child.

I need to send a message.

To Fort Hope.

Got us situated?

Yes, but, Mr. Bass, I need to tell you something.

Young miss, uh, this is a ticket for the colored car.

You don't have to sit back here.

You can ride up front with the white folks.

Oh, no, it's fine. I'm actually--

I… I understand you're close to your friend here,

but at your age, it just wouldn't be appropriate or even safe

to ride in, uh, this car.

No, you don't understand. I'm--

Our apologies, boss.

I'll get the young missus to her car.

You listen to your friend, sweetheart.

Be a good girl.

-Agh! -Stop! We got a job to do.

Can't be causing fuss and raising suspicion.

I wasn't trying to, Mr. Bass.

Go and ride up front with your people. We'll join back up directly.

But that's what I'm trying to tell you, Mr. Bass.

I don't exactly know who my people are.

-Can't wait to show what I've cooked up. -That's right.

I know Risie's gonna be happy to see me when I get home with this gold medal.

They don't have a chance.

Hmm.

All aboard!

Is that Bass Reeves I'm looking at?

Well, if you're looking at me, it is.

Is that old Joe Warrant asking?

Old is right. Come see, boys.

Bass and me served in the war together.

And afterwards, he helped me arrest the Tom Early gang.

You didn't need much help, as I recall. You had the best shot I ever…

Is that Earl Unis?

Mmm.

And Chuck Naught?

Yeah, Bass. It's all of us.

Every Negro bounty hunter in the state must be on this train.

Well, you all must be after some mighty big criminal to be joined up like this.

Biggest criminal ever born.

Maybe you could throw in with us too.

Can't. After a big reward myself.

Bet it don't pay like ours.

Well, now, you'd lose that bet.

If I bring this fella in…

…they gonna make me marshal.

Huh?

They still tricking young niggers with that one?

Let me guess.

Judge Parker brought you into his office,

had some important general hand you a piece of paper.

And who told you about it?

Every time they want a nigger to throw his life away,

they dangle that marshal's badge in front of him.

Tricked me like that twice.

Hate to tell you, son, but you ain't getting that badge.

They'll come up with some reason to deny it to you.

No. It… No, it… it ain’t like you say.

Why ain't it?

Because the white man would never lie to you?

Wake up, boy.

You been had.

Well, we got tired of waiting for the white man to give us what he promised.

We decided we going take ours now.

So what do you say, Bass?

Help us rob this train.

Why do you keep staring back there?

What? Uh, no, I… I wasn't. I… I just have a crink in my neck.

Stop that. You're going to give yourself away.

I've… I've nothing to give away, ma'am.

Your daddy.

He was the Negro, am I right?

How did you…

Hmm. The ones with the Black daddies are always the most timid.

You can hide your hair, girl, but you can't hide that fear in your eyes.

Are you gonna tell?

Not if you don't tell on me.

Now be still before you give us both away.

You all are being foolish.

There's 30-odd men standing guard.

Well, we got something for 'em, don't you worry.

I looked up to you old-timers. You all been lawmen for years.

And what we got to show for it?

Not a pot to piss in, nor a window to throw it out of.

And the white men we put in jail

got it better in there than we do out here.

They won't put you in jail for this. They will put you in the dirt.

Shit. Anybody they send you out to catch could do that, Bass.

If you're gonna risk death, why not make it worth the risk?

It's bigger things at stake now.

Man I'm after,

it's… it's Rivenbark.

Thought he was dead.

He will be. Stop this foolishness and help me put him down.

No.

War’s over.

He's white folks' problem now.

You don't want to join us, Bass, that's fine.

Just stay out of our way while we go about our business.

How about that?

Stop leering at me, girl.

If they spot one of us,

they'll start looking more carefully at everyone.

Stay calm. Act like you belong.

But that's just it, ma'am.

I'm not sure I do belong

anywhere.

I understand.

You feel guilty.

Why should you be up here when others of your kind are back there?

That's not the question.

This is.

You get one life.

Why suffer if you don't have to?

But if my people are suffering, shouldn't I suffer with them?

Oh, darling.

How would you suffering as well help them?

You're asking yourself,

"Am I colored? Am I white?"

The real answer is you're both.

But the world don't accept that.

So you have to choose.

You want to live like me?

Or like them?

What's it gonna be, Bass?

Reckon I'm gonna stop you.

Why? It's the white man's train.

His money.

We told you, you ain't getting that badge.

You want to look after your wife and kids? Help us.

Our money is real.

Why are you still protecting laws that don't protect you?

I don't know why I gotta do all the things I gotta do, Joe.

I just know I gotta do 'em.

You ain't gotta do shit.

Not if you want this girl to live.

Get to it, boys.

Me and old Bass gonna keep it nice and friendly back here.

Ain't we, Bass?

Boy, where do you think you're--?

You stay still, you stay alive.

This train's being integrated.

Mmm.

Okay, Dana.

Time for a field test.

Here we go.

Don't hurt her.

Don't make me.

I ain't trying to harm our own.

Look around. How's that working out?

They ain't harmed. They're just a little scared is all.

Yeah, scared of the wrath y'all about to unleash on 'em.

And that's my fault?

That's that white man's law you so fond of.

What else we got, Joe?

We can have what they have if we willing to get it like they did,

with our fists and our guns.

And kill everybody who gets in your way? How's your law different from theirs?

Because I'm settling a debt.

Whatever we take off this train, it'll be less than what we's owed.

So he robs you, and you rob him.

He kills you, and you kill him. He burns your village, and you burn his.

Then what? It's just… just killing.

And killing and killing and killing until you don't know anything else.

Until you killed all that's good inside you.

We do that, the whole world is nothing but war, Joe.

I've been to war. I ain't going back.

Hmm.

Mm-hmm.

You think I didn't notice you giving your partner the up signal?

I've been at this since you was in diapers, boy.

I was hoping you'd see things my way, Bass.

My God, you look just like your--

Don't. Stay back.

You know who I am.

It doesn't matter. You'll try to stop us.

I can't let you stop us.

If you was gonna kill me, you would've done it by now.

I needed to know what kind of man you were first.

What kind am I?

It doesn't matter. You're on the wrong side.

I'm on your side.

Liar! I fight for my people.

You fight for this world the white man built.

That's not true.

Dana, stay out of this.

Mr. Bass doesn't just fight for white people.

He fights for Blacks, Choctaw, Chickasaw, everybody.

What do you know about my people, white girl?

What do you know about anything?

Huh.

That child…

I know what it's like to not know what side you should be on.

To not know for sure who you are or what you should be fighting for,

but know what I think, ma'am?

I think being a good person isn't about what side you're on.

It's about helping people.

-Will you help us help these people? -Hmm?

I won't interfere with this fight, but that doesn't mean I'll help you.

Hmm. I knew it.

Liar.

Stay put. I'm giving you all one last chance.

Leave this train now, and we all go home whole.

Get, get, get back

I ain't got time for the tact

Grinning with a burlap sack

Snatch a crown from a king Then I tell you where I spat

Grown man simping for a rat

Bootlicker blues, you a gnat

Time to start a riot, where you at

Where you at, where you at Where you at, at

-Left side to the right side -Left side to the right

-Front side to the back -Front side to the back

Stampede if you're with me…

This way, into the rear car.

But that's the colored car.

It's the not-shot car.

If you'd like to be not shot, follow me.

The ones below

Can't you see we're the pot of gold

Shake that ground, where they gonna go

Ooh

You gotta do it For the ones you love, baby

You gotta fight For the ones you love, baby

You gotta do it For the ones you love, baby

You gotta fight For the ones you love, baby

Drop your guns, or be shot down.

I'm not with them. I'm Bass Reeves. I'm a--

Get back in your car, boy. Now.

But, sir, Bass is the one who stopped these men.

He saved all these people.

I'm not gonna tell your Black ass again. Get back in the colored car.

What was you expecting, nigga?

A thank you? A round of applause?

For that white god you love so much

to pat you on your head and call you a good boy?

Oh, no, fool.

You do everything the white man tells you.

Follow all his rules,

and you still end up right here next to me,

on your knees.