Bonanza (1959–1973): Season 7, Episode 28 - The Unwritten Commandment - full transcript
Young Andy Walker wants to be a singer, and a local saloon hostess is anxious to train him. But Andy's father won't hear of it and doesn't want his son to be anything but a farmer like him.
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♪♪
♪ Oh, fare thee
well, old Joe Clark ♪
♪ Fare thee well, I'm gone ♪
♪ Fare thee well,
old Joe Clark ♪
♪ I better be gettin' on ♪
♪ Old Joe Clark had a house ♪
♪ 16 stories high ♪
♪ Every story in that house
was filled with chicken pie ♪
♪ Oh, fare thee
well, old Joe Clark ♪
♪ Fare thee well, I'm gone ♪
♪ Fare thee well,
old Joe Clark ♪
♪ I better be gettin' on ♪
♪ I went down to
old Joe's house ♪
♪ Never been there before ♪
♪ He slept on a feather
bed, and I slept on the floor ♪
- ♪ Oh, I went down to... ♪
- Andy?
Come here, boy.
Yes, sir?
You should have been on
your way to town a half hour ago.
I'll have the wagon
loaded in a minute, Pa.
I just have a couple
more sacks of grain.
Well, get that wagon
loaded and get out of here.
I want you back by
noon, understand?
Yes, sir.
I got work for us to do.
Yes, sir, I'll-I'll
be back in time.
- And, boy?
- Yes, sir?
Don't let me catch
you loafing again, hear?
I wasn't loafing, Pa. Honest.
Singing like a fool.
You're no bird.
You're a half-growed man.
And a man's joy is
to work, not to sing.
You hear?
Yes, sir, I hear you.
And drop off a sack
of feed to Cartwrights'.
We've owed it to
him for a week now.
Yes, sir, I will.
♪ Oh... ♪
♪ Fare thee well,
old Joe Clark ♪
♪ Fare thee well, I'm gone ♪
♪ Fare thee well,
old Joe Clark ♪
♪ Better be gettin' on ♪
♪ Old Joe Clark had a house ♪
♪ 16 stories high ♪
♪ Every story in that house ♪
♪ Was filled with chicken pie ♪
♪ Oh, fare thee
well, old Joe Clark ♪
♪ Fare thee well, I'm gone ♪
♪ Fare thee well,
old Joe Clark ♪
♪ Better be gettin' on ♪
♪ Oh, I went down
to old Joe's house ♪
♪ I never been there before ♪
♪ He slept on a feather bed ♪
♪ And I slept on the floor ♪
♪ Oh, fare thee
well, old Joe Clark ♪
♪ Fare thee well, I'm gone ♪
♪ Fare thee well,
old Joe Clark ♪
♪ I better be gettin' on ♪
♪ Old Joe had a yellow cat ♪
♪ Neither sing nor pray ♪
♪ She stuck her head
in a buttermilk jar ♪
♪ And washed her sins away ♪
♪ Oh, fare thee
well, old Joe Clark ♪
♪ Fare thee well, I'm gone ♪
♪ Fare thee well,
old Joe Clark ♪
♪ I better be gettin' on ♪
♪ The higher up
the cherry tree ♪
♪ The riper grows the cherry ♪
♪ The more you hug
and kiss the girls ♪
♪ The sooner they will marry ♪
♪ Oh, fare thee
well, old Joe Clark ♪
♪ Fare thee well, I'm gone ♪
♪ Fare thee well,
old Joe Clark ♪
♪ I better be gettin' on. ♪
- How you doing, Andy?
- Whoa. Oh, hi, Little Joe.
I'm just bringing back
that grain your pa lent us.
Well, there was no hurry
with it, but thanks anyway.
How are things
going at your place?
Ah, you know, Pa's
been keeping me busy.
We've been clearing
that new ground, and...
that doesn't leave me too
much time for anything else.
Pa wants to plow it this fall.
Have you heard
anything from Adam?
Yeah, yeah, got a
letter from him last week.
He's in Paris now.
Wow.
He's gonna spend the
winter and spring there.
Boy... would I love to
see some of those places.
My ma used to always tell me
about London and Paris and Rome,
and she'd been to
every one of 'em.
Well, who knows, you might
get to see them someday.
Uh, those places
might as well be
on the other side of the
moon, as far as I'm concerned.
I'm lucky to get off the farm
long enough to
go to Virginia City.
Yeah, well, that
makes two of us.
- You going into town?
- Yeah.
Listen, give me time
to saddle up my horse,
- I'll go with you.
- Sure.
Buy you a beer.
That is, if your pa don't mind.
Well, I've... I've
never had a beer or...
even been in a
saloon, for that matter.
I guess it's about time.
Good deal. I'll be
with you in a minute.
Good.
♪♪
Very good, very good.
I see you got the
wagon unloaded.
Yeah, the sacks gave out
about ten seconds before I did.
Well, I don't know about you,
I'm ready for the beer. Come on.
- No, maybe I'd better not.
- Aw, come on, Andy,
one beer's not
gonna hurt anything.
Hey, that song.
Where's it coming from?
Andy, it is coming
from the same place
where we're gonna get the beer.
Come on, let's go.
♪ ...on her bed, in gay
profusion, lying there ♪
♪ Lovely ribbons,
scarlet ribbons ♪
♪ Scarlet ribbons
for her hair... ♪
Come on, Lil, pick it up.
Your feet are dragging.
Look, at this hour
of the morning,
I'm lucky to be standing on 'em.
♪♪
♪ All the stores were
closed and shuttered ♪
♪ All the streets
were dark and bare ♪
♪ In our town, no
scarlet ribbons... ♪
- Howdy.
- Good morning, Little Joe.
We'll have a couple
of beers, Cosmo.
Right up.
♪ Just before the
dawn was breaking ♪
♪ I peeked in and on her bed,
in gay profusion lying there ♪
♪ Lovely ribbons,
scarlet ribbons... ♪
- Two beers, Little Joe.
- Yeah, thanks, Cosmo.
Andy, your beer's here.
♪ I will never know
from where... ♪
What's the matter, you
want something stronger?
No, it's not that.
- Huh?
- It's not that.
What? I can't hear you.
I said she's
singing it all wrong!
I haven't even finished
my first cup of coffee,
and already I've got a critic.
Uh, he-he didn't mean
anything by that, Miss Lilly.
Uh... he was just kidding you.
Y-Yes, ma'am. You
got a right to sing it
a-any way you want to.
Even if I was singing
it all wrong, huh?
Yes, ma'am, even then.
Whoever made you a critic,
Mr... whatever your name is.
My ma.
Sh... She didn't make
me an expert on music,
but she did teach me how
that song ought to be sung.
Hey, Mike, let's listen
to the maestro here.
Let him show us how the
song really ought to be done.
Well, sure, if you
really want me to.
Step right up.
Take the stage.
The-the way you
did it was just fine,
except a little bit slower.
♪ I peeked in ♪
♪ To say good night ♪
♪ Then I heard ♪
♪ My child in prayer ♪
♪ "And for me ♪
♪ "Some scarlet ribbons ♪
♪ "Scarlet ribbons ♪
♪ For my hair" ♪
♪ All the stores ♪
♪ Were closed and shuttered ♪
♪ All... ♪
Hey, kid, keep going.
No, I, uh... I better not.
Well, I've heard enough...
enough to know you've
got a beautiful voice.
Well, it gets the hogs
in for feeding, at least.
Boy, you sure surprised me,
Andy... I thought it was great.
Thank you, Joe.
How long you been studying, kid?
Well, the only
studying I ever did
is what my ma used to teach me.
Well, why'd you stop?
She died four years ago.
Well...
I better be getting
back, because...
my pa wouldn't
like my being here.
- See you, Joe.
- No, I'm coming with you.
Take it easy.
- Thanks for the beer, Cosmo.
- Sure, Little Joe.
You ain't eatin'. You sick?
No, Pa, I'm fine.
I was just thinking.
Well, thinkin' don't stick
to your ribs like stew.
It won't get the plow
picked up in town tomorrow.
I haven't forgotten
the plow, Pa.
I'm just remembering that piano
we had when Ma was with us.
Do you ever think about
getting us another piano, Pa?
No.
I just thought it'd be
nice to have a little music
around the house, that's all.
We had music around
when your ma was alive.
When she died, so'd the music.
What got you
thinking about a piano?
Oh, nothing, Pa.
It just crossed
mind, that's all.
Well, uncross it.
Maybe birds got time for
songs, but farmers don't.
Ma used to say that
the whole world's a song
if you just listen hard enough.
♪♪
Yeah. She did say that.
But she's gone.
There'll never be
another like her.
You're right, Pa, there'll...
never be anybody like her.
Thank you, Pa.
Hey, Mike,
play the kid's version of
"Scarlet Ribbons," hmm?
♪♪
♪ I peeked in ♪
♪ To say good night ♪
♪ And then I heard ♪
♪ My child ♪
♪ In prayer ♪
♪ "And for me ♪
♪ "Some scarlet ribbons ♪
♪ "Scarlet ribbons ♪
♪ For my hair" ♪
♪ Through the night ♪
♪ My heart ♪
♪ Was aching ♪
♪ Just before ♪
♪ The dawn ♪
♪ Was breaking ♪
♪ I peeked in ♪
♪ And on her bed ♪
♪ In gay profusion ♪
♪ Lying there ♪
♪ Lovely ribbons ♪
♪ Scarlet ribbons ♪
♪ Scarlet ribbons for her hair ♪
♪ If I live ♪
♪ To be two hundred ♪
♪ I will never ♪
♪ Know from where ♪
♪ Came those lovely ♪
♪ Scarlet ribbons ♪
♪ Scarlet ribbons ♪
♪ For her hair. ♪
So, what'd you do?
Well, now, picture this.
We had half the
place mad with us
because we played "Dixie,"
and the other half as
mad because we played
"Battle Hymn of the Republic."
If you think this is
such an easy job,
what do you think we
played to keep peace?
Beats me.
"God Save the Queen"
confused them all.
Well, I think I'm gonna go over
and see if they got any
room at the barbershop.
Y...
No. Just a trim.
Mike.
Lilly, why don't you ask
Andy about, you know,
what we talked
about the other night.
Yes, I will.
What, uh...
what were you supposed
to ask me about?
Andy... how would
you like to work here?
Me?
I don't know how to
do anything in a saloon.
Well, you can sing.
Yeah, but I'm not a real singer.
Ah, but you could be.
And I could start teaching you.
Look, Andy,
I've been around
singers, sweet and sour,
all of my life...
and I know you can make it.
No, my pa'd never let me.
Working in a saloon?
It's not what you work
inside of that counts, Andy,
it's what's inside of you.
Don't you want to sing?
I think you'd like to
try it, wouldn't you?
Yeah, I guess I would.
Then ask your pa.
Just ask him.
For me.
I, uh... I better
be getting home.
Bye, Miss Lilly.
Bye.
But it's not as if I'll be away
when you need me, Pa.
I've said all I'm gonna
say about it, boy.
Okay, Pa, you've had your
say, now let me have mine.
You already have.
But, Pa, she's just
gonna teach me
how to sing right, that's all.
Disrespect for your father's
what she'll be teaching you.
I don't want you
having anything to do
with a saloon girl like her.
Pa, she's a nice lady,
and she says I got
a real good voice.
I've said all I'm gonna
say about it, boy!
But, Pa, all I want is...
What you want don't matter.
Can't you understand that?
Yeah, Pa, I'm getting to
understand that real well.
What's that mean?
It means that I... I've had
enough of that kind of talk, Pa.
Now, I'm... I'm warning you.
You're warning me?!
Just what you got in
mind, Mr. Big Britches?
I'll leave, Pa.
I'll leave and I'll
never come back.
You can pack up and
get out anytime it suits you.
But, Pa, I'm your son.
I lost my son about
30 seconds ago.
♪♪
Well, Mom, I'm leaving.
I don't think it's
anybody's fault,
it's just the natural
way of things.
I can't be just a
son for always.
I got to be a man, on my own.
So it's natural
for a son to leave.
But it ain't natural it's got to
be done with so much pain.
Pa's been afraid
ever since you left, Ma.
It's like he thinks the
only thing that he can love
is just the earth.
Not the people... not
the things they do...
just the earth.
Ma, you used to
always tell me that...
if I listen real hard...
I could hear the breeze singing.
Well, I hope someday a...
a good breeze will come along
and you'll be able
to hear me, too.
Good-bye, Ma.
♪♪
Hey, Andy!
How you doing?
Fine, just fine, Little Joe.
Yeah, I can, uh, I can
see that by the sign.
Yeah, just fine, if you
overlook the fact that I left home
and I'm flat broke.
You sure you're
doing the right thing?
Yeah. And don't try
to talk me out of it,
because I've made
my own decision,
and I'm gonna be a singer.
Miss Lilly's gonna help me.
Look, I wasn't trying to
talk you out of anything.
I was trying to
talk you into a job.
We got some horses out at
the ranch that need breaking.
We need another man.
Not anymore, you don't.
We got a deal.
Come on down to the
stable. I'll get you a horse.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Hello, Little Joe.
How you doing?
I have had some day.
I feel like I've been
busting broncs for a week.
Are you trying to tell me you're
not gonna sit down for dinner?
Listen, I want to tell you
I'm real proud of you,
though... You didn't know it,
but I had an eye on you
today; you did real fine.
Well, thank you for
giving me the job.
Well, thank you for taking it.
Course, don't rest
on your laurels.
We got quite a
tough batch of horses
picked out for you tomorrow.
Nothing like those feather
beds you were on today.
None of those feather
beds like you had today!
You could've gone all
week without saying that.
- Come on, I'll get you some liniment.
- Okay. Whew!
♪ Oh, Danny Boy ♪
♪ The pipes, the pipes ♪
♪ Are calling ♪
♪ From glen to glen ♪
♪ And down the mountainside ♪
♪ The summer's gone ♪
♪ And all the roses ♪
♪ Are falling ♪
♪ 'Tis you, 'tis you ♪
♪ Must go ♪
♪ And I must bide ♪
♪ But come you back ♪
♪ When summer's on ♪
♪ The meadow ♪
♪ Or when the valley's hushed ♪
♪ And white with snow ♪
♪ It's... I'll be here ♪
♪ In sunlight or ♪
♪ In shadow ♪
♪ Oh, Danny Boy ♪
♪ Oh, Danny Boy ♪
♪ I love ♪
♪ You ♪
♪ So... ♪
Just beautiful!
Dad-burnit, Andy, I don't know
nobody named Danny, but...
doggone it, every time I
hear that, it chokes me up.
I think maybe the way
Andy was singing it
had something to
do with that, Hoss.
Gee, I hope Adam doesn't
mind my using his guitar.
Well, heck, none
of us can play...
It was just gathering
dust till you picked it up.
You keep playing it that way.
I understand you're taking
some singing lessons, too.
Well, sorta.
I mean, not from a real teacher.
It's just Miss Lilly down
at the Silver Dollar.
Now, Andy, just because Miss
Lilly sings at the Silver Dollar
doesn't mean
that... she can't sing.
Or teach.
Hey, they offered you a job
over there at the Silver
Dollar, didn't they?
Yeah, I start this
Friday, if I want to.
Did you, uh, tell
your pa about this?
Well, I better be getting
over to the bunkhouse.
I got a long day tomorrow.
Good night, fellas.
Excuse me. Good night.
- Good night, Andy.
- Good night.
Good night, Andy.
Now, Pa, I wish
somebody could...
I don't know,
talk to his father,
try to explain the
boy's side of it.
Yeah. Well, let's go to bed.
Yeah.
♪ So come me back ♪
♪ When summer's on the meadow ♪
♪ Or when the valley's ♪
♪ Hushed and white with snow ♪
♪ For it's... I'll... ♪
Bad, huh?
Morning, Willard.
We ain't got nothin'
to say to each other.
Well, there's something
I'd like to say to you.
You know, Andy's
working at the Ponderosa.
You can tell him for me,
ain't no use sending you here
begging my forgiveness.
Well, he didn't send me here.
There's doers and
there's dreamers
in this world, Ben,
and a dreamer's just
bound to get in my way.
His mother did that.
She was a good woman.
Meant a whole
lot to me, she did.
But she had her
head in the clouds.
Head and... heart,
too, for all I know.
She was a fine woman.
She never seemed to
understand that life is...
hard facts.
She taught Andy
to think like she did.
Singin' ain't gonna fix
this old fence of mine.
Now, Willard, the
way Andy sings,
you ought to be proud of him.
Do you know that... that people
are paying to hear him sing?
For money?
Where?
At the Silver Dollar.
I'd be obliged if you'd let
me get on with my work,
Ben Cartwright.
Oh, all right, Willard.
You keep right on
building that fence.
You make sure it's real strong
so nobody can get in.
And make sure it's real high
so nobody can look
in and see how...
alone Willard Walker really is.
♪♪
All right, all right, let's show
the flower of femininity...
Me... a little respect.
Thank you, boys, thank you.
Tonight we have a
real surprise for you:
A brand-new, wonderful
singing talent, a young man
from your own Virginia City,
Mr. Andrew Walker!
Hey!
Come on, come on,
fellas! Come on, come on!
♪ I peeked in ♪
♪ To say good night ♪
♪ Then I heard ♪
♪ My child in prayer ♪
♪ "Send, dear God ♪
♪ "Some scarlet ribbon ♪
♪ "Scarlet ribbon ♪
♪ For my hair" ♪
♪ All the stores ♪
♪ Were closed and shuttered ♪
♪ All the streets ♪
♪ Were dark and bare ♪
♪ In our town ♪
♪ No scarlet ribbons ♪
Out. Out. Out.
Hey, Lilly... Sam
here just told a story...
Sam just told a story that's
gonna get you thrown out of here
on your backside if you
don't shut up and listen!
Now, pipe down, you galoots!
♪ Just before ♪
♪ The dawn was breaking ♪
♪ I peeked in ♪
♪ And on the bed ♪
♪ In gay profusion ♪
♪ Lying there ♪
♪ Lovely ribbons ♪
♪ Scarlet ribbons ♪
♪ Scarlet ribbons ♪
♪ For her hair ♪
♪ If I live ♪
♪ To be two hundred ♪
♪ I will never know ♪
♪ From where ♪
♪ Came those lovely ♪
♪ Scarlet ribbons ♪
♪ Scarlet ribbons ♪
♪ For ♪
♪ Her ♪
♪ Hair. ♪
More! More!
More!
♪ Fare ye well, old Joe Clark ♪
♪ Fare ye well, I'm gone ♪
♪ Fare ye well, old Joe Clark ♪
♪ Better be gettin' on ♪
♪ Old Joe Clark had a house ♪
♪ 16 stories high ♪
♪ Every story in that house
was filled with chicken pie ♪
♪ Fare ye well, old Joe Clark ♪
♪ Fare ye well, I'm gone ♪
♪ Fare ye well, old Joe Clark ♪
♪ Better be gettin' on ♪
♪ I went down to
old Joe's house ♪
♪ Never been there before ♪
♪ He slept on a feather
bed, and I slept on the floor ♪
♪ I went down to old Joe's... ♪
Come on, mister, we
don't want any trouble.
He hit him.
Leave him alone!
How much... more
shame and humiliation
I got to take on account
of your singing, boy?
No more, Pa.
No more.
♪♪
♪♪
Hi, Andy.
Hi, Joe.
Just thought I'd come over
and see how you were doing.
Fine.
I talked to Lilly.
She wanted me to come over
and tell you how bad she felt
about... the other night.
She kind of feels responsible
for what happened.
It wasn't her fault, Joe.
It wasn't anybody's
fault but mine.
I disobeyed my
father, Little Joe.
I disgraced him by making a
public spectacle out of myself,
by singing in a saloon.
But I'll never do it again...
'cause I'll never sing again.
Aw, look, that
doesn't make sense.
There was nothing
wrong with what you did.
There's nothing
wrong with singing.
Singing's a sin, Little Joe.
My pa made me
see it and I see it.
I hurt him and I humiliated him.
I'll never sing again.
Take it easy.
♪♪
- You get that wagonload of horseshoes?
- Yeah.
I also run into Andy in town.
Looks like you
had that situation
- pretty well figured out.
- Yeah.
He don't laugh
anymore, he don't smile.
Doesn't seem like
he enjoys life at all.
Getting more like
old Willard every day.
Yeah, I was afraid of that.
His father's got him convinced
that singing and
laughing are a sin.
Sorry to hear that.
Well, it looks like there ought
to be something we could do.
I mean, get 'em
together and talk to 'em.
Maybe invite 'em over for
dinner or something, huh?
What about on Easter Sunday?
I think we ought to
do something like that.
That gives me an idea.
Like what?
You fellas go ahead and eat.
I got me an errand to do.
Andy.
Willard. Good
afternoon, Willard.
Afternoon, Reverend.
Uh, Willard, I brought
Reverend Porter along,
because, uh... well,
there's something that, uh,
he thinks you can help him with.
If you will, that is.
Well, if I can, I...
expect I'll help.
Well, Willard, you might say
this concerns my
entire congregation.
As you know, Easter
services will be held
in a few days,
and, uh... well...
Wh-What Reverend
Porter's trying to say is that
he'd like Andy to sing in
his church on Easter Sunday.
Well, that's... hard to say.
- There's chores and...
- Willard.
Willard, in church.
Now, there's nothing
heathenish about that, is there?
I mean, he's not gonna
be doing the Devil's work
in Reverend Porter's
chapel, now, is he?
Well, I-I... I never
thought of it.
Your wife used to
sing for us, Willard.
And I'm told that Andy here
has her same feeling for a song.
It would certainly be a
shame if that feeling couldn't be
put to use for the
benefit of the Lord
on that most holy of days.
Yeah, it sure would be a shame.
But it's, uh...
it's up to... it's
up to you, Willard.
Andy's your son.
The boy can make
up his own mind.
He did before.
It's your decision, son.
But I think I know what your
mother would want you to do.
Yes, sir, I'll sing,
if you want me to.
Well, you got what you come for.
If you'd let us get on
with our work now...
♪♪
♪♪
Hello, Andy.
Little Joe told me
I'd find you here.
I came to congratulate you.
What for?
Because of your singing again.
You are gonna sing
again, aren't you?
Reverend Porter asked me to.
But...?
But it's... it's not the same.
It used to be that singing
was like a deep breath
on a spring morning to me.
Now it's something I'll do
because I said I
would, that's all.
There's no joy anymore.
But, Andy... It's
true, Miss Lilly.
You saw my father in the saloon.
It doesn't matter whether
he's right or wrong.
I just know that I
never want to be
the cause of that
much pain again.
Andy... I suppose
I'm the last one
to talk about what's
right or wrong, but...
well, there's one thing I
know... If there's anything
in this whole world that's
right, it's your singing.
That joy will return, Andy.
I know it will.
- Hello, Andy.
- Hi, Mr. Cartwright.
Where's your pa?
I guess he isn't coming.
It's Easter Sunday.
Well, h-he's
clearing the new field.
He says that going to
church is a waste of time.
♪♪
You go on ahead.
I'll catch up with you.
Willard, let me
help you with that.
No, I can get it alone.
Well, it's gonna take
all morning, isn't it?
I ain't got nothin' else to do.
Well, aren't you coming
to church with me?
What for?
Listen to that boy
bellow like a sick calf?
No.
Willard...
it'd mean an
awful lot to the boy.
I got more important
things to do here.
Lord made a man
to work, didn't he?
Well, even the Lord
rested on the seventh day
when he looked at his
labor and saw it was good.
If you're gonna quote
the Bible at me, Ben,
what about the Fifth
Commandment?
"Honor thy father."
There's a commandment
that I've lived by,
an unwritten one.
"Honor thy son."
♪♪
I ain't wrong.
A man was made for work.
What else are we good for?
Oh, Lord... help me.
Please help me.
"And they said unto them,
"Why seek ye the
living among the dead?
He is not here, but is risen."
♪ On a hill ♪
♪ Far away ♪
♪ Stood an old ♪
♪ Rugged cross ♪
♪ The emblem ♪
♪ Of suffering ♪
♪ And pain ♪
♪ How I love ♪
♪ That old cross ♪
♪ The dearest ♪
♪ And best ♪
♪ Where a world ♪
♪ Of lost sinners ♪
♪ Was slain ♪
♪ So I'll cherish ♪
♪ The old rugged cross ♪
♪ Till my trophies ♪
♪ At last I lay down ♪
♪ I will cling ♪
♪ To the old rugged cross ♪
♪ And someday ♪
♪ I'll exchange ♪
♪ For a crown ♪
♪ So I'll cherish... ♪
My wife used to sing that song.
It's beautiful the
way he sings it.
♪ Till my trophies ♪
♪ At last I lay down ♪
♪ I will cling ♪
♪ To the old rugged cross ♪
♪ And someday ♪
♪ I'll exchange ♪
♪ For a crown... ♪
This has been a color production
of the NBC Television Network.
is brought to you in
living color on NBC.
♪♪
♪ Oh, fare thee
well, old Joe Clark ♪
♪ Fare thee well, I'm gone ♪
♪ Fare thee well,
old Joe Clark ♪
♪ I better be gettin' on ♪
♪ Old Joe Clark had a house ♪
♪ 16 stories high ♪
♪ Every story in that house
was filled with chicken pie ♪
♪ Oh, fare thee
well, old Joe Clark ♪
♪ Fare thee well, I'm gone ♪
♪ Fare thee well,
old Joe Clark ♪
♪ I better be gettin' on ♪
♪ I went down to
old Joe's house ♪
♪ Never been there before ♪
♪ He slept on a feather
bed, and I slept on the floor ♪
- ♪ Oh, I went down to... ♪
- Andy?
Come here, boy.
Yes, sir?
You should have been on
your way to town a half hour ago.
I'll have the wagon
loaded in a minute, Pa.
I just have a couple
more sacks of grain.
Well, get that wagon
loaded and get out of here.
I want you back by
noon, understand?
Yes, sir.
I got work for us to do.
Yes, sir, I'll-I'll
be back in time.
- And, boy?
- Yes, sir?
Don't let me catch
you loafing again, hear?
I wasn't loafing, Pa. Honest.
Singing like a fool.
You're no bird.
You're a half-growed man.
And a man's joy is
to work, not to sing.
You hear?
Yes, sir, I hear you.
And drop off a sack
of feed to Cartwrights'.
We've owed it to
him for a week now.
Yes, sir, I will.
♪ Oh... ♪
♪ Fare thee well,
old Joe Clark ♪
♪ Fare thee well, I'm gone ♪
♪ Fare thee well,
old Joe Clark ♪
♪ Better be gettin' on ♪
♪ Old Joe Clark had a house ♪
♪ 16 stories high ♪
♪ Every story in that house ♪
♪ Was filled with chicken pie ♪
♪ Oh, fare thee
well, old Joe Clark ♪
♪ Fare thee well, I'm gone ♪
♪ Fare thee well,
old Joe Clark ♪
♪ Better be gettin' on ♪
♪ Oh, I went down
to old Joe's house ♪
♪ I never been there before ♪
♪ He slept on a feather bed ♪
♪ And I slept on the floor ♪
♪ Oh, fare thee
well, old Joe Clark ♪
♪ Fare thee well, I'm gone ♪
♪ Fare thee well,
old Joe Clark ♪
♪ I better be gettin' on ♪
♪ Old Joe had a yellow cat ♪
♪ Neither sing nor pray ♪
♪ She stuck her head
in a buttermilk jar ♪
♪ And washed her sins away ♪
♪ Oh, fare thee
well, old Joe Clark ♪
♪ Fare thee well, I'm gone ♪
♪ Fare thee well,
old Joe Clark ♪
♪ I better be gettin' on ♪
♪ The higher up
the cherry tree ♪
♪ The riper grows the cherry ♪
♪ The more you hug
and kiss the girls ♪
♪ The sooner they will marry ♪
♪ Oh, fare thee
well, old Joe Clark ♪
♪ Fare thee well, I'm gone ♪
♪ Fare thee well,
old Joe Clark ♪
♪ I better be gettin' on. ♪
- How you doing, Andy?
- Whoa. Oh, hi, Little Joe.
I'm just bringing back
that grain your pa lent us.
Well, there was no hurry
with it, but thanks anyway.
How are things
going at your place?
Ah, you know, Pa's
been keeping me busy.
We've been clearing
that new ground, and...
that doesn't leave me too
much time for anything else.
Pa wants to plow it this fall.
Have you heard
anything from Adam?
Yeah, yeah, got a
letter from him last week.
He's in Paris now.
Wow.
He's gonna spend the
winter and spring there.
Boy... would I love to
see some of those places.
My ma used to always tell me
about London and Paris and Rome,
and she'd been to
every one of 'em.
Well, who knows, you might
get to see them someday.
Uh, those places
might as well be
on the other side of the
moon, as far as I'm concerned.
I'm lucky to get off the farm
long enough to
go to Virginia City.
Yeah, well, that
makes two of us.
- You going into town?
- Yeah.
Listen, give me time
to saddle up my horse,
- I'll go with you.
- Sure.
Buy you a beer.
That is, if your pa don't mind.
Well, I've... I've
never had a beer or...
even been in a
saloon, for that matter.
I guess it's about time.
Good deal. I'll be
with you in a minute.
Good.
♪♪
Very good, very good.
I see you got the
wagon unloaded.
Yeah, the sacks gave out
about ten seconds before I did.
Well, I don't know about you,
I'm ready for the beer. Come on.
- No, maybe I'd better not.
- Aw, come on, Andy,
one beer's not
gonna hurt anything.
Hey, that song.
Where's it coming from?
Andy, it is coming
from the same place
where we're gonna get the beer.
Come on, let's go.
♪ ...on her bed, in gay
profusion, lying there ♪
♪ Lovely ribbons,
scarlet ribbons ♪
♪ Scarlet ribbons
for her hair... ♪
Come on, Lil, pick it up.
Your feet are dragging.
Look, at this hour
of the morning,
I'm lucky to be standing on 'em.
♪♪
♪ All the stores were
closed and shuttered ♪
♪ All the streets
were dark and bare ♪
♪ In our town, no
scarlet ribbons... ♪
- Howdy.
- Good morning, Little Joe.
We'll have a couple
of beers, Cosmo.
Right up.
♪ Just before the
dawn was breaking ♪
♪ I peeked in and on her bed,
in gay profusion lying there ♪
♪ Lovely ribbons,
scarlet ribbons... ♪
- Two beers, Little Joe.
- Yeah, thanks, Cosmo.
Andy, your beer's here.
♪ I will never know
from where... ♪
What's the matter, you
want something stronger?
No, it's not that.
- Huh?
- It's not that.
What? I can't hear you.
I said she's
singing it all wrong!
I haven't even finished
my first cup of coffee,
and already I've got a critic.
Uh, he-he didn't mean
anything by that, Miss Lilly.
Uh... he was just kidding you.
Y-Yes, ma'am. You
got a right to sing it
a-any way you want to.
Even if I was singing
it all wrong, huh?
Yes, ma'am, even then.
Whoever made you a critic,
Mr... whatever your name is.
My ma.
Sh... She didn't make
me an expert on music,
but she did teach me how
that song ought to be sung.
Hey, Mike, let's listen
to the maestro here.
Let him show us how the
song really ought to be done.
Well, sure, if you
really want me to.
Step right up.
Take the stage.
The-the way you
did it was just fine,
except a little bit slower.
♪ I peeked in ♪
♪ To say good night ♪
♪ Then I heard ♪
♪ My child in prayer ♪
♪ "And for me ♪
♪ "Some scarlet ribbons ♪
♪ "Scarlet ribbons ♪
♪ For my hair" ♪
♪ All the stores ♪
♪ Were closed and shuttered ♪
♪ All... ♪
Hey, kid, keep going.
No, I, uh... I better not.
Well, I've heard enough...
enough to know you've
got a beautiful voice.
Well, it gets the hogs
in for feeding, at least.
Boy, you sure surprised me,
Andy... I thought it was great.
Thank you, Joe.
How long you been studying, kid?
Well, the only
studying I ever did
is what my ma used to teach me.
Well, why'd you stop?
She died four years ago.
Well...
I better be getting
back, because...
my pa wouldn't
like my being here.
- See you, Joe.
- No, I'm coming with you.
Take it easy.
- Thanks for the beer, Cosmo.
- Sure, Little Joe.
You ain't eatin'. You sick?
No, Pa, I'm fine.
I was just thinking.
Well, thinkin' don't stick
to your ribs like stew.
It won't get the plow
picked up in town tomorrow.
I haven't forgotten
the plow, Pa.
I'm just remembering that piano
we had when Ma was with us.
Do you ever think about
getting us another piano, Pa?
No.
I just thought it'd be
nice to have a little music
around the house, that's all.
We had music around
when your ma was alive.
When she died, so'd the music.
What got you
thinking about a piano?
Oh, nothing, Pa.
It just crossed
mind, that's all.
Well, uncross it.
Maybe birds got time for
songs, but farmers don't.
Ma used to say that
the whole world's a song
if you just listen hard enough.
♪♪
Yeah. She did say that.
But she's gone.
There'll never be
another like her.
You're right, Pa, there'll...
never be anybody like her.
Thank you, Pa.
Hey, Mike,
play the kid's version of
"Scarlet Ribbons," hmm?
♪♪
♪ I peeked in ♪
♪ To say good night ♪
♪ And then I heard ♪
♪ My child ♪
♪ In prayer ♪
♪ "And for me ♪
♪ "Some scarlet ribbons ♪
♪ "Scarlet ribbons ♪
♪ For my hair" ♪
♪ Through the night ♪
♪ My heart ♪
♪ Was aching ♪
♪ Just before ♪
♪ The dawn ♪
♪ Was breaking ♪
♪ I peeked in ♪
♪ And on her bed ♪
♪ In gay profusion ♪
♪ Lying there ♪
♪ Lovely ribbons ♪
♪ Scarlet ribbons ♪
♪ Scarlet ribbons for her hair ♪
♪ If I live ♪
♪ To be two hundred ♪
♪ I will never ♪
♪ Know from where ♪
♪ Came those lovely ♪
♪ Scarlet ribbons ♪
♪ Scarlet ribbons ♪
♪ For her hair. ♪
So, what'd you do?
Well, now, picture this.
We had half the
place mad with us
because we played "Dixie,"
and the other half as
mad because we played
"Battle Hymn of the Republic."
If you think this is
such an easy job,
what do you think we
played to keep peace?
Beats me.
"God Save the Queen"
confused them all.
Well, I think I'm gonna go over
and see if they got any
room at the barbershop.
Y...
No. Just a trim.
Mike.
Lilly, why don't you ask
Andy about, you know,
what we talked
about the other night.
Yes, I will.
What, uh...
what were you supposed
to ask me about?
Andy... how would
you like to work here?
Me?
I don't know how to
do anything in a saloon.
Well, you can sing.
Yeah, but I'm not a real singer.
Ah, but you could be.
And I could start teaching you.
Look, Andy,
I've been around
singers, sweet and sour,
all of my life...
and I know you can make it.
No, my pa'd never let me.
Working in a saloon?
It's not what you work
inside of that counts, Andy,
it's what's inside of you.
Don't you want to sing?
I think you'd like to
try it, wouldn't you?
Yeah, I guess I would.
Then ask your pa.
Just ask him.
For me.
I, uh... I better
be getting home.
Bye, Miss Lilly.
Bye.
But it's not as if I'll be away
when you need me, Pa.
I've said all I'm gonna
say about it, boy.
Okay, Pa, you've had your
say, now let me have mine.
You already have.
But, Pa, she's just
gonna teach me
how to sing right, that's all.
Disrespect for your father's
what she'll be teaching you.
I don't want you
having anything to do
with a saloon girl like her.
Pa, she's a nice lady,
and she says I got
a real good voice.
I've said all I'm gonna
say about it, boy!
But, Pa, all I want is...
What you want don't matter.
Can't you understand that?
Yeah, Pa, I'm getting to
understand that real well.
What's that mean?
It means that I... I've had
enough of that kind of talk, Pa.
Now, I'm... I'm warning you.
You're warning me?!
Just what you got in
mind, Mr. Big Britches?
I'll leave, Pa.
I'll leave and I'll
never come back.
You can pack up and
get out anytime it suits you.
But, Pa, I'm your son.
I lost my son about
30 seconds ago.
♪♪
Well, Mom, I'm leaving.
I don't think it's
anybody's fault,
it's just the natural
way of things.
I can't be just a
son for always.
I got to be a man, on my own.
So it's natural
for a son to leave.
But it ain't natural it's got to
be done with so much pain.
Pa's been afraid
ever since you left, Ma.
It's like he thinks the
only thing that he can love
is just the earth.
Not the people... not
the things they do...
just the earth.
Ma, you used to
always tell me that...
if I listen real hard...
I could hear the breeze singing.
Well, I hope someday a...
a good breeze will come along
and you'll be able
to hear me, too.
Good-bye, Ma.
♪♪
Hey, Andy!
How you doing?
Fine, just fine, Little Joe.
Yeah, I can, uh, I can
see that by the sign.
Yeah, just fine, if you
overlook the fact that I left home
and I'm flat broke.
You sure you're
doing the right thing?
Yeah. And don't try
to talk me out of it,
because I've made
my own decision,
and I'm gonna be a singer.
Miss Lilly's gonna help me.
Look, I wasn't trying to
talk you out of anything.
I was trying to
talk you into a job.
We got some horses out at
the ranch that need breaking.
We need another man.
Not anymore, you don't.
We got a deal.
Come on down to the
stable. I'll get you a horse.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Hello, Little Joe.
How you doing?
I have had some day.
I feel like I've been
busting broncs for a week.
Are you trying to tell me you're
not gonna sit down for dinner?
Listen, I want to tell you
I'm real proud of you,
though... You didn't know it,
but I had an eye on you
today; you did real fine.
Well, thank you for
giving me the job.
Well, thank you for taking it.
Course, don't rest
on your laurels.
We got quite a
tough batch of horses
picked out for you tomorrow.
Nothing like those feather
beds you were on today.
None of those feather
beds like you had today!
You could've gone all
week without saying that.
- Come on, I'll get you some liniment.
- Okay. Whew!
♪ Oh, Danny Boy ♪
♪ The pipes, the pipes ♪
♪ Are calling ♪
♪ From glen to glen ♪
♪ And down the mountainside ♪
♪ The summer's gone ♪
♪ And all the roses ♪
♪ Are falling ♪
♪ 'Tis you, 'tis you ♪
♪ Must go ♪
♪ And I must bide ♪
♪ But come you back ♪
♪ When summer's on ♪
♪ The meadow ♪
♪ Or when the valley's hushed ♪
♪ And white with snow ♪
♪ It's... I'll be here ♪
♪ In sunlight or ♪
♪ In shadow ♪
♪ Oh, Danny Boy ♪
♪ Oh, Danny Boy ♪
♪ I love ♪
♪ You ♪
♪ So... ♪
Just beautiful!
Dad-burnit, Andy, I don't know
nobody named Danny, but...
doggone it, every time I
hear that, it chokes me up.
I think maybe the way
Andy was singing it
had something to
do with that, Hoss.
Gee, I hope Adam doesn't
mind my using his guitar.
Well, heck, none
of us can play...
It was just gathering
dust till you picked it up.
You keep playing it that way.
I understand you're taking
some singing lessons, too.
Well, sorta.
I mean, not from a real teacher.
It's just Miss Lilly down
at the Silver Dollar.
Now, Andy, just because Miss
Lilly sings at the Silver Dollar
doesn't mean
that... she can't sing.
Or teach.
Hey, they offered you a job
over there at the Silver
Dollar, didn't they?
Yeah, I start this
Friday, if I want to.
Did you, uh, tell
your pa about this?
Well, I better be getting
over to the bunkhouse.
I got a long day tomorrow.
Good night, fellas.
Excuse me. Good night.
- Good night, Andy.
- Good night.
Good night, Andy.
Now, Pa, I wish
somebody could...
I don't know,
talk to his father,
try to explain the
boy's side of it.
Yeah. Well, let's go to bed.
Yeah.
♪ So come me back ♪
♪ When summer's on the meadow ♪
♪ Or when the valley's ♪
♪ Hushed and white with snow ♪
♪ For it's... I'll... ♪
Bad, huh?
Morning, Willard.
We ain't got nothin'
to say to each other.
Well, there's something
I'd like to say to you.
You know, Andy's
working at the Ponderosa.
You can tell him for me,
ain't no use sending you here
begging my forgiveness.
Well, he didn't send me here.
There's doers and
there's dreamers
in this world, Ben,
and a dreamer's just
bound to get in my way.
His mother did that.
She was a good woman.
Meant a whole
lot to me, she did.
But she had her
head in the clouds.
Head and... heart,
too, for all I know.
She was a fine woman.
She never seemed to
understand that life is...
hard facts.
She taught Andy
to think like she did.
Singin' ain't gonna fix
this old fence of mine.
Now, Willard, the
way Andy sings,
you ought to be proud of him.
Do you know that... that people
are paying to hear him sing?
For money?
Where?
At the Silver Dollar.
I'd be obliged if you'd let
me get on with my work,
Ben Cartwright.
Oh, all right, Willard.
You keep right on
building that fence.
You make sure it's real strong
so nobody can get in.
And make sure it's real high
so nobody can look
in and see how...
alone Willard Walker really is.
♪♪
All right, all right, let's show
the flower of femininity...
Me... a little respect.
Thank you, boys, thank you.
Tonight we have a
real surprise for you:
A brand-new, wonderful
singing talent, a young man
from your own Virginia City,
Mr. Andrew Walker!
Hey!
Come on, come on,
fellas! Come on, come on!
♪ I peeked in ♪
♪ To say good night ♪
♪ Then I heard ♪
♪ My child in prayer ♪
♪ "Send, dear God ♪
♪ "Some scarlet ribbon ♪
♪ "Scarlet ribbon ♪
♪ For my hair" ♪
♪ All the stores ♪
♪ Were closed and shuttered ♪
♪ All the streets ♪
♪ Were dark and bare ♪
♪ In our town ♪
♪ No scarlet ribbons ♪
Out. Out. Out.
Hey, Lilly... Sam
here just told a story...
Sam just told a story that's
gonna get you thrown out of here
on your backside if you
don't shut up and listen!
Now, pipe down, you galoots!
♪ Just before ♪
♪ The dawn was breaking ♪
♪ I peeked in ♪
♪ And on the bed ♪
♪ In gay profusion ♪
♪ Lying there ♪
♪ Lovely ribbons ♪
♪ Scarlet ribbons ♪
♪ Scarlet ribbons ♪
♪ For her hair ♪
♪ If I live ♪
♪ To be two hundred ♪
♪ I will never know ♪
♪ From where ♪
♪ Came those lovely ♪
♪ Scarlet ribbons ♪
♪ Scarlet ribbons ♪
♪ For ♪
♪ Her ♪
♪ Hair. ♪
More! More!
More!
♪ Fare ye well, old Joe Clark ♪
♪ Fare ye well, I'm gone ♪
♪ Fare ye well, old Joe Clark ♪
♪ Better be gettin' on ♪
♪ Old Joe Clark had a house ♪
♪ 16 stories high ♪
♪ Every story in that house
was filled with chicken pie ♪
♪ Fare ye well, old Joe Clark ♪
♪ Fare ye well, I'm gone ♪
♪ Fare ye well, old Joe Clark ♪
♪ Better be gettin' on ♪
♪ I went down to
old Joe's house ♪
♪ Never been there before ♪
♪ He slept on a feather
bed, and I slept on the floor ♪
♪ I went down to old Joe's... ♪
Come on, mister, we
don't want any trouble.
He hit him.
Leave him alone!
How much... more
shame and humiliation
I got to take on account
of your singing, boy?
No more, Pa.
No more.
♪♪
♪♪
Hi, Andy.
Hi, Joe.
Just thought I'd come over
and see how you were doing.
Fine.
I talked to Lilly.
She wanted me to come over
and tell you how bad she felt
about... the other night.
She kind of feels responsible
for what happened.
It wasn't her fault, Joe.
It wasn't anybody's
fault but mine.
I disobeyed my
father, Little Joe.
I disgraced him by making a
public spectacle out of myself,
by singing in a saloon.
But I'll never do it again...
'cause I'll never sing again.
Aw, look, that
doesn't make sense.
There was nothing
wrong with what you did.
There's nothing
wrong with singing.
Singing's a sin, Little Joe.
My pa made me
see it and I see it.
I hurt him and I humiliated him.
I'll never sing again.
Take it easy.
♪♪
- You get that wagonload of horseshoes?
- Yeah.
I also run into Andy in town.
Looks like you
had that situation
- pretty well figured out.
- Yeah.
He don't laugh
anymore, he don't smile.
Doesn't seem like
he enjoys life at all.
Getting more like
old Willard every day.
Yeah, I was afraid of that.
His father's got him convinced
that singing and
laughing are a sin.
Sorry to hear that.
Well, it looks like there ought
to be something we could do.
I mean, get 'em
together and talk to 'em.
Maybe invite 'em over for
dinner or something, huh?
What about on Easter Sunday?
I think we ought to
do something like that.
That gives me an idea.
Like what?
You fellas go ahead and eat.
I got me an errand to do.
Andy.
Willard. Good
afternoon, Willard.
Afternoon, Reverend.
Uh, Willard, I brought
Reverend Porter along,
because, uh... well,
there's something that, uh,
he thinks you can help him with.
If you will, that is.
Well, if I can, I...
expect I'll help.
Well, Willard, you might say
this concerns my
entire congregation.
As you know, Easter
services will be held
in a few days,
and, uh... well...
Wh-What Reverend
Porter's trying to say is that
he'd like Andy to sing in
his church on Easter Sunday.
Well, that's... hard to say.
- There's chores and...
- Willard.
Willard, in church.
Now, there's nothing
heathenish about that, is there?
I mean, he's not gonna
be doing the Devil's work
in Reverend Porter's
chapel, now, is he?
Well, I-I... I never
thought of it.
Your wife used to
sing for us, Willard.
And I'm told that Andy here
has her same feeling for a song.
It would certainly be a
shame if that feeling couldn't be
put to use for the
benefit of the Lord
on that most holy of days.
Yeah, it sure would be a shame.
But it's, uh...
it's up to... it's
up to you, Willard.
Andy's your son.
The boy can make
up his own mind.
He did before.
It's your decision, son.
But I think I know what your
mother would want you to do.
Yes, sir, I'll sing,
if you want me to.
Well, you got what you come for.
If you'd let us get on
with our work now...
♪♪
♪♪
Hello, Andy.
Little Joe told me
I'd find you here.
I came to congratulate you.
What for?
Because of your singing again.
You are gonna sing
again, aren't you?
Reverend Porter asked me to.
But...?
But it's... it's not the same.
It used to be that singing
was like a deep breath
on a spring morning to me.
Now it's something I'll do
because I said I
would, that's all.
There's no joy anymore.
But, Andy... It's
true, Miss Lilly.
You saw my father in the saloon.
It doesn't matter whether
he's right or wrong.
I just know that I
never want to be
the cause of that
much pain again.
Andy... I suppose
I'm the last one
to talk about what's
right or wrong, but...
well, there's one thing I
know... If there's anything
in this whole world that's
right, it's your singing.
That joy will return, Andy.
I know it will.
- Hello, Andy.
- Hi, Mr. Cartwright.
Where's your pa?
I guess he isn't coming.
It's Easter Sunday.
Well, h-he's
clearing the new field.
He says that going to
church is a waste of time.
♪♪
You go on ahead.
I'll catch up with you.
Willard, let me
help you with that.
No, I can get it alone.
Well, it's gonna take
all morning, isn't it?
I ain't got nothin' else to do.
Well, aren't you coming
to church with me?
What for?
Listen to that boy
bellow like a sick calf?
No.
Willard...
it'd mean an
awful lot to the boy.
I got more important
things to do here.
Lord made a man
to work, didn't he?
Well, even the Lord
rested on the seventh day
when he looked at his
labor and saw it was good.
If you're gonna quote
the Bible at me, Ben,
what about the Fifth
Commandment?
"Honor thy father."
There's a commandment
that I've lived by,
an unwritten one.
"Honor thy son."
♪♪
I ain't wrong.
A man was made for work.
What else are we good for?
Oh, Lord... help me.
Please help me.
"And they said unto them,
"Why seek ye the
living among the dead?
He is not here, but is risen."
♪ On a hill ♪
♪ Far away ♪
♪ Stood an old ♪
♪ Rugged cross ♪
♪ The emblem ♪
♪ Of suffering ♪
♪ And pain ♪
♪ How I love ♪
♪ That old cross ♪
♪ The dearest ♪
♪ And best ♪
♪ Where a world ♪
♪ Of lost sinners ♪
♪ Was slain ♪
♪ So I'll cherish ♪
♪ The old rugged cross ♪
♪ Till my trophies ♪
♪ At last I lay down ♪
♪ I will cling ♪
♪ To the old rugged cross ♪
♪ And someday ♪
♪ I'll exchange ♪
♪ For a crown ♪
♪ So I'll cherish... ♪
My wife used to sing that song.
It's beautiful the
way he sings it.
♪ Till my trophies ♪
♪ At last I lay down ♪
♪ I will cling ♪
♪ To the old rugged cross ♪
♪ And someday ♪
♪ I'll exchange ♪
♪ For a crown... ♪
This has been a color production
of the NBC Television Network.