The Metropolitan Opera HD Live (2006–…): Season 5, Episode 5 - Puccini: La Fanciulla del West - full transcript

Minnie, the titular "Girl of the Golden West" is saloon-keeper, nurse, and Bible school teacher to a camp of miners during the California Gold Rush. When the mysterious Mr. Johnson arrives, the miners suspicions (and jealousies) are roused.

Hello! To the "Polka"!
To the "Palms"!

Far away, how she'll weep for me!

Hello, Nick!

-Cigars, Nick! -And whiskey!

-How's Minnie? -She's fine.

How about a game of faro, boys?

I'm with you!

Who'll be banker?

Sid.

That's bad.

Whoever wants to can shuffle.



What is there to eat, Nick?

Not much. Pickled oysters.

Hello, Larkens!

Let's go!

Place your bets.

-Here you go. -Here's mine.

Mine's on the high ones!

-Chips! -A king. An ace.

What's wrong with Larkens?

The usual.

He's mighty homesick.

He misses his home in England and
his mother who's waiting for him.

What a cursed place this gold country is!

He's got the yellow fever.
Once you see gold, your blood's poisoned.



What's keeping Minnie?

How much?

Ten.

And ninety makes a hundred.

Jack...queen....

-Hooray! -Damn it all!

-Damned Australian!
-Three will never win.

Everything on the three!

Three. Seven.

I'm busted! Goodbye.

Everyone to the dance hall!

Fools!

I don't dance with men.
How about you?

Has Minnie finally decided on me?

Sure! I've heard you're the favorite.

Cigars all around!

Nick, what did she say?

As far as I know, you're in first place.

Whiskey all around!

What will my old folks do, far, far away?

Sad and lonely, they'll cry for me,
thinking I'll never come home again.

Presenting Jake Wallace,
the camp troubadour!

What will my mother do if I never return?

How she'll cry!

She'll weave her linen with sorrow
for a shroud to bury her in.

What will my old folks do,
thinking that I'll never return?

Will my old dog know me
after such a long time?

Will he know me still?

O my house by the river so far away,
will I ever see you again?

Jim, why are you crying?

I can't take it anymore, boys.

Send me away from here!

I'm sick and I don't know from what.
Send me away!

I'm finished!
I'm sick of pickaxes and mines!

I want my plow again,
and my mother!

Here. To send him home.

Take this. Five dollars.

There you go.

Thank you, boys!

-Is everyone ready?
-On the four. The three.

Double.

Place your bets.

Jack. Queen.

Ace! King!

That's all.

Double!

No more bets!

Two! Three!

He's cheating!

Get your hands up, you cheat!

-Tie him up! -Let's hang him!

Hang him!

I'm sorry!

What happened?

He cheated!

He'll get what's coming to him!

Now calm down, boys.

Hang him! Kill him!

What is death, anyway?

A kick in the dark,
and then good night.

I know a better punishment.
Give me a card.

Just like a flower over his heart.

He'll never touch a card again.

This is the sign.
If he takes it off, hang him.

Spread the word around the camp tomorrow.

Take it easy, boys!

Get out, thief!

Poker!

Nick, some chips!

Hello, Sheriff!

Boys, welcome Mister Ashby
of the Wells Fargo Agency.

Nick, give me a drink.

How's the girl?

She's fine, thanks.

Any news of the bandit?

After three months, I've almost got him.

They say he steals like a gentleman.

Is he Spanish?

He's got a band of desperadoes.

A tough bunch who'll stop at nothing.

Be on the lookout.

But now I've got to rest my weary bones.

Drinks are on Minnie!

Three cheers for Minnie!

Missus Rance, before long.

No, poker-face!
Minnie's playing you for a fool.

It's the whiskey talking.

I pity you.

No one plays Jack Rance for a fool!
Understand?

It's lucky for you I don't listen
to a drunk's insults!

You old gambler,
Minnie's making a fool of you!

Prove it!

She's making a fool of you!

Poker-faced fool!

Minnie's laughing at you!

Hello, Minnie!

What's happened?

You again, Sonora?

It was just a joke, Minnie!

You've wrecked the whole place!

Shame on you!

There'll be no more school.

No, Minnie!

It's just that when you're late,
we get bored.

Handsome, what are you staring at?

Nothing.

He's looking at you!

Minnie, I picked these by the river.
There are lots of them back home.

Thank you, Joe.

A trader from San Francisco passed
through camp with lace and ribbons.

This is for you.

See? It's bright red, like your lips.

And this is blue, just like your eyes.

Compliments of Wells Fargo.

Want a Regalia?
An Aurora? Eureka?

If you choose, it won't matter.

They'll all carry the perfume
of the hand that touches them.

Mingle a bit, Minnie.
Every smile from you is money in the till.

You scoundrel!

Good evening, Sheriff.

That should settle my bill.

With bandits around
it's crazy to keep the gold here.

It'd be safer at the agency.

Where were we?

Ruth? Ezekiel?

Esther?

Here it is.
The fifty-first psalm of David.

Harry, do you remember who David was?

He was a king of olden times.

As a boy, he took an ass's jawbone...

...went up against a giant and killed him.

You've got it all mixed up.
Sit down.

You sit down too, Joe.

Now we'll read.

Second verse....

"Sprinkle me with hyssop
and I shall be clean."

What's hyssop, Minnie?

It's a plant that grows in the Far East.

Does it grow here?

Yes, Joe. In everyone's heart,
there grows a sprig.

In my heart?

In your heart.

"Wash me and I shall be white as snow.
Place in my breast a pure heart."

"And restore in me the spirit of the elect."

What that means, boys...

...is that there isn't a sinner alive
who can't find the way to salvation.

Let each of you keep within you
the supreme truth of love.

The mail!

Hello, boys!
Be on the lookout.

I saw a mean-looking fellow on the trail.

Do you know a girl named Nina?
Nina Micheltoreña?

She pretends she's Spanish
but comes from Cachuca.

She uses lampblack
to make her eyes seductive.

Ask the boys about her!

Sheriff, tonight I'll put a rope
around Ramirrez's neck.

Nina says she knows where he's hiding.

I should go to the Palms at midnight.

I wouldn't trust that Micheltoreña
if I were you, Ashby.

The revenge of a woman in love!

I'm keeping the appointment anyway, Rance.

-"Even the parrot's sad."
-"Katy's marrying!"

Fires, wars at home.

Poor Katy!

"Joe, I have bad news."

What's wrong, Joe?

Grandma's dead now, too.

There's a stranger outside.

I've never seen him before.
Looks like he's from San Francisco.

He asked for whiskey and water.

Whiskey and water?
What kind of drink is that?

That's what I said.

I told him that at the Polka
we drink it straight.

Send him in.
We'll set him straight!

I love you, Minnie.

Don't talk like that.

A thousand dollars for a kiss.

Rance, you make me laugh.
Stop it, now!

You can't stay here alone.
I'll marry you.

What about your wife?

If you say so,
she'll never see me again.

Enough, Rance.
You're insulting me.

I live alone because I like it.

I've got a friend here who'll never desert me.

Rance, leave me alone!

Are you mad at me, Rance?

Why?

I only spoke my mind.

Minnie, I left my home beyond
the mountains, by another ocean.

No one cried when I left,
least of all me.

No one loved me,
and I loved no one.

Nothing ever made me happy.

I have a gambler's heart.

It's bitter, poisoned,
and it laughs at destiny.

The only thing that kept me going
was the lure of gold.

Gold is the only thing that
has never deceived me.

But now I'd give a fortune
for a kiss from you!

Love is something different.

How poetic!

Down in Soledad, when I was little...

...I had a smoky little room above
the kitchen in my father's roadhouse.

I lived there with my father and mother.

I remember everything.

The customers came and went nights.

Mother cooked and tended bar.

Father dealt the cards at faro.

Mother was beautiful.

She had lovely little feet.
Sometimes she'd even play cards.

I'd hide under the table,
waiting for someone to drop money.

I'd see her secretly touch
my father's foot with her own.

How they loved each other!

Oh, how I long to find a man
I could really love.

Maybe you've found him already.

Who's going to set me straight?

Good evening, stranger!

I'm the one who wanted whiskey and water.

So it's true! Nick, I'll give the gentleman
whiskey the way he wants it.

Have a seat.

You must be tired.

You're the girl from the camp.

Strangers aren't allowed in camp.

You must have gotten lost.

Were you maybe looking
for Nina Micheltoreña?

I only tied up my horse here
to have a little rest.

Maybe I'll play a little baccarat.

What's your name?

When did we ever care
about a stranger's name?

Johnson.

Johnson. That's all?

I'm from Sacramento.

Welcome, Johnson of Sacramento.

You remember me?

Yes, if you remember me.

How could I forget?
It was on the road to Monterey.

It was on the road back.
You gave me a sprig of jasmine.

And I said, "Let's go and
pick some blackberries."

But I wouldn't.

You remember?

Like it was yesterday.

I went on my way.

You said something.
I can't remember what.

You remember!

I said that from that moment on...

...you'd never forget me.

And I never have!

I hoped I'd see you again.

But I never did.

Mister Johnson, you have offended me!

I'm Rance, the sheriff.
No one plays me for a fool.

What are you doing here?

Boys, the stranger refuses to say
what he's doing in the camp.

We'll make him talk!

I know him. I'll vouch for him
in front of the whole camp.

Good evening, Mister Johnson.

Good evening, boys.

Serves him right.

Maybe he won't act
so high and mighty now.

Mister Johnson, will you waltz?

I accept.

Will you permit me?

Please excuse me.

You won't believe this, but
I've never danced in my life.

Where's Minnie?

Up there with that
slick dog from Sacramento.

Hang him!

(The boss's saddle! They got him!)

Gimme a drink! I'm dead.

Sonofabitch, let me see your ugly face!

You ride with Ramirrez!

I escaped. I hate him!

If you want, I'll put you on his trail.

The filthy thief is lying!

I'm not lying!

Where's he hiding?

A mile away, in the Madrona Canyada.

I'll show you the way.

On my mother's name, I swear I'm not lying!

I'll take you there if you want.

I'll plant my knife in his back!

-Shall we go?
-Looks like a blizzard's coming up.

It's a piece of luck.

Let's go!

Saddle the horses!

(They didn't get him! He's up there!)

Where are you going?

After Ramirrez!

-What about the gold?
-Minnie will guard it!

Brandy!

(I let them take me
to throw them off the scent.)

(Our men are in the woods.)

(You'll hear a whistle.
If the job is on, whistle back.)

This fellow knows
where Ramirrez is hiding.

Good luck!

Mister Johnson, did you stay behind
to keep me company and guard the saloon?

If you like.

It's strange to find you here...

...where anyone
can come and drink, or steal.

I can handle anyone who comes along.

Even if all he wanted to steal was a kiss?

Sure. They've tried more than once.

But I have yet to give my first kiss.

Really? And you live here at the Polka?

I have a cabin halfway up the mountain.

You deserve better.

I'm happy.

I'm fine, believe me,
living alone and unafraid.

I sense that I can trust you...

...even though I don't know who you are.

I hardly know who I am myself.

I love life.
It still seems beautiful to me.

I'm sure you love it too, but
you haven't lived long enough...

...to see things as they really are.

I don't know.

I'm only a poor girl.

Unimportant and good-for-nothing.

You say such beautiful things to me.

I'm not sure I understand them.

In my heart I feel sad that I'm so small.

I want to lift myself up to you.

Up, as high as the stars!

To be near you,
to be able to talk to you.

What you cannot say,
your heart told me...

...when I gave you my arm
and we danced.

I felt you trembling.

And I felt a strange joy,
a new peace.

A peace I can't describe.

I can't look into my heart like you can,
but it's full of joy and fear.

What is it?

Be careful.

Another nasty-looking fellow's
been lurking around the camp.

(The signal!)

Listen! What was that whistle?

There's a fortune in here, Johnson.
It's where the boys keep their gold.

They leave you here alone?

They take turns guarding it.

Tonight they've gone after
that damned bandit.

If anyone wants that gold...

...they'll have to kill me first!

Poor fellows!

So many of them have left families behind,
wives and children.

Then they die here like dogs in the mud.

And all to send a little gold to
the old folks and the children, far away.

That's why whoever wants the gold
will have to kill me first!

Don't you worry.

No one will dare.

I like to hear you talk that way.

But now I have to go.

I would have liked to say my last goodbye...

...at your cabin.

Do you really have to go?

What a shame!

The boys will be back soon.

When they get here, I'll leave.

If you want, you can come with me
to say goodbye.

Meanwhile, we could talk more
while we sit by the fire.

Thanks, Minnie.

I'll come.

Don't expect too much.

I've only got
thirty dollars' worth of education.

If I'd had more learning,
who knows what I'd have been.

Don't you think?

What we both might have been.

I see it when I look at you, Minnie.

Really? What's the use?

Unimportant and good-for-nothing.

No, Minnie. Don't cry.

You don't know yourself.

You're a pure, good-hearted girl.

You have the face of an angel!

He said it.

What was it?

The face of an angel!

My baby is big and he is little,
little and in his cradle.

And big, touching the moon
with his little finger.

Cream. Biscuits.
For the missus. Don't touch.

Your lady sent me,
said Billy must marry.

Wowkle doesn't know.

How much your father give for a wedding?

I don't know.

Billy will give him four dollars and a blanket.

Wowkle says better to keep
the blanket for the baby.

Our baby!

Tomorrow we'll sing in church.

Like a blade of grass are the days
that God gave to man.

Winter settles on the plain,
and man withers and dies.

After marrying,
we'll have beads and whiskey!

Here's the missus!

You asked her, Billy?

-Tomorrow.
-Good. Now go!

Tonight, Wowkle, supper for two.

For two?

You've never....

Hush! Tidy up!

What time is it?

He'll be here soon.

Where have you put my red roses?

How's the baby?

Did Billy really ask you?

We'll marry.

For the baby!

I'd like to wear these.

They're from Monterey.

If they'll only fit!

They're so tight!

Look at me.
Do you think he'll like me?

I'm wearing all my prettiest clothes.

Pretty from head to toe!

I'm not so ugly.

Now some perfume.

And gloves.
I haven't worn them for a year.

Do you think I look too elegant?

Going out?

Yes. No. I don't know! Come in.

How pretty you are!

Forgive me, I didn't see her.

That's enough, mister.
No need for excuses.

It's just that you looked so pretty.

You're going a little too fast.

Please forgive me.

You're sorry?

Can I stay?

Friends?

What are you thinking about?

Just thinking.

You didn't come to the Polka tonight
because of me.

Why did you come?

Did you get lost on the way...

...to Micheltoreña's?

Wowkle, the coffee!

What a pretty room!

Do you like it?

It's so full of you.

How strange your life must be on
this lonely mountain, far from the world.

If only you knew what a wonderful life it is!

I have a little pony that I ride
all over the countryside.

I ride through fields filled
with flowers and deep rivers.

The river banks are fragrant
with jasmine and vanilla!

Then I return to my pines,
to the Sierras, so close to heaven.

So close, God seems to be
bending down to touch them.

So close, you want to knock
on the gates of heaven.

Knock on the gates so they'll let you in!

What about the blizzards?

Then I'm busy.

The academy is open.

The academy?

The school for the miners.

Who's the teacher?

I am.

Will you have some apple pie?

Do you like to read?

Very much.

I'll send you some books.

Oh, thank you!

Love stories?

If you want.
You like them?

Very much!

For me, love is something
that lasts forever.

I'll never understand how
someone can love somebody...

...only for an hour.

There I think you're wrong.
There are women in our lives...

...that we'd be happy to have
for that one hour, and then die!

Really?

And how often have you died?

Have one of our Havanas?

My rose. You'll crush it!

Why not take it off?

Just one kiss!

Just one kiss!

Mister Johnson, if you give
a man an inch, he'll take a yard!

Your lips say no, but
your heart says yes.

Wowkle, go home!

You can stay, if you like,
for an hour or two, or more.

Snow!

Go! You can bed down on the hay.

A kiss. At least a kiss!

All right, then, it's yours!

Minnie!

What a lovely name!

Do you like it?

Very much.

I loved you the moment I saw you.

Don't look at me!
Minnie, it's an impossible dream.

Why do you say that?
I know I'm just a poor girl.

But when I met you,
I said to myself...

"He's perfect!"

"He'll teach me.
If he wants me, he can have me."

God bless you! Goodbye!

The mountain's covered with snow.
There's no more trail to follow!

-I have to go! -Why?

Tomorrow they'll clear the trail.
It's fate! Stay!

Listen! It might be a bandit.
Maybe Ramirrez!

What does it matter to us?

Stay! It's destiny!

All right, I'll never leave you!

I'll hold you, heart to heart,
all alone with you!

How sweet to live and die,
never to part again!

Make me worthy of you, my love!

Don't say that.

I can't bear it.
I want you for my own!

I was dreaming. It was so wonderful!

But now we must say good night.

You have your bed, and I have mine.

I can't let you....

I'm used to it.

Almost every night, when it's too cold...

...I sleep wrapped up in that bearskin.

You can talk to me from there.

My love!

What was that?

The wind blowing the snow.

It sounds like people calling.

It's blowing through the trees.

-Tell me your name.
-Dick.

Forever, Dick!

Did you ever know Nina Micheltoreña?

Never.

Good night.

Who's there?

Don't answer!

Don't let them hear you.
Jack Rance is jealous.

Ramirrez has been spotted on the trail!

They've come to protect me!

You're safe! I'm shivering!

We spent an awful fifteen minutes!

They were afraid for you.
Because of Johnson.

Your boyfriend at the dance.

It was Ramirrez!

What are you saying?

Your perfect Johnson from Sacramento...

...is a highway bandit.

It isn't true! I know it isn't!

See that you're not so trusting next time.

It isn't true!

You're lying!

Tonight he came to the Polka to rob it.

But he didn't!

He didn't, it's true.

But he could have.

Nick said that Sid saw him
heading this way.

Right, Nick?

That's right.

The trail ends here.

You haven't seen him?

But where can he have gone?

(One of our Havanas! He's here!)

Maybe I'm wrong.
That Sid can be a liar!

But who told you
that the bandit was Johnson?

His woman!

Nina!

Nina Micheltoreña?
Does she know him?

He's her lover.

When we knew we'd been fooled,
we took Castro prisoner.

And we rode the trail to the Palms.

We were expected.

Nina was there.
She showed us his picture.

-What are you laughing about?
-Nothing!

What charming company he keeps.

And now, boys, it's late.
Good night.

Go back to sleep now.

Thanks. I'm fine now.

If you want, I'll stay.

No. Good night.

Come out here!

You came to rob me!
You liar!

It may look that way, but....

Why are you here, then,
if not to rob me?

When I saw you....

Stay where you are!

I'll scream for help.

You! A bandit!

I sure am lucky!
A bandit!

Get out!

Just let me say one thing!
I won't defend myself.

I'm damned, I know it.

But I wouldn't have stolen from you.

I am Ramirrez, a born wanderer.

"Thief" was my name from the day I was born,
but while my father lived...

...I didn't know it.

Six months ago, my father died.

All he left to my mother, brothers, and me...

...his legacy...

...was a gang of highway bandits.

I accepted my destiny.

Then one day I met you, and
I dreamed of going far away with you.

I would redeem myself
with a life of love and work.

My lips murmured a prayer from my heart.

O God, may she never know my shame!

The dream was in vain!

Now I'm finished.

God forgive you, you are a bandit.

You took my first kiss.

I believed you were mine.

And mine alone.

Get out!

Let them kill you.
I don't care!

It's all over!

They shot him.
What do I care?

Don't close the door.

Lie still!

I can't stay here.

Stay here.

You're wounded.

The door! I can't stay here.

I love you.

Stay!

You're the first man I ever kissed.

You can't die!

Quickly!

Hide now, and then we'll go away,
far away.

I can't!

Yes, you can. You must!

I love you!

What's going on, Jack?

I'm not Jack. I'm the sheriff,
hunting that damned Johnson.

I followed his tracks.
He must be here, but where?

I've had enough of you and your Ramirrez!

I got him, by God, I'm sure of it!
He can't have gotten far.

Look for him wherever you want.

Then get out of my sight once and for all!

You swear he isn't here?

Why don't you keep looking?

Maybe I was wrong.

But tell me you don't love him!

You're crazy!

I know...crazy about you!

I want you!

Coward! Get out!

You love him!
You're keeping yourself for him.

I'll go. But I swear
he'll never have you!

Strange! There's blood on my hand.

I must have scratched you.

No, there's no scratch.

More blood!

He's up there!

Come down, Mister Johnson!

Wait. He can't, he can't!

Get down there, or by God....

Wait, Rance!

What a change this is!

Still want to play cards,
Mister Sacramento?

Your choice, rope or revolver.

Stop it!
Can't you see he's fainted?

Let's talk it over and settle things
once and for all.

What are you, Jack Rance?

A gambler.
And Johnson? A bandit.

And I own a saloon.
I live off whiskey and gold.

We're all alike.

All of us, bandits and gamblers!

Tonight you asked for an answer
to your passion.

Here's my bet.

I'm offering you this man and my life.

A game of poker.

If you win, you get
this wounded man and me.

If I win, on Jack Rance's
word of honor, the man is mine!

How you must love him.

I accept!

You're mine!

Your word?

I can lose like a gentleman.

But God, I'm all burned up
with wanting you.

And if I win, I'll have you.

Wait a moment.

I'm looking for a fresh deck.

I'm nervous.

Forgive me.

It's terrible to think that a game
could determine a man's life.

Are you ready?

I'm ready. Cut.

Two hands out of three.

How many?

Two.

Why do you love him?

What do you see in me?

-What do you have? -King.

-Jack. -Queen.

You've won. Next hand!

Two aces and a pair.

Nothing!

Then we're even!

The next hand decides it.

Rance, I'm sorry I spoke
to you the way I did.

I've always thought well of you,
Jack Rance, and always will.

My only thought is that
I'll hold you in my arms.

Three kings! I've won!

Jack, please!

Get me a drink.
I'm going to faint.

I see the bottle,
but where's a glass?

You're fainting because you've lost!

You're wrong.

I've won!

Three aces and a pair!

He's mine!

He's mine!

Believe me, Sheriff...

...I'd give ten weeks' worth of tips...

...if I could turn back the clock just one day...

...to when that damned Johnson
wasn't here causing trouble.

Stinking dog!

I thought he'd die for sure.

And to think that while
we were freezing in the snow...

...he was in there, warmed by
Minnie's breath, caressed and kissed.

A thief like him!

I wanted to shout out loud to everyone
what I knew.

But you didn't.

You acted like a real gentleman.

Tell me what it is that our Minnie
sees in that pretty boy.

She must see something.

Love!

It's heaven and hell,
that's what it is.

The whole damned world falls in love.

And now it's Minnie's turn.

Hurrah, boys!

Did you hear that, Sheriff?

They must have found the bandit!
A great day for Wells Fargo!

This time he won't get away, the devil!

You're luckier than I am.

Since that night at the Polka,
I don't understand you, Sheriff.

Put down your guns!

He's got to be taken alive!

We'll get him!

They're all up on the mountain!
They're on his trail!

I'm going with you!

Now it's your turn to cry, Minnie.

Because of you, I've cried every night.

And you laughed at my misery.

Now my tears are turning to laughter!

Now it's your turn to cry, Minnie.

That man you loved isn't coming back.

The hangman's rope is ready.

Sheriff, did you hear them?

Johnson from Sacramento,
the devil is on your side!

I'll make you pay for my suffering,
or you can spit in my face!

Johnson escaped!

Jumped on a horse!

There was a man right on him.
We thought he was finished!

He had him by the hair.

But Johnson knocked him out of the saddle.

And he was gone just like that!

Ashby's men are close behind him!

Let's go after him, boys!

Look, it's Sonora!

Tell us!

We got him!

Did you see him?

Yes! He was like a wolf cornered by hounds.

We've got him now.

Minnie, it's all over!

We'll make him dance!

I kept my word,
but still your lover will hang!

Take your time with that noose.

Do what I say, or I'll kill you!

Hang him!
Let him die!

Let him hang!

Sheriff Rance, I turn this man over to you.

He should be dealt with by the community.

Let them judge him.

Good luck, my fine gentleman!

So, Mister Johnson, how are you?

Excuse us for disturbing you.

Just get it over with!

That will only take a few minutes.

That's all I want.

What we all want, isn't it?

Hang him, the dog!

You've plundered the whole countryside.

Your men have stolen and killed.

The squadron from Monterey
was massacred...

...by your gang of cutthroats!

You stabbed poor Tommy in the back!

It isn't true!

Last month, a mail rider
was killed in the valley.

You killed him!

A curse on me!

I was a thief, but never a murderer!

Nothing will help you now!

You came to rob the Polka that night.

But Minnie's eyes disarmed you!

You've even robbed us of our golden girl!

You're going to hang!

We'll make you dance your last dance!

Don't worry, cowboy.

It's nothing, really.

Spare me your mockery.

I don't care if I die.

And you all know it.

Rope or gun, it's all the same!

If you turned me loose now,
I'd cut my own throat!

There's something else
I want to talk about.

The girl that I love....

You have two minutes left to love her.

Let him speak.
He has a right to.

Thanks, Sonora.

For the one you all love,
I ask a favor and a promise.

She must never know how I died.

One minute.
You'd best hurry.

Let her think I'm free and far away...

...on the path to a new life.

She'll wait for my return,
and the days will pass.

But I won't return.

Minnie, lone flower of my life.

You who loved me so much!

The only flower of my life!

Do you have anything else to say?

Nothing. Let's go!

Hang him!

Hang him! Hang him!

Who'll try it?

It's justice!

What justice, you scoundrel?

Watch what you say, woman!

What can you do?
You don't scare me!

Drag her away from there!

Don't any of you have the guts?

Are you scared of a dress?

Get her away from him!

Justice must be served!

Stop, or I'll kill him and myself, too!

Let her be!

None of you ever said,
"That's enough."

Not when I gave you
the best years of my youth.

Nor when I shared your troubles
amid all your cursing and brawling.

Now this man belongs to me...

...as he belongs to God.

God in heaven has blessed him.

He was heading off
to a new land, far away.

The bandit that he was
died up there in my cabin.

You can't kill him!

Minnie, forget the gold.
He's robbed us of your heart.

My good Sonora will be
the first to forgive him.

You'll forgive,
just as all of you will forgive.

We can't.

You can if you want to.

You want to, right, Joe?

Didn't you bring me flowers
like the ones back home?

And Harry, all those nights I watched
over you when you almost died.

In your fever, you thought I was
your dear little sister Maud...

...come to you from so far away.

We must.
We owe her too much.

And you Trin, do you remember...

...how I guided your hand
when you first wrote home?

Do as she asks, boys.

We can't.

Don't say no to her!

All of you, like brothers to me,
with your good and simple souls.

Look, I'm throwing down my gun!

I'm still what I was to you before,
a friend and sister.

I've taught you the supreme truth of love.

My brothers, there isn't a sinner
in the world who can't find salvation!

God speaks through you.

Your love is a great and fine thing.

On behalf of all of us,
I give him to you!

Thank you, brothers!

Go on, Minnie, and goodbye!

You'll never return!

Goodbye, my sweet land.

Goodbye, my California!

Goodbye, my sweet land.

Goodbye, my California!

Beautiful Sierras...

...snow-capped peaks, goodbye!

Goodbye my California!