Everybody's Got The Right
The Ballad Of Booth
How I Saved Roosevelt
Gun Song
The Ballad Of Czolgosz
Unworthy Of Your Love
The Ballad Of Guiteau
Another National Anthem
November 22, 1963
Final Sequence

Everybody's Got the Right


PROPRIETOR
Hey, pal – feelin' blue?
Don't know what to do?
Hey, pal –
I mean you –
Yeah.
Come here and kill a president.

No job? Cupboard bare?
One room, no one there?
Hey, pal, don't despair –
You wanna shoot a president?
C'mon and shoot a president...

Some guys
Think they can't be winners
First prize
Often goes to rank beginners.

CZOLGOSZ
How much?

PROPRIETOR
Four-fifty. Ivor-Johnson. .32. Rubber Handle. Owls stamped on the sides.

CZOLGOSZ
All right, give me.

PROPRIETOR
Hey kid, failed your test?
Dream girl unimpressed?
Show her you're the best.
If you can shoot a president –

You can get the prize
With the big blue eyes,
Skinny little thighs
And those big blue eyes...

Everybody's
Got the right
To be happy.
Don't stay mad,
Life's not as bad
As it seems.

If you keep your
Goal in sight,
You can climb to
Any height.
Everybody's
Got the right
To their dreams...

HINCKLEY
Deal.

CZOLGOSZ
Mister –

HINCKLEY
I said "deal."

CZOLGOSZ
You. Wait your turn.

HINCKLEY
It is my turn.

CZOLGOSZ
I was here first –

PROPRIETOR
Hey! Watch it now, no violence!

Hey, fella,
Feel like you're a failure?
Bailiff on your tail? Your
Wife run off for good?
Hey, fella,
Feel misunderstood?
Come here and kill a president...

GUITEAU
Okay!

ZANGARA
Marron...

PROPRIETOR
What's-a wrong, boy?
Boss-a treat you crummy?
Trouble with your tummy?
This-a bring you some relief.
Here, give some
Hail-a to da chief – Yeah!

ZANGARA
You gimme prize–

PROPRIETOR
Anything you want.

ZANGARA
I want prize. You gimme prize!

PROPRIETOR
Only eight bucks. Cheap for "anything you want."

Everybody's
Got the right
To be different,
Even though
At times they go
To extremes.
Aim for what you
Want a lot –
Everybody
Gets a shot.

Everybody's
Got the right
To their dreams –

Yo baby!
Looking for a thrill?
The ferris wheel is that way.
No, baby,
This requires skill –
Okay, you want to give it a try...
Jeez, lady–!
Give the guy some room!
The bumper cars are that way...
Please, lady –
Don't forget that guns can go boom...

Hey, gang,
Look who's here.
There's our
Pioneer.

Hey, chief.
Loud and clear:


BOOTH
Everybody's
Got the right
To be happy.
Say, "Enough!"
It's not as tough
As it seems.

Don't be scared
You won't prevail
Everybody's
Free to fail,
No one can be put in jail
For their dreams.

Free country–!

PROPRIETOR
– Means your dreams can come true:

BOOTH
Be a scholar –

PROPRIETOR
Make a dollar –

BOOTH & PROPRIETOR
Free country–!

BOOTH
– Means they'll listen to you:

PROPRIETOR
Scream and holler –

BOOTH
Grab 'em by the collar!

BOOTH & PROPRIETOR
Free country–!

BOOTH
– Means you don't have to sit –

PROPRIETOR
That's it!

BOOTH
– And put up with the shit.

ASSASSINS
Everybody's
Got the right
To some sunshine –

BOOTH
Everybody...

ASSASSINS
Not the sun
But maybe one
Of its beams.
One of its beams.

ALL
Rich man, poor man,
Black or white,
Pick your apple,
Take a bite,
Everybody
Just hold tight
To your dreams.
Everybody's
Got the right
To their dreams...



The Ballad Of Booth

VOICE
Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States , Abraham Lincoln!

BOOTH
Sic semper tyrannis!... (echo)

BALLADEER
Someone tell the story,
Someone sing the song.

Every now and then
The country
Goes a little wrong.

Every now and then
A madman's
Bound to come along.
Doesn't stop the story –
Story's pretty strong.
Doesn't change the song...

Johnny Booth was a handsome devil,
Got up in his rings and fancy silks.
Had him a temper but kept it level.
Everybody called him Wilkes.

Why did you do it, Johnny?
Nobody agrees.
You who had everything,
What made you bring
A nation to its knees?

Some say it was your voice had gone,
Some say it was booze.
Some say you killed a country, John,
Because of bad reviews.

Johnny lived with a grace and glitter,
Kinda like the lives he lived on stage.
Died in a barn in pain and bitter,
Twenty-seven years of age.

Why did you do it, Johnny,
Throw it all away?
Why did you do it, boy,
Not just destroy
The pride and joy
Of Illinois,
But all the U.S.A.?

You brother made you jealous, John,
You couldn't fill his shoes.
Was that the reason, tell us, John –
Along with bad reviews?


BOOTH
Damn!


HEROLD
They're coming! They'll be here any minute –


BOOTH
I need your help. I've got to write this and I can't hold the pen!

HEROLD
Johnny, they've found us! We've got to get out of here!

BOOTH
Not till I finish this.

HEROLD
Johnny –

BOOTH
No! Have you seen these papers? Do you know what they're calling me?! A common cutthroat! A hired assassin! This one says I'm mad!

HEROLD
We must have been mad to think we could kill the President and get away with it!

BOOTH
We did get away with it! He was a bloody tyrant and we brought him down! And I will not have history think I did it for a bag of gold or in some kind of rabid fit!

HEROLD
Johnny, we have to go –

BOOTH
No! I have to make my case! And I need you to take it down!

HEROLD
We don't have time!

BOOTH
Take it down. An indictment. Of the former President of the United States , Abraham Lincoln, who is herein charged with the following High Crimes and Misdemeanors.

BALLADEER
They say your ship was sinkin', John...

BOOTH
One: That you did ruthlessly provoke a war between the States which cost some six hundred housand of my ountrymen their lives. Two –

BALLADEER
You'd started missing cues...

BOOTH
Two: That you did silence your critics in the North by hurling them into prison without benefit of charge or trial. Three –

BALLADEER
They say it wasn't Lincoln, John.

BOOTH
Shut up! Three –

BALLADEER
You'd merely had
A slew of bad reviews –

BOOTH
I said shut up!

VOICE
Booth! I have fifty soldiers out here, Booth! Give yourselves up or we'll set fire to the barn!

HEROLD
Don't shoot! I'm coming out!

BOOTH
No! I have given up my life for one act, do you understand? Do not let history rob me of its meaning. Pass on the truth! You're the only one who can. Please...

BALLADEER
He said,
"Damn you, Lincoln,
You had your way –

BOOTH
Tell 'em, boy!

BALLADEER
With blood you drew out
Of Blue and Gray!"

BOOTH
Tell it all!
Tell them till they listen!

BALLADEER
He said,
"Damn you, Lincoln,
And damn the day
You threw the 'U' out
Of U.S.A. !"
He said:

BOOTH
Hunt me down, smear my name,
Say I did it for the fame,
What I did was kill the man who killed my country.
Now the Southland will mend,
Now this bloody war can end,
Because someone slew the tyrant
Just as Brutus slew the tyrant –

BALLADEER
He said:

BALLADEER & BOOTH
Damn you, Lincoln,
You righteous whore!

BOOTH
Tell 'em!
Tell 'em what he did!

BALLADEER & BOOTH
You turned your spite into civil war!

BOOTH
Tell 'em!
Tell 'em the truth!

BALLADEER
And more...

BOOTH
Tell 'em, boy!
Tell them how it happened,
How the end doesn't mean that it's over,
How surrender is not the end!
Tell them:

How the country is not what it was,
Where there's blood in the clover,
How the nation can never again
Be the hope that it was.

How the bruises may never be healed,
How the wounds are forever,
How we gave up the field
But we still wouldn't yield,

How the Union can never recover
From that vulgar,
High and mighty
Niggerlover,
Never–!

Never. Never. Never.
No, the country is not what it was...

Damn my soul if you must,
Let my body turn to dust,
Let it mingle with the ashes of the country.

Let them curse me to hell,
Leave it to history to tell:
What I did, I did well,
And I did it for my country.

Let them cry, "Dirty traitor!"
They will understand it later –
The country is not what it was...


BALLADEER
Johnny Booth was a headstrong fellow,
Even he believed the things he said.
Some called him noble, some said yellow.
What he was was off his head.

How could you do it, Johnny,
Calling it a cause?
You left a legacy
Of butchery
And treason we
Took eagerly,
And thought you'd get applause.

But traitors just get jeers and boos,
Not visits to their graves,
While Lincoln, who got mixed reviews,
Because of you, John, now gets only raves.

Damn you, Johnny,
You paved the way
For other madmen
To make us pay.
Lots of madmen
Have had their say –

But only for a day.

Listen to the stories.
Hear it in the songs.
Angry men
Don't write the rules
And guns don't right the wrongs.

Hurts a while,
But soon the country's
Back where it belongs,
And that's the truth.

Still and all,
Damn you, Booth!



How I Saved Roosevelt


RADIO ANNOUNCER
That was President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt, ladies and gentlemen, speaking to a crowd of supporters here in Miami 's beautiful Bayfront Park . A group of notables are pressing in around the President-elect's car. There's Mayor Anton Cermak of Chicago , and –
There's been a shot! I can't see – wait! Mr. Roosevelt is waving! He's all right! But Mayor Cermak has been hit! The police have somebody in custody. An immigrant. Giuseppe Zangara. We take you now to a group of eyewitnesses who will tell us what they saw!


BYSTANDER #1
We're crowded up close,
And I see this guy,
He's squeezing by,
I catch his eye,
I say to him, "Where do you
Think you're trying to go, boy?
Whoa, boy!"
I say, "Listen, you runt,
You're not pulling that stunt,
No gentleman pushes their way to the front."
I say, "Move to the back!", which he does with a grunt –
Which is how I saved Roosevelt !


BYSTANDER #2
Then –
Well, I'm in my seat,
I get up to clap,
I feel this tap,
I turn – this sap,
He says he can't see,
I say, "Find a lap
And go sit
On it!"
Which is how I saved –


BYSTANDER #3
Then –
He started to swear
And he climbed on a chair,
He was aiming a gun – I was standing right there –
So I pushed it as hard as I could in the air,
Which is how I saved Roosevelt !


ALL THREE
Lucky I was there –


BYSTANDER #1
That's why he was standing back so far–!


BYSTANDER #3
That's why when he aimed, he missed the car–!


ALL THREE
Just lucky I was there,
Or we'd have been left
Bereft
Of F.D.R.!


ZANGARA
You think that I scare?
No scare.
You think that I care?
No care.
I look at the world –
No good. No fair. Nowhere.

When I am a boy,
No school.
I work in a ditch.
No chance.
The smart and the rich
Ride by,
Don't give no glance.

Ever since then, because of them,
I have the sickness in the stomach,
Which is the way I make my idea
To go out and kill Roosevelt .

First I was figure I kill Hoover,
I get even for the stomach.
Only Hoover up in Washington.
Is wintertime in Washington,
Too cold for the stomach in Washington –
I go down to Miami kill Roosevelt.

No laugh!
No funny!
Men with the money,
They control everything.

Roosevelt, Hoover –
No make no difference.
You think I care who I kill?
I no care who I kill,
Long as it's king!


BYSTANDER #4
The crowd's breaking up
When I hear these shots,
And I mean lots –


BYSTANDER #5
I thought I'd plotz –


MAN
I spotted him –


WIFE
My stomach was tied in knots –


MAN
So I barrelled –


WIFE
Harold –!
No, what happened was this:
He was blowing a kiss –


MAN
She means Roosevelt –


WIFE
I was saying to Harold, "This weather is bliss!"


MAN
When you think that might have missed seeing him miss–!


BOTH
Lucky we were there!


WIFE
It was a historical event –!


MAN
– Worth every penny that we spent!


THE BYSTANDERS
Just lucky we were there!


BYSTANDER #1
To think, if I'd let him get up closer –!


BYSTANDER #3
I saw right away he was insane –
Oh, this is my husband, we're from Maine –


BYSTANDER #2
He told me to sit, but I said, "No sir!"


BYSTANDER #4
This makes our vacation a real success!


BYSTANDER #5
Are you with the press?


PHOTOGRAPHER
Yes.


BYSTANDER #5
Oh God, I'm a mess...


BYSTANDER #1
Some left wing foreigner, that's my guess –


ZANGARA
No!


BYSTANDERS
And wasn't the band just fantastic?


ZANGARA
No left!
You think I am left?
No left, no right,
No anything!
Only American!

Zangara have nothing,
No luck, no girl,
Zangara no smart, no school,
But Zangara no foreign tool,
Zangara American!
American nothing!

And why there no photographers?
For Zangara no photographers!
Only capitalists get photographers!

Gun Song


CZOLGOSZ
It takes a lot of men to make a gun,
Hundreds,
Many men to make a gun:

Men in the mines
To dig the iron,
Men in the mills
To forge the steel,
Men at machines
To turn the barrel,
Mold the trigger
Shape the wheel –
It takes a lot of men to make a gun...
One gun...


BOOTH
And all you have to do
Is move your little finger,
Move your little finger and –
You can change the world.

Why should you be blue
When you've your little finger?

GUITEAU
What a wonder is a gun!
What a versatile invention!
First of all, when you've a gun –
Everybody pays attention.
When you think what must be done,
Think of all that it can do:
Remove a scoundrel,
Unite a party,
Preserve the Union ,
Promote the sales of my book,
Insure my future,
My niche in history,
And then the world will see
That I am not a man to overlook!
Ha-ha!


GUITEAU, BOOTH & CZOLGOSZ
And all you have to do
Is squeeze your little finger.
Ease your little finger back –

You can change the world.
Whatever else is true,
You trust your little finger.
Just a single little finger
Can change the world.


MOORE
I got this really great gun –
Shit, where is it?
No, it's really great –
Wait –
Shit, where is it?
Anyway –
It's just a .38 –
But –
It's a gun.
You can make a statement –
Wrong –
With a gun –
Even if you fail.
It tells 'em who you are,
Where you stand.
This one was on sale.
It – no, not the shoe –
Well, actually the shoe was, too.
No, that's not it –
Shit, I had it here –
Got it

Yeah! There it is! And –


ALL
All you have to do
Is crook your little finger,
Hook your little finger 'round –


MOORE
Shit, I shot it...


OTHERS
– You can change the world.


ALL
Simply follow through,
And look, your little finger
Can
Slow them down
To a crawl,
Show them all,
Big and small,
It took a little finger
No time
To change the world.


CZOLGOSZ
A gun kills many men before it's done,
Hundreds,
Long before you shoot the gun:

Men in the mines
And in the steel mills,
Men at machines,
Who died for what?

Something to buy –
A watch, a shoe, a gun,
A thing to make the bosses richer,
But
A gun claims many men before it's done...

Just
One
More...



The Ballad Of Czolgosz


BALLADEER
Czolgosz,
Working man,
Born in the middle of Michigan,
Woke with a thought
And away he ran
To the Pan-American Exposition
In Buffalo,
In Buffalo.

Saw of a sudden
How things were run,
Said, "Time's a-wasting,
It's nineteen-one.
Some men have everything
And some have none,
So rise and shine –
In the U.S.A.
You can work your way
To the head of the line!"


ATTENDANT
Single line, ladies and gentlemen. Line forms here to meet the President of the United States. Single line to shake hands with President William McKinley.


BALLADEER
Czolgosz,
Quiet man,
Worked out a quiet
And simple plan,
Strolled of a morning
All spick and span,
To the Temple of Music
By the Tower of Light
At the Pan-American Exposition
In Buffalo,
In Buffalo.

Saw Bill McKinley there
In the sun.
Heard Bill McKinley say,
"Folks, have fun!
Some men have everything
And some have none,
But that's just fine:
In the U.S.A.
You can work your way
To the head of the line!"


CROWD
Big Bill–!


BALLADEE
– Gave 'em a thrill.


CROWD
Big Bill–!


BALLADEER
– Sold 'em a bill.


CROWD
Big Bill–!


BALLADEER
– Who'd want to kill
A man of good will
Like–?


ALL
Big Bill!


FAIRGOER #1
Doesn't the President look marvelous? So round and prosperous!


FAIRGOER #2
Do you know what his favorite dish is? It was in the paper. Beef!


FAIRGOER #3
I'm told that in his spare time he enjoys collecting coins!


BALLADEER
Czolgosz,
Angry man,
Said, "I will do what
A poor man can.
Yes, and there's nowhere
More fitting than
In the Temple of Music
By the Tower of Light
Between the Fountain of Abundance
And the Court of Lilies
At the great Pan-American Exposition
In Buffalo,
In Buffalo."

Wrapped him a handkerchief
'Round his gun,
Said, "Nothin' wrong about
What I done.
Some men have everything
And some have none –
That's by his design
The idea wasn't mine alone,
But mine,
And that's the sign:

In the U.S.A.
You can have your say,
You can set your goals
And seize the day,
You've been given the freedom
To work your way
To the head of the line –
To the head of the line!"

Unworthy Of Your Love


HINCKLEY
I am nothing,
You are wind and water and sky,
Jodie.
Tell me, Jodie,
How I can earn your love.
I would swim oceans,
I would move mountains,
I would do anything for you.
What do you want me to do?

I am unworthy of your love,
Jodie, Jodie,
Let me prove worthy of your love.
Tell me how I can earn your love,
Set me free.
How can I turn your love
To me?


FROMME
I am nothing,
You are wind and devil and God,
Charlie,
Take my blood and body
For your love.
Let me feel fire,
Let me drink poison,
Tell me to tear my heart in two,
If that's what you want me to do...

I am unworthy of your love,
Charlie darlin',
I have done nothing for your love.
Let me be worthy of your love,
Set me free –


HINCKLEY
I would come take you from your life...


FROMME
I would come take you from your cell...


HINCKLEY
You would be queen to me, not wife...


FROMME
I would crawl belly-deep through hell...


HINCKLEY
Baby, I'd die for you...


FROMME
Baby, I'd die for you...


HINCKLEY
Even though –


FROMME
Even though –

BOTH
Let me be worthy of your love.
I'll find a way to earn your love,
Wait and see.
Then you will turn your love to me,
Your love to me...



The Ballad Of Guiteau


GUITEAU
I am going to the Lordy,
I am so glad.
I am going to the Lordy,
I am so glad.
I am going to the Lordy,
Glory hallelujah!
Glory hallelujah!
I am going to the Lordy...


BALLADEER
Come all ye Christians,
And learn from a sinner:
Charlie Guiteau.
Bound and determined
He'd wind up a winner,
Charlie had dreams
That he wouldn't let go.
Said, "Nothing to it,
I want it, I'll do it,
I'm Charles J. Guiteau."

Charlie Guiteau
Never said "Never"
Or heard the word "No."
Faced with disaster,
His heart would beat faster,
His smile would just grow,
And he'd say:


GUITEAU
Look on the bright side,
Look on the bright side,
Sit on the right side
Of the Lord.
This is the land of
Opportunity,
He is your lightning,
You His Sword.

Wait till you see tomorrow,
Tomorrow you'll get your reward!
You can be sad
Or you can be president –
Look on the bright side...

I am going to the Lordy...


BALLADEER
Charlie Guiteau
Drew a crowd to his trial,
Led them in prayer,
Said, "I killed Garfield,
I'll make no denial.
I was just acting
For Someone up there.
The Lord's my employer,
And now he's my lawyer,
So do what you dare."

Charlie said, "Hell,
If I am guilty,
Then God is as well."
But God was acquitted
And Charlie committed
Until he should hang.
Still, he sang:


GUITEAU
Look on the bright side,
Not on the black side.
Get off your backside,
Shine those shoes.
This is your golden
Opportunity:
You are the lightning
And you're news!

Wait till you see tomorrow,
Tomorrow you won't be ignored!
You could be pardoned,
You could be president –
Look on the bright side...

I am going to the Lordy...


BALLADEER
Charlie Guiteau
Had a crowd at the scaffold –


GUITEAU
I am so glad...


BALLADEER
– Filled up the square,
So many people
That tickets were raffled.
Shine on his shoes,
Charlie mounted the stair,
Said, "Never Sorrow,
Just wait till tomorrow,
Today isn't fair.
Don't despair..."


GUITEAU
Look on the bright side,
Look on the bright side,
Sit on the right side...
Of the...

I am going to the Lordy,
I am so glad!
I am going to the Lordy,
I am so glad!
I have unified my party,
I have saved my country.
I shall be remembered!
I am going to the Lordy...


BALLADEER
Look on the bright side,
Not on the sad side,
Inside the bad side
Something's good!
This is your golden
Opportunity:
You've been a preacher –


GUITEAU
Yes, I have!


BALLADEER
You've been an author –


GUITEAU
Yes, I have!


BALLADEER
You've been a killer –


GUITEAU
Yes, I have!


BALLADEER
You could be an angel –


GUITEAU
Yes, I could!


BALLADEER
Just wait until tomorrow,
Tomorrow they'll all climb aboard!
What if you never
Got to be president?
You'll be remembered –
Look on the bright side –
Trust in tomorrow –


GUITEAU & BALLADEER
And the Lord!



Another National Anthem


CZOLGOSZ
I did it because it is wrong for one man to have so much service when other men have none...


BOOTH
I did it do bring down the government of Abraham Lincoln and avenge the ravaged South...


HINCKLEY
I did it to prove to her my everlasting love...


FROMME
I did it to make them listen to Charlie...


ZANGARA
I did it 'cause my belly was on fire...


GUITEAU
I did it to preserve the Union and promote the sale of my book...


MOORE
I did it so my friends would know where I was coming from...


BYCK
Where's my prize?


CZOLGOSZ
I did it because no one cared about the poor man's pain...


MOORE
I did it so I'd know where I was coming from...


BYCK
I want my prize...


ZANGARA
I did it 'cause the bosses made my belly burn...


HINCKLEY
I did it so she'd pay attention...


MOORE
So I'd have someplace to come from, and someplace to go...


BYCK
Don't I get a prize?...


GUITEAU
I did it 'cause they said I'd be ambassador to France...


BOOTH
I did it so they'd suffer in the North the way we'd suffered in the South...


BYCK
I deserve a fucking prize!...


FROMME
I did it so there'd be a trial, and Charlie would get to be a witness, and he'd be on TV, and he'd save the world!...


GUITEAU
Where's my prize?


BYCK
I did it to make people listen.


CZOLGOSZ & FROMME
They promised me a prize...


HINCKLEY
Because she wouldn't take my phone calls –


ALL
What about my prize?...


ZANGARA
Because nothing stopped the fire–!


ALL
I want my prize!...


BYCK
Nobody would listen!


BALLADEER
And it didn't mean a nickel,
You just shed a little blood,
And a lot of people shed a lot of tears.
Yes, you made a little moment
And you stirred a little mud –

But it didn't fix the stomach
And you've drunk your final Bud,
And it didn't help the workers
And it didn't heal the country
And it didn't make them listen
And they never said, "We're sorry"–


BYCK
Yeah, it's never gonna happen,
Is it?
No, sir –


CZOLGOSZ
Never.


BYCK
No, we're never gonna get the prize –


FROMME
No one listens...


BYCK
– Are we?


ZANGARA
Never.


BYCK
No, it doesn't make a bit of difference,
Does it?


OTHERS
Didn't.
Ever.


BYCK
Fuck it!


OTHERS
Spread the word...


ALL
Where's my prize?...


BALLADEER
I just heard
On the news
Where the mailman won the lottery.
Goes to show:
When you lose, what you do is try again.

You can be
What you choose,
From a mailman to a president.
There are prizes all around you,
If you're wise enough to see:
The delivery boy's on Wall Street,
And the usherette's a rock star –


BYCK
Right, it's never gonna happen, is it?
Is it!


HINCKLEY , FROMME
No, man!


BYCK, CZOLGOSZ
No, we'll never see the day arrive –


ASSASSINS
Spread the word...
Will we?
No, sir –
Never!

No one's ever gonna even care if we're alive,
Are they?...
Never...
Spread the word...
We're alive...
Someone's gonna listen...
Listen!


BYCK
Listen...
There's another national anthem playing,
Not the one you cheer
At the ball park.


MOORE
Where's my prize?...


BYCK
It's the other national anthem, saying,
If you want to hear –
It says, "Bullshit!"...


CZOLGOSZ
It says, "Never!" –


GUITEAU
It says, "Sorry!" –


OTHERS
Loud and clear –


ASSASSINS
It says: Listen
To the tune that keeps sounding
In the distance, on the outside,
Coming through the ground,
To the hearts that go on pounding
To the sound
Getting louder every year –

Listen to the sound...
Take a look around...

We're the other national anthem, folks,
The ones that can't get in –
To the ball park.

Spread the word...

There's another national anthem, folks,
For those who never win,
For the suckers, for the pikers,
For the ones who might have been...


BALLADEER
There are those who love regretting,
There are those who like extremes,
There are those who thrive on chaos
And despair.
There are those who keep forgetting
How the country's built on dreams –


ASSASSINS
People listen...


BALLADEER
– And the mailman won the lottery –


ASSASSINS
They may not want to hear it,
But they listen,
Once they think it's gonna stop the game...


BALLADEER
– And the usherette's a rock star.


ASSASSINS
No, they may not understand
All the words,
All the same
They hear the music...
They hear the screams...


BALLADEER
I've got news –


ASSASSINS
They hear the sobs,
They hear the drums...


BALLADEER
– You forgot about the country –


ASSASSINS
The muffled drums,
The muffled dreams...


BALLADEER
– So it's now forgotten you –


ASSASSINS
And they rise...


BYCK
You know why I did it? Because there isn't any Santa Claus!


ASSASSINS
Where's my prize?


BALLADEER
And you forgot –


ASSASSINS
Where's my prize?


BALLADEER
– How quick it heals –


ASSASSINS
Promises and lies...


BALLADEER
– That it's a place
Where you can make the lies come true –


ASSASSINS
Spread the word...


BALLADEER
– If you try –


ASSASSINS
Gotta spread the word...


BALLADEER
– That's all you have to do –


ASSASSINS
Right,
All you have to do...

Well, there's another national anthem,
And I think it just began
In the ball park.
Listen hard...

Like the other national anthem
Says to each and every fan:
If you can't do what you want to,
Then you do the things you can.

You've got to try again!

Like they say,
You've got to keep on trying
Every day
Until you get a prize...
Until you get a prize ...

Until you're heard...
Mustn't get discouraged...
Spread the word...
Mustn't give up hope...

Up to you –
Don't say –
– What you choose...
– It's never gonna happen...
Spread the word...


ALL
You can always get a prize...
You can always get a prize...


BOOTH
You can always get your dream...


BYCK
Sure, the mailman won the lottery...



November 22, 1963


RADIO ANNOUNCER
That was the Blue Ridge Boys and Heartache Serenade. And now we take you live to KTEX –


BOOTH
Oh! I'm sorry. I was just browsing. Please carry on with whatever you were – Is that the right time? Yes? I don't know what's the matter with this watch. Excuse me for a moment –


RADIO ANNOUNCER
– Speaking to you from Love Field, where tthe President's plane has just touched down and is taxiing toward us across the tarmac. We understand the President plans to speak briefly –


BOOTH
Dearest Marina. Today I end my life so that your life can begin. Last night – I'm sorry, was that your note?


OSWALD
Fuck you.


BOOTH
We seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot here. It's my fault. I shouldn't – You're not going are you? Come on, I didn't mean to – Alik.


OSWALD
What did you call me?


BOOTH
Alik. You used to like that nickname. Back in Minsk. Marina said Lee sounded Chinese, so she called you Alik. Of course I don't have to call you Alik. I just thought –


OSWALD
How do you know what Marina called me?


BOOTH
I know lots about you, Lee. Let's see... Born, New Orleans , October 18, 1939. Father, Robert, died before your birth. Crazy mother, Marguerite. Dropped out of school at 17. Joined the Marines. Court-martialled twice. Defected to the Soviet Union , October 1959. Defected back, June 1962. Married, Marina Nikolaevna. Two children, June and Rachel. Current employment, stock boy, Texas School Book Depository, Dallas , Texas... Oh. And this morning, depressed over your estrangement from a wife who views you as a dismal and pathetic figure, you rose before dawn, kissed your sleeping children, put your last hundred dollars and your wedding ring into a demi-tasse cup which Marina's mother gave you for a wedding present, and came here to kill yourself...


OSWALD
Who are you?


BOOTH
I'm your friend, Lee.


OSWALD
I don't have any friends.


BOOTH
Yes, you do. You just haven't met them yet.


OSWALD
Show me your badge.


BOOTH
My what?


OSWALD
You bastards think you are so smart. I know my rights. You try to interrogate me in my place of business I can sue you for harassment.


BOOTH
Ah! You think I'm with the F.B.I.!


OSWALD
I have a right to see your badge.


BOOTH
Search me, Lee. You think I've got a badge. Come on, search me. The F.B.I. You really love those morons, don't you? Hell, why wouldn't you? No one else cares if you live or die. Those guys can't get enough of you. "How was your day, Lee? Sell any secrets to the Soviets? Sabotage any defense plants? Kick off your shoes and tell us all about it!"


OSWALD
Fuck you, whoever you are!


BOOTH
I'm sorry, Lee. It's just so sad. I mean, it's all you ever wanted, isn't it? Someone who won't leave you alone. Someone who wants to hear about your day. Someone, anyone – your mother. Mother Russia. The Marines. Your wife Marina... Attention must be paid.


OSWALD
What's that mean?


BOOTH
It's from a play. About a salesman. A man very much like you, Lee. Independent, proud, a decent man who tries and tries but never gets a break. So he does something dumb. When things go really sour, when he realizes that his whole life has been a failure built on lies, he kills himself. And when he's dead, his wife stands at his grave and says attention must be paid. She has to beg the world to pay attention to this poor, misguided nobody. I'll tell you something, Lee, I'm an actor. And I'm a good one. But Willy Loman is a part that I could never play. And I don't think that you should play it either.


OSWALD
I don't know what you're talking about.


BOOTH
What do you want, Lee?


OSWALD
You know so much, why don't you tell me?


BOOTH
You want what everybody wants. To be appreciated. To be valued. To be in other people's thoughts. For them to think of you and smile. You want someone to love you, Lee. Right?... Isn't that it?... Lee?


OSWALD
Yes.


BOOTH
Forget it.


OSWALD
What?


BOOTH
It's never gonna happen. It's a fantasy. You've got to give it up.


OSWALD
I'm going to kill myself! Don't you think I've given it up?!


BOOTH
No, I think you're going to kill yourself because you think that's how to get it. "When I'm dead, then they'll be sorry! When I'm dead, they'll know how much they loved me!" When you close your eyes you probably see the funeral, don't you, Lee? A gentle rain is falling. Everybody has umbrellas –


OSWALD
Shut up!


BOOT
There's Marina , weeping quietly. Your sobbing children clutching at her skirt. Your mom, your dad. Every boss who ever fired you –


OSWALD
Shut the fuck up!


BOOTH
Sorry, Lee. It's just so childish. It's so dumb –


OSWALD
You think it's dumb?! If I shouldn't kill myself what should I do?! Go home?! Beg her to take me back?! Plead with her?! Beat her up?!


BOOTH
You tried all that. It doesn't work.


OSWALD
I know it doesn't work! So tell me what I should do!


BOOTH
You should kill the President of the United States.


OSWALD
What?


BOOTH
His plane landed at the airport fifteen minutes ago. He's coming into town to make a speech. His motorcade is going to go right past this window. When it does, you shoot him.


OSWALD
You're nuts.


BOOTH
Maybe I am, so what?


OSWALD
I didn't come here to shoot the president.


BOOTH
He didn't come here to get shot... All your life you've been a victim, Lee. A victim of indifference and neglect. Of your mother's scorn, you're wife's contempt, of Soviet stupidity, American injustice. You've finally had enough, so how're you planning to get even? By becoming your own victim.


OSWALD
I am not a murderer.


BOOTH
Who said you were?


OSWALD
You just said I should kill the President.


BOOTH
Lee, when you kill a president, it isn't murder. Murder is a tawdry little crime; it's born of greed, or lust, or liquor. Adulterers and shopkeepers get murdered. But when a president gets killed, when Julius Caesar got killed – he was assassinated. And the man who did it...


OSWALD
Brutus.


BOOTH
Ah! You know his name. Brutus assassinated Caesar – what? – two thousand years ago, and here's a high school drop-out with a dollar twenty-five an hour job in Dallas, Texas, who knows who he was. And they say fame is fleeting...


OSWALD
This is stupid. Up here on the sixth floor, what would I do? Throw school books at him?


BOOTH
What's in the package?


OSWALD
What package?


BOOTH
The package that you brought to work. What's in it?


OSWALD
Curtain rods.


BOOTH
You sure?


OSWALD
Sure I'm sure. Marina wanted me to take them –


BOOTH
That's a Mannlicher-Carcano. 6.5 millimer. Stopping range 900 yards. The sight's already been adjusted.


OSWALD
Who are you?


BOOTH
My name is John Wilkes Booth, Lee.


OSWALD
John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln.


BOOTH
Attention has been paid... All your life you've wanted to be part of something, Lee. You're finally going to get your wish.


OSWALD
What is this?


BOOTH
The past you never had, the future you'd abandoned – it's called history, Lee.


GUITEAU
My name is Charles Guiteau. I assassinated President James Garfield.


CZOLGOSZ
Leon Czolgosz. William McKinley.


BYCK
Sam Byck. I'm going to try to kill Dick Nixon.


HINCKLEY
John Hinckley. Ronald Reagan.


FROMME
Lynette Fromme –


MOORE
Sara Jane Moore –


FROMME & MOORE
Gerald Ford.


ZANGARA
Zangara. F.D.R.


OSWALD
I don't get this –


MOORE
It's simple, Lee.


CZOLGOSZ
You're going to bring us back.


HINCKLEY
And make us possible.


GUITEAU
We're in you're debt, old boy.


BYCK
This Bud's for you, babe.


GUITEAU
Bravo!


HINCKLEY
What's he doing?


OSWALD
Getting out of here.


GUITEAU
You mean you're not going to do it?


OSWALD
Goddamn right.


GUITEAU
He's not going to do it!


FROMME
You said he would!


HINCKLEY
You promised!


BOOTH
O.K., O.K., shhh... Lee, I'm sorry. I know things are happening kind of fast here. But you can't leave now.


OSWALD
No? Watch me –


BOOTH
You have a responsibility here, Lee.


OSWALD
To who? To you? I'm responsible to me and no one else!


BOOTH
Not anymore, Lee. Fifty years from now, they'll still be arguing about the grassy knoll, the Mafia, some Cuban crouched behind a stockade fence, but this – right here, right now – this is the real conspiracy. And you're a part of it.


OSWALD
Get out of my way.


BOOTH
Listen to me, Lee. You have to do this. Now. You won't get another chance.


OSWALD
So what? So I'll do something else. I'll shoot my wife. I'll shoot my kids. I won't shoot anyone! Who cares?!


BOOTH
He wants to know who cares... I care, you stupid fool! We all care! Haven't you been listening, for Christ's sake?! Are you such a vapid, vacuous nonentity – Sorry. I'm sorry... John –


HINCKLEY
Yes, sir?


BOOTH
John, when Lee was 8 he had a dog. What was its name?


HINCKLEY
Tex.


BOOTH
The Marines sent him to radar school. Where?


HINCKLEY
The Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Florida.


BOOTH
The K.G.B. official who de-briefed him in the Kremlin – what was his name and rank?


HINCKLEY
Lieutenant-Colonel Boris Kutzov.


BOOTH
Lee. Eighteen years form now, when John tries to assassinate President Reagan, they're going to search his room, and do you know what they're going to find? Every book about you ever written.


HINCKLEY
Can I have your autograph?


BOOTH
Take a look, Lee. You know what that is, outside that window? That's America. The Land Where Any Kid Can Grow Up To Be President. The Shining City, Lee. It shines so bright you have to shade your eyes. But in here, this is America, too. "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." An American said that. And he was right. But there are no lives of quiet desperation here. Desperation, yes. But quiet? I don't think so. Not today. Today we're going to make a joyful noise. This is the big one. You're the big one. You're the one that's going to sum it all up and blow it all wide open. Why, after you...


GUITEAU
Tell him.


BOOTH
Should I tell him?


ASSASSINS
Of course! Go on!... Tell him!... Go ahead!


BOOTH
What the hell... Is Artie Bremer here tonight? Where's Artie Bremer?!


BREMER'S VOICE
It was a bum rap! My penis made me do it!


BOOTH
Who's next?! Who else is out there?!


ANOTHER VOICE
Death to the enemies of Palestine !


BOOTH
Of course, of course! Sirhan Sirhan!


BOOTH
And James Earl Ray! Why do these rednecks always have three names? James Earl Ray. John Wilkes Booth –


OSWALD
Lee Harvey Oswald!


BOOTH
I have seen the future, Lee. And you are in it.


RADIO ANNOUNCER
– and now the motorcade is turning onto Elm Street . There's someone holding up a banner. "All the Way with JFK." The President is smiling and waving as his car heads for Dealy Plaza where it will swing past the Texas Book Depository and –


OSWALD
People will hate me.


BOOTH
They'll hate you with a passion, Lee. Imagine people having passionate feelings about Lee Harvey Oswald... Somebody. Help me...


MOORE
Please. I beseech you –


CZOLGOSZ
We are the hopeless ones. The lost ones...


GUITEAU
We live our lives in exile...


BYCK
Expatriates in our own country...


HINCKLEY
We drift from birth to death, despairing...


FROMME
Inconsolable...


GUITEAU
But through you and your act, we dare to hope...


MOORE
Through you and your act we are revived and given meaning...


CZOLGOSZ
Our lives, our acts, are given meaning...


HINCKLEY
Our frustrations fall away...


BYCK
Our fondest dreams come true...


FROMME
Today, we are reborn, through you...


BOOTH
We need you, Lee.


MOORE
Without you, we're just footnotes in a history book.


GUITEAU
"Disappointed office seeker."


CZOLGOSZ
"Deranged immigrant."


BOOTH
"Vainglorious actor."


FROMME
Without you we're a bunch of freaks.


HINCKLEY
With you we're a force of history.


GUITEAU
We become immortal.


ZANGARA
Finally we belong.


MOORE
To one another.


CZOLGOSZ
To the nation.


GUITEAU
To the ages.


BYCK
Bring us together, babe.


MOORE
You think you can't connect. Connect to us.


CZOLGOSZ
You think you're powerless. Empower us.


BOOTH
It's in your grasp, Lee. All you have to do is move your little finger.



Final Sequence


BOOTH
You can close the New York Stock exchange.


GUITEAU
Shut down the schools in Indonesia.


MOORE
In Florence, Italy, a woman will leap from the Duomo clutching a picture of your victim and cursing your name –


CZOLGOSZ
Your wife will weep –


FROMME
His wife will weep –


ZANGARA
The world will weep –


GUITEAU
Grief. Grief beyond imagining –


HINCKLEY
Despair –


MOORE
The death of innocence and hope –


CZOLGOSZ
The bitter burdens which you share –


BYCK
The bitter truths you carry in your heart –


GUITEAU
You can share them with the world.


BOOTH
You have the power of Pandora's Box, Lee. Open it...


GUITEAU
I envy you...


MOORE
We're your family...


HINCKLEY
I admire you...


CZOLGOSZ
I respect you...


MOORE
Make us proud of you...


BOOTH
I envy you...


GUITEAU
We're your family...


HINCKLEY
I admire you...


FROMME & MOORE
We're depending
On you...


ZANGARA
You are
The
Future....


GUITEAU & MOORE
We're your family...


CZOLGOSZ
We respect you...


BYCK & GUITEAU
Make them listen to us,
We've been waiting for you.


BYCK & ZANGARA
Make them listen, boy...


ALL
We admire you...
We're your family...
You are the future...
We're depending on you...
Make us proud...
All you have to do
Is squeeze your little finger.
Squeeze your little finger...
You can change the wor–


ALL
Everybody's
Got the right
To be happy.
Don't be mad,
Life's not as bad
As it seems.

If you keep your
Goal in sight,
You can climb to
Any height.
Everybody's
Got the right
To their dreams...

Everybody's
Got the right
To be different,
(If you want to be... different)
Even though
At times they go
To extremes.
(Go to extremes)
Aim for what you
Want a lot –
Everybody
Gets a shot.

Anybody can
Prevail
Everybody's
Free to fail,
No one can be put in jail
For their dreams.

Free country–!
–Means that you've got the choice!
Be a scholar!
Make a dollar!

Free country–!
–Means that you get a voice
Scream and holler
Grabe'em by the collar

Free country–!
–Means you get to connect
That's it!
Means the right to except
That you're having a chance
That you're gonna connect...
Connect!
Connect!
Connect!

Everybody's
Got the right
To some sunshine –

Not the sun
But maybe one
Of its beams.
One of its beams.

Rich man, poor man,
Black or white,
Everybody
Gets a bite,
Everybody
Just hold tight
To your dreams.
Everybody's
Got the right
To their dreams...