Scott Joplin
1977
Belle: I was remembering the time we said we'd marry. Does it embarass you so much to talk about it? Scott: Ultimately, you'll see that I was wise not to talk about it. Belle: You needn't stop talking altogether, you know. I've been made love to before. I know a lot about love. But it wasn't the same with them as it was with you. With you I felt soft and sorry inside. No matter how much you rejected me, I could stand it. Not anymore.
John: You were overpowered by the extravagance of sound, the sheer weight of volume. Your music was never meant to compete at that level. It was just never heard. Scott: Well, it will be heard! If volume is what they want, volume is what they'll get! John: What are you talking about? Scott: I'm going to write an opera. John: An opera? Scott: An opera in ragtime. A ragtime opera. John: Why? Scott: Because it is right!
Man at Audition: Get up from the piano, boy. You're hurting its feelings.
Scott: Where'd you get the mattress? Louis: Stole it. Scott: Steal another.