Sammie [to Pearline]
You're beautiful... I just wanna taste you.
Played by Buddy Guy 
Sinners (2025) · 48 quotes
Sinners (2025) · 48 quotes
3rd most-quoted character in Sinners (2025): in 15 of its 48 quotes
Most scenes with: Stack (6), Smoke (4), Mary (4)
I been workin' all week, Pop. Wanna be free of all this fo' a day.
More lines from Sammie
1 quote Sammie Scenes with Sammie
13 scenes Sammie Moore They said you wanna talk.
Yeah. Seen your performance down there. Pretty damn good.
Sammie Moore Can't thank you enough for this. I mean, y'all the ones who put that guitar in my hand. Now this.
Well, you got the talent. That's for certain. But all this ain't no life for nobody. I know plenty of musicians I ain't never met a happy one. Yeah, it's cute now. But it get old. That ramblin'.
Sammie Moore I mean being with y'all today... Smoke, I feel like I'm flying. Well, today settled it. I'm headin' off on my own.
Where you goin'?
Sammie Moore I don't know. Maybe Chicago.
Hmm. One day our daddy beat Stack real bad. So we get in our minds that we need to run away. See, me, I wanna go to the next plantation over. But Stack, he figured we get to Mound Bayou. Small town. Right here in Mississippi. Founded by free slaves. And everything is Black-owned.
Sammie Moore That sound like a crock.
Yeah, well, I seen it.
Sammie Moore Why y'all ain't stay?
That mayor knew who our daddy was. Knew he was a evil man. Figured it was no way that he ain't passed that evil down to us. See, your daddy a preacher. You can go and do that. You like makin' music? Make church music. You wan' leave go on down Mound Bayou. Live with the proper Black folks. Leave all this here improper shit to us.
Sammie Moore Well, I ain't going to Mound Bayou. My daddy a reverend, but I'm y'all cousin, too. And a lot more people know the Smokestack Twins then they know my daddy.
Yeah? Well, you better enjoy the rest of the night, 'cause this your last juke.
Sammie Moore You ain't in no position to tell me how to live my life.
Come tomorrow, I find out about you playin' in one of these boy, I'll kill you myself.
Sammie Moore Look, I'm leaving that plantation just like y'all did. And if that's a problem for you... kill me now.
[He pulls out his handgun and points it at Sammie]
What's the matter? I'm a soldier, boy. And you just gave me a command. [He puts his handgun back in his holster]
Sammie Moore Mornin' Pop.
Jedidiah
You're up awful early, son.
Sammie Moore Like you say, jump on the work don't let the work jump on you.
Jedidiah
That's right.
Sammie Moore Finished my quota for the day. [Notices the guitar]
Jedidiah
Yeah. I brought it in here. I want you to help me give my sermon tomorrow. First Corinthians, 10:13. Read.
Sammie Moore No temptation has overtaken you, except what is common to mankind. God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you're tempted he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. Now, Pop if you don't mind, I'm gon' be late.
Jedidiah
Late for what, boy? Where you gotta that's more important then being in the House of God?
Sammie Moore I've been workin' all week, Pop. Wanna be free of all this for a day.
Jedidiah
To play music? For drunkards? Philanderers, who shirk their responsibilities to their families so they can sweat all over each other?
Sammie Moore I'll be back in time for service in the morning.
Jedidiah
Son? You keep dancing with the devil one day, he's gonna follow you home.
Hey, lil' cousin. Come on out. Got two dollars out here waiting on a dime. [Sammie goes out to be with his cousins]
Jedidiah
Samuel!
Aw, don't you worry now, uncle Jed. We gon' get him back to you in one piece.
Sammie Moore Delta Slim.
Yeah, I thank you for your generosity. I guess that Chicago wind blew your black asses back down here, huh? Who the boy?
This my little cousin. Preacherboy Sammie. Happens to be the finest blues player in all the Delta.
I got socks older than this here boy. What the hell he know about the blues?
Sammie Moore [Holding up his guitar]
I can show you better than I can tell you.
Hold up, now. Put down that mother****er...
Put that away.
Now, this here my patch right here. Now, you wasn't his cousin and a young pup to boot. I'd cut your ass too thin to fry.
And you threaten him again I'mma make your drunk ass swallow that harmonica. You still nice with them keys?
Depend on who you ask.
I'll give you $20 to come play at our juke tonight.
Yeah, I wish I could. I'mma be at Messengers tonight same as I am every Saturday night.
What they pay you?
For a gangster, you sure ask a lot of questions.
They ain't paying you $20 a night, I know that.
You ain't paying no $20 a night. You payin' $20, maybe, tonight. I ain't never heard of your juke. Maybe it's here tonight, is it here tomorrow night? The week after that? Nah. I've been at Messengers every Saturday night for the last ten years. Messenger's gon' be there another ten years after that, at least. Shit. That's probably more time than I got left on this earth, Stack. I play, and I get as much corn liquor as I can drink. A sinner like me, I can't ask for more than that.
Know what, Slim? I'll drink to that. [He takes out and opens up a bottle of liquor]
Ooh. What you got there, boy?
Oh, this? It's a Irish beer. Straight from the north side of Chicago.
You sayin' that's beer?
Wind didn't bring us down here empty-handed. [He hands Slim the bottle]
I got 500 more bottles just like that. Ice cold. Say we pay you $40 a night, and all the beer that you can drink. After that, no strings. You act now, I'll even let you finish that bottle in your hand. [Slim and Sammie are performing] These two gon' be playin' down at the old sawmill. It's the grand openin' of our new joint. Club Juke. We gon' have us a battle of the blues. It's gon' be a real-ring-a-ding-ding. Just for us. Y'all ready to eat? Y'all ready to drink? Y'all ready to sweat till y'all stank. All right. We gon' to get funky like a Mississippi donkey y'all. Get a drink on the Twins when you get there.
Sammie Moore [Stack, Delta Slim and Sammie are driving by a chain gang at work]
Hey, you know some of them?
All of 'em.
Sammie Moore What happened?
Me and my buddy Rice, we was hustlin' back and forth up the delta, we got busted for vagrancy. Them white sheriffs take us down to the jailhouse... that was empty. I thought for sure they was gonna kill us that night. But they gave us our instruments back, and they tell us to play. Stack, we played. Preacherboy, we played, you hear me? Music was comin' out the windows. People on the street was stoppin' to come in. Next day, one of them sheriffs got the bright idea they gonna take us on the road now. They cover us and throw us in the paddy wagon. They take us to this big house. I mean, it's full of white folks. Pass around their hats and have us to play. See, them white folks we playin' for, they had real money.
Sammie Moore Had y'all playing them old ragtime songs?
We played a fair amount of blues too. See, white folks, they like the blues just fine. They just don't like the people who make it. Them peckerwoods was noddin' their heads, stompin' their feet. Some of 'em was almost in rhythm, Stack. And then Rice and me, we changed it up, confuse 'em.
Sammie Moore What y'all do with the money?
Drank it.
Sammie So, tell me about Chicago. I heard they ain't got Jim Crow up there. Black man can go where he wants.
Listen, boy, you can't be believin' everythin' that you hear. Town'll fill yo' head up with this make-believe, but me and yo' cousin? We gon' give it to you straight. Chicago ain't shit but Mississippi with tall buildings instead of plantations.
And that's why we came back home: Figured we might as well deal with the devil we know.
Sammie I've seen you somewhere before.
Pearline
Maybe.
Sammie You sing, don'tcha?
Pearline
Time to time.
Sammie Mmm-hmm. I'm Preacherboy. [offers his hand as she shakes it]
Pearline
Pearline...
Sammie Pearline... hmm...
Pearline
I'm married, by the way.
Sammie ... Happily?
Pearline
Careful, boy... you gon' bite off more than you can chew. [slowly walks away]
Sammie Moore I don't think you should be here. See, I'm with the twins.
With the twins? Boy, if you don't get the **** outta my face.
So, you play that guitar they left you?
Sammie Yeah.
That's good. You makin' any money with that thing?
Sammie Not really. Not yet, at least.
I'd tell ya it didn't matter as long as you love it, but that'd be horseshit advice.
You fellers must be the owners of this establishment.
That's right. And you are?
Name's Remmick. This here's Joan and Bert.
Sammie Hey Stack, y'all alright?
Aww, and you... must be that voice I heard from out here. Aw, it was beautiful.
God damn bee-yew-tiful voice.
Even through these walls.
Where y'all from?
Just down the road.
And how far is that?
North Carolina.
Y'all Klan?
[offended]
Sir... w-we believe in equality and music. We just came here to play. Spend some money, have a good time. Here, I'll show you.
[Remmick, Joan, and Bert play "Picked Poor Robin Clean" on the banjo. The others watch in confusion, though Stack chuckles and nods along a bit.] [stopping the music after a bit]
Hold on hold on, just a minute.
Aw, its just about to get good.
Nah I believe ya. But this here a juke joint.
Blues music.
Well we've got money and we ready to spend it with y'all.
Soundin' damn near perfect and you're saying we ain't welcome.
Nah I'm saying you get down that road and get back into town. Plenty of white barrel houses down there.
[chuckles]
Aw this- this cuz we're... [gestures to skin] Alright. [Points at Mary] How'd she get in?
Now that is none-
Family... [sighs] Can- can we just, for one night, just all be family? [he steps forward, and Smoke reaches for his gun] Y-you don't need to do that, sir. We'll be on our way. But we're gonna walk real slow, just in case y'all change your mind.
Sammie How can it move and sound like Stack if it ain't Stack?
I only ever heard stories. I ain't never come across them myself.
Pearline
What stories you heard?
How haints work; they switch places with the soul of a man. But vampires is different... maybe the worst kind: The soul gets stuck in the body. Can't rejoin the ancestors... cursed to live here with all this hate. Can't even feel the warmth of a sunrise.
Sammie Moore You're the devil, ain't you?
Sammie! You're the one I came for. I sensed you. I want to see my people again, I'm trapped here. But your gifts can bring them to me. Y'all give them to me now. Just- just give me little Sammie. We'll let y'all live.
I'm gonna tell you something, you goddamn peckerwood. You can't have him. He belongs to us. He belongs with us! And I ain't gonna let that happen.
You can't save him, Smoke - no more than you could save your brother.
[Stack walks up to Club Juke, laughing and carrying Mary in his arms]
You ain't safe here. No matter how many guns or how much money, they gonna take it from you when they want. You built something here tonight, and it was beautiful. But it was built on a lie. Hogwood? Well, he's the grand dragon of the Ku Klux Klan. [He points to Bert] That's his mother**** nephew! They was always gonna kill you - I just happened to show up at the right place at the right time.
He telling the truth, Smoke. I can see his memories.
Smoke, that ain't your brother.
This wasn't no juke joint, no club. This is a... slaughterhouse.
It's a goddamn killing floor.
But what Uncle Hogwood don't know is we gonna start ourselves a new Klan based on love.
Now that we got numbers, we'll probably go to that old bigot and rectify him, too.
Why can't y'all just go?
Because we're not leaving without y'all. We family. Ain't that right? I know it sound crazy, but... after we kill y'all, we're gonna have heaven right here on Earth!
I want your stories. And I want your songs. And you gon' have mine. [prepares to bite Sammie]
Sammie Moore [desperately reciting]
Our Father... which art in Heaven... hallowed be thy name...
[in distinct Irish accent]
Thy kingdom come... thy will be done... on Earth, as it is in Heaven.
[The large group of vampires outside of the joint begins reciting the Our Father simultaneously with Remmick]
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not in temptation. Deliver us from evil. Amen.
[The group stops reciting, and Remmick returns to speaking in a Southern accent]
Long ago, the men who stole my father's land forced these words upon us. I hated those men, but the words still bring me comfort.
[Remmick dunks Sammie's head briefly under the water]
Those men lied to themselves, then lied to us. [dunks Sammie's head again] They told stories of a God above and a Devil below, and lies of a dominion of man over beast and Earth! [dunks Sammie's head again] We are Earth and beast and God. We are woman and man. We are connected, you and I... to everything.
Old Sammie You know something? Maybe once a week, I wake up paralyzed, reliving that night. But before the sun went down, I think that was the best day of my life. Was it like that for you?
[In a flashback, Smoke and Stack hug each other]
Last time I seen the sun. And just for a few hours... we was free.
