I Can Almost See the Lights of Home ~
A Field Trip to Harlan County, Kentucky

An Essay-In-Sound

Charles Hardy III & Allesandro Portelli


 
Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains, 1990, Malcolm Wilson. Source: http://www.uky.edu/RGS/AppalCenter/photolis.htm. Used by permission.

"Part ethnography, part oral history, part radio documentary, 'I Can Almost See the Lights of Home' is a hybrid work, an 'essay-in-sound' designed to be heard, not read. It is best, then, not to read along while listening. This is a long work, so we have divided it into sections. The outline below lists the order and time of the different chapters and movements. A transcription of the essay, complete with song lyrics and the names of speakers, is included elsewhere in the Journal for reference."—Charles Hardy III

Editor's post-publication note: To facilitate listening on newer devices, MP3 files were added in 2014 to enable downloads and to provide audio in a higher fidelity format -- enabling the listener to better hear the aurality of the piece as originally conceived. However, these larger files may result in longer download times. The existing RealMedia files have been retained and can be heard with the VLC player (a free, open-source, cross platform player), available at http://www.videolan.org.

 I CAN ALMOST SEE THE LIGHTS OF HOME
      Part I: Host Introduction through
                Fourth Movement: The Tales of William Gent
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      Part 2: Fifth Movement: Recapitulation & Prologue through
                Final Movement: A Kentuckian In Rome
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HOST INTRODUCTION (4:15)
Dee Dee Napier, Stig Hornshøf-Møller, Hiram Day

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INTRODUCTION: AN ITALIAN IN HARLAN (2:21)
Charles Hardy III, Alessandro Portelli
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CHAPTER 1: MY HOME UP IN THE HILLS (7:19)
Music: Arthur Johnson, "My Home up in the Hills."
Dee Dee Napier, Alessandro Portelli, Annie Napier, Gladys Hoskins, William Gent
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FIRST MOVEMENT: SNAKES (5:34)
Alessandro Portelli, Charles Hardy III, Chester Napier,
Riverside Church, Liddy Surgener
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SECOND MOVEMENT: SISTER LIDDY (3:29)
Alessandro Portelli, Liddy Surgener, Hiram Day
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THIRD MOVEMENT: COAL MINES (3:56)
Music: Becky Ruth Brae, "Coal Miners."
William Gent, Alessandro Portelli, Annie Napier
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CHAPTER 2: THE ACTS OF MAN (9:46)
Music: Day Family, "The Night Old Crank's Creek Went Down."
Gladys Hoskins, Annie Napier, Alessandro Portelli, Day Family
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CHAPTER 3: THE THIRD WORLD SUITE (11:08)
Music: Becky Ruth Brae & Annie Napier, "Smokey Mountain Sunday Morn."
Chester Napier, Alessandro Portelli, Lowell Wagner, Mildred Shackelford
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CHAPTER 4: SURVIVAL (8:55)
Music: Arthur Johnson, "Lost Creek"; Becky Ruth Brea, "Candles on the Table."
Alessandro Portelli, Annie Napier, Day Family, Chester Napier
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FOURTH MOVEMENT: THE TALES OF WILLIAM GENT (11:52)
Music: Riverside Church, "Travelling the Highway Home."
Alessandro Portelli, William Gent, Hiram Day
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FIFTH MOVEMENT: RECAPITULATION AND PROLOGUE (2:17)
Music: Cranks Creek Church, "I Can Almost See the Lights."
Alessandro Portelli, Hiram Day, Dee Dee Napier, Annie Napier
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CHAPTER 5: DEATH AND GHOSTS (12:17)
Music: Becky Ruth Brae, "I Can Fly."
Charles Hardy III, Alessandro Portelli, Annie Napier, Becky Ruth Brae
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SIXTH MOVEMENT: VIOLENCE AND CARE (13:37)
Chester and Annie Napier, Charles Hardy III,
Alessandro Portelli, William and Omie Gent
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CHAPTER 6: THE ACTS OF GOD (16:48)
Music: Becky Ruth Brae, "Don't Cry for Me."
Becky Ruth Brae, Liddy Surgener, Annie Napier, Charles Hardy III, Alessandro Portelli
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CHAPTER 7: MOVEMENT AND DECLINE (9:40)
Music: Day Family, "I've Never Been This Lonesome Before";
Arthur Johnson, "My Home up in the Hills," "Courting Song."
Gladys Hoskins, William Gent, Chester Napier, Annie Napier
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CHAPTER 8: THE ACTS OF MAN CONTINUED (19:26)
Music: Arthur Johnson: "The Dream of the Miner's Child."
Annie and Chester Napier, Charles Hardy III, Alessandro Portelli,
Gladys Hoskins, Joan Robinett
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FINAL MOVEMENT: A KENTUCKIAN IN ROME (8:07)
Music: Riverside Church, "Feed Me Jesus."
Annie Napier, Dee Dee Napier, William Gent, Charles Hardy III, Alessandro Portelli
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Contents
Essay-In-Sound
Hardy
Portelli
Script
Credits
JMMH

I Can Almost See the Lights of Home ~ A Field Trip to Harlan County, Kentucky
Copyright © 1999 by The Journal for MultiMedia History