Journal for MultiMedia History

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

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