Kingsport: J. Fred. Johnson Speaks

Final project for my class, Histories and Theories of Urban Interventions. By writing and recording a song in the voice of the citys founders and juxtaposing it against video I shot, I investigated the tension between the founding ideals of Kingsport, Tennessees planners and present-day reality. Lyrics: what once was nothing more / than a sleepy river town / came the clinchfield railroad line / now all is steam, and steel and sound / what people more deserving / then the appalachian folk / carving out their very destinies / to pull the heavy load / the hardest working christian brothers / the progeny of pioneers / who fought the savages to stake their claim / now theyre the wheels and gears // of this brand new modern project / of kingsport tennessee // guided by the greater minds / of the planners from the north / laid out a city center / no more chaos spewing forth / now a body needs a pipeline / to direct its very blood / and so our city needs its broad street / where the men and women come / to fill this avenue of commerce / with currency and trade / walk amongst our many merchants / on any given day // in this brand new planned community / of kingsport tennessee // first we took what laid beneath us / we stripped it from the earth / coal, shale limestone and silica / once laid beneath the dirt / and we built up our great factories / round the holston river bends / private citizens built houses / for the workers to live in / you can see the clouded smokestacks / from any point about the town / you can know the heart of kingsport beats / strong and sound / the eastman chemical, the kingsport foundry / with prosperous unity, christian community / blue ridge glass company, holston ordnance / independence, loyalty, workers pride and purity / so dont, dont count us out / shining star in the struggling south / will rise beyond the hope and dreams of men

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Kingsport
• urban planning

[bigorange95]

PAL'S!!! Nice job. I recognized everything. Was that for the radio/tv class at DB by any chance? I took the class a long time ago.