The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has been a major factor in these mountains for eighty years. It is a federally owned company that was created by a congressional charter in 1933. The TVA provided flood control and electricity to an area that was particularly harshly affected by the Great Depression. The plan was for the TVA to generate regional economic development using federal resources and quickly modernize the area’s economy.
This ballad was sung throughout the mountain towns and it was composed and set to tune by a Preston of the Big Sandy country. Mountain singers were apt in substituting the names of their own vicinity for those of the villages and creeks and coves of their home.
The T.V.A. Song
“My name is William Edwards
I live down Cove Creek way.
I’m working on the project
They call the T.V.A.
“The Government begun it
When I was but a child;
But now they are in earnest
and Tennessee’s gone wild.
“Just see them boys a-comin’
Their tool kits on their arm;
They come from Clinch and Holston
And many a valley farm.
“Oh, see them boys a-comin,
Their Government they trust;
Just hear their hammers ringing
They’ll build that dam or bust.
“I meant to marry Sally
But work I could not find;
The T.V.A. was started
And surely eased my mind.
“I’m writing her a letter,
These words I’ll surely say;
“The Government has surely saved us
Just name our wedding day.”
“We’ll build a little cabin
On Cove Creek near her home;
We’ll settle down forever
And never care to roam.
“Oh things looked blue and lonely
Until this come along;
Now hear the crew a-singin’
And listen to their song.
“The Government employs us,
Short hours and certain pay;
Oh things are up and comin’,
God bless the T.V.A.”