BeltLine Eastside Trail: The Path of Progress

Lyrics

New pavement.
Black ribbon.
Go.

They say a student dreamed this up in ninety-nine.
Ryan Gravel, in a Georgia Tech library.
Just a thesis, just a line on a map.
Then Mayor Franklin found the money, made it happen.
October, two thousand twelve.
The smell of fresh asphalt over the old rail bed.
Covering the gravel, the soot, the slow freight trains.
Paved it over. Made it smooth.
Made it fast for us.

This is the new river, the pulse of the eastside.
A concrete artery where the lifeblood flows.
Mile marker one, mile marker two, keep moving.
Don't look back, just feel the wind blow.
This is the path of progress.
This is the way we go.

Past the sculptures, the murals bright against the brick.
Past the backyards, a glimpse of a cookout, a dog on a chain.
A strange kind of window into someone else's Tuesday.
Over the Freedom Park Bridge, cars are just a rumor down below.
Scooters hum, runners pant, conversations blur into a single sound.
The whole neighborhood is out here.
The new neighborhood.
The one that moves.

This is the new river, the pulse of the eastside.
A concrete artery where the lifeblood flows.
Mile marker one, mile marker two, keep moving.
Don't look back, just feel the wind blow.
This is the path of progress.
This is the way we go.

The ghosts of the Georgia Railway are under my feet.
I can't feel them.
I feel the vibration of a longboard, the solid push of my own two legs.
They say this is how you build a healthier future.
A model for the city.
Connect Reynoldstown to Kirkwood, connect the money to the land.
It's just… connection.
Right?

Keep moving.
Just keep moving.
The path goes on.
And on.
And on.