Oh Lordy, women and grown men drownFrom Charley Patton's 1929 recording "High Water Everywhere (Part II)," chronicling the catastrophic Mississippi flood of 1927.
Oh, women and children sinkin' down
[spoken: Lord have mercy]
I couldn't see nobody's home
and wasn't no one to be found
Link: The American Red Cross
"Five Feet High and Rising"
ReplyDeleteJohnny Cash
How high's the water, mama?
Two feet high and risin'
How high's the water, papa?
Two feet high and risin'
We can make it to the road in a homemade boat
That's the only thing we got left that'll float
It's already over all the wheat and the oats,
Two feet high and risin'
How high's the water, mama?
Three feet high and risin'
How high's the water, papa?
Three feet high and risin'
Well, the hives are gone,
I've lost my bees
The chickens are sleepin'
In the willow trees
Cow's in water up past her knees,
Three feet high and risin'
How high's the water, mama?
Four feet high and risin'
How high's the water, papa?
Four feet high and risin'
Hey, come look through the window pane,
The bus is comin', gonna take us to the train
Looks like we'll be blessed with a little more rain,
4 feet high and risin'
How high's the water, mama?
Five feet high and risin'
How high's the water, papa?
Five feet high and risin'
Well, the rails are washed out north of town
We gotta head for higher ground
We can't come back till the water comes down,
Five feet high and risin'
Well, it's five feet high and risin'
Thanks for the lyrics, Stefan.
ReplyDeleteNick Spitzer's radio program American Routes just featured storm- and flood-related music, and I was surprised that this song wasn't included. You can find the playlist here:
http://www.americanroutes.org/after-storm.html
The American Routes studio is in the French Quarter; the show is now broadcasting from Lafayette, Louisiana.