By Randy Newman Boston Globe | September 7, 2005
| THE LYRICS, by singer/songwriter Randy Newman, tell the story of the
Louisiana flood of 1927, which killed hundreds and displaced hundreds of
thousands across six states. The disaster is credited with sparking one
of the great voting movements of the 20th century -- the shift in Southern
black allegiance from the Republican to the Democratic Party -- and with
spurring the New Deal politics of big government. Will history repeat?
What has happened down here is the winds have changed Clouds roll in from the north and it started to rain Rained real hard and it rained for a real long time Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline The river rose all day The river rose all night Some people got lost in the flood Some people got away alright The river have busted through clear down to Plaquemines Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline Louisiana, Louisiana They're tryin' to wash us away They're tryin' to wash us away Louisiana, Louisiana They're tryin' to wash us away They're tryin' to wash us away President Coolidge came down in a railroad train With a little fat man with a note-pad in his hand The president say, ''Little fat man isn't it a shame What the river has done to this poor crackers land." Louisiana, Louisiana They're tryin' to wash us away They're tryin' to wash us away Louisiana, Louisiana They're tryin' to wash us away They're tryin' to wash us away They're tryin' to wash us away They're tryin' to wash us away Words and music by Randy Newman. Used by permission. |