Hi y'all, Slate has this interesting article about the 1900 Galveston flood that inspired the song about the Galveston flood called Wasn't It A Mighty Day that I had growing up on Bob Gibson's Offbeat Folksongs.

The lyrics are in the trad, but not the Gibson version.

There is no thread named for this song in particular, so I started this one.

There is a thread about a negro spiritual called Mighty Day in which I make a comment about the Galveston song that shows it was before somebody here reminded me about Bob Gibson's Offbeat Folksongs.

There is also a thread about an apparent parody about the mighty day a Needle Hit The Ground.

Bob Gibson's lyrics, as I remember them without relistening to the song (hey, I did a bunch of helful html), are as follows:

MIGHTY DAY

I remember one September,
When storm winds swept the town;
Women and children was dying, god,
And death was all around.

cho: Wasn't that a mighty day,
A mighty day
A mighty day,
Great God, that morning
When the storm winds swept the town!

There was a sea-wall there in Galveston
To keep the waters down,
But the high tide from the ocean, Lord,
Put water in the town. (cho)

The trumpets gave them warning,
"You'd better leave this place!"
But they never meant to leave their homes
Till death was in their face. (cho)

The seas began to rolling,
The ships they could not land;
I heard a Captain crying,
"God, please save this drowning land!" (cho)

The waters, like some river,
Came rushing to and fro;
I saw my father drowning, God,
And I watched my mother go! (cho)