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Storm Of The Century lyrics
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(the 1935 Labor Day hurricane song) Words and music by Chris Foster © January 9th 2003. The keys are the islands along Florida Bay There a paradise found for most all. The locals all live the fine life everyday Only few still alive may recall. About the sea and its fury when it was torn by the gales And how nothing could stand in its way Saltwater canyons made of 30 feet swales That came ashore one labor day The pressure was falling the tides on the move. It was nothing liked we’d ever seen Winds from the north waves from the south And a small piece of land in between. We boarded up windows, pulled in our boats Made our havens as safe as could be We couldn’t imagine what was to be Everything would end up in the sea. II. The storm started coming the pressure was dropping Large waves started hitting the beach Lighting was flashing, timbers were flying And safety was clear out of reach. The railroad was sent from south of Miami To rescue us but to no avail A wave washed the train cars right off of the track And it ate 30 miles of the rail The wind knock me over I grabbed my sister And she clang to me for her young life She couldn’t hang on despite fear in her eyes And her fingernails digging like knives I whispered I love you as she drifted away Then some sand blasted me in the eye I found refuge on the top of a tree placed there by the 20 foot tide. III I awoke the next morning after being unconscious The storm of the century had past The slow falling rain mixed with tears in my eyes As I wondered who all didn’t last No blade of grass no tree left standing Every building was washed out to sea Dazed and confused I stood comprehending What my eyes told me to see. Where is my family, where is my home They were nowhere in sight, someone said I sat by the water with my head in my hands Wondering if I was better off dead? I had to go on, they needed my help As we mournfully stacked all the dead We all said a prayer then we lit them on fire Its an image that won’t leave my head IV. Great walls of water swallowed some whole In a battle between God and Man Four hundred twenty three lives were the toll And I will never quite understand An 18-foot monument stands off US 1 With remains of so many who died. Words of remembrance with the date etched in bronze September 2nd 1935 I am so lucky that I’m hear to retell God gave me a final reprieve Nothing short of a miracle surviving the gales As I desperately held to a tree Now I share the memory with family and friends Sleepless nights sure have riddled my life Remembering all of the lives lost that day Is a memory that cuts like a knife. Artist notes: This song was crafted from 2 accounts of the storm. J.E. Duane who worked for the weather bureau and was stationed in the keys and from Bernard Russell who is a life long resident of the keys. After many weeks of trying to capture the power of the storm in words, I thought the human element of telling the story from the perspective of a survivor would yield the most vivid images of imagination. Only about 10 people still alive could ever relate to the true horror of this event. In the writing of the song, it picked up momentum once I read Mr. Duane’s log notes. The details of events. It seemed to give the song the backbone it needed. The personal side of the song is all Bernard. http://www.theamericansongwriter.com  More Chris Foster Song Lyrics
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