' When The Levee Breaks...'

'If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break...

If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break...
When The Levee Breaks I'll have no place to stay. '

The Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927 caused a great upheaval... and, par for the course, many songs were written about it... the most notable is the song that Led Zeppelin covered back in 1971... this song was actually written and first recorded in 1929 by Kansas Joe McCoy, and his wife, Memphis Minnie (pictured below)... Led Zeppelin later had to acknowledge that they had ripped off many lyrics from old bluesmen, but I digress...

'Cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good, 

Now, cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good,
When the levee breaks, mama, you got to move.'

I live in the Mississippi Delta... and the Mississippi River is just about 18 miles over that~a~way (points West that~a~way).  My GrandDad was living here back in 1927 when the levee broke... 

Since I came along late in my parents' lives, my GrandDad was long gone, but Dad would tell me stories about "The Flood of '27."

'All last night sat on the levee and moaned...

All last night sat on the levee and moaned...
Thinkin' about me baby and my happy home. '

'Lake Village, AR'

'Bird Song Camp'

'Cleveland, MS'

'Greenville, MS'

Dad told me when I was younger, that inmates from Parchman Prison Farm were used to shore up the levee in suspected weak spots... and that a few were known to have died while the work was being performed... and that they were buried inside of the levee... I wonder...

'Leland, MS'

I had been of the opinion that if the levees were to give, that I would still be safe... but given that Leland is about 30 miles due south of here, I may need to rethink that idea... of course, where the water from such a flood goes is a function of where the levee breaches... in that regard, Cleveland was lucky.

'The River Wall at Vicksburg, MS...'

Contrast the water level on the left with the lumber stacked on the right...

'Scott, MS'

I remember, as a child, that when I would go places with my Dad, he was always generous with his money when he would pass someone collecting for the Salvation Army, but he would never give to The American Red Cross... I eventually asked Dad about this practice, and his response was that Grand Dad suffered great losses during the flood, and that the Red Cross wouldn't assist him, but that the Salvation Army did... Dad never forgot, and Dad paid much more over the years than I am sure that the Salvation Army gave Grand Dad in terms of support.

This photo is of the I-40 Bridge in Memphis, TN.  The 'normal' lay of the Mississippi River is between the arches of the bridge. On average, the Mississippi River is 1/2 miles wide at this point.  The Corp of Engineers estimate the width of the River now to be almost 3 miles wide.


The Mississippi River has been so romanticized by history and writers... When Dad would take us over to the river on Sunday drives, I would always imagine that I could see Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer out on a raft...  I can so understand why so many are taken by it... It is something to behold...


But I do worry about so many who have lost so much... and those who have this damage coming their way...

~shoes~

Post Script:  Wine and Words asked about whether there was any recording of Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy's original version of 'When The Levee Breaks'...  Look what I found...

~shoes~