Wasn't That a Mighty Storm

"Wasn't That a Mighty Storm" is an American folk song concerning the 1900 hurricane that destroyed Galveston, Texas. It was revived and popularized by Eric Von Schmidt and Tom Rush in the 1960s, and later by the bluegrass musician Tony Rice.

History
"Wasn't That a Mighty Storm" likely originated as a spiritual in the black churches in the early part of the 1900s. In the days before radio and television, almost every major public event inspired songs, which spread like text messages spread today, so the precise origin of songs is often hard to pin down.

"Wasn't That a Mighty Storm" was a tale of hardship and trouble and the sometimes inscrutable hand of God. Although the song dwells on a tragic subject, it was typical of songs of this time; in a similar vein, there were dozens of songs written about the sinking of the Titanic and the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927.

The song was first recorded in 1934 by a preacher named "Sin-Killer" Griffin for the Library of Congress, in a session conducted by folk song collector John A. Lomax at Darrington State Farm (now the Darrington Unit), a prison near Sandy Point, Texas. The prison inmates served as Griffin's congregation, and Griffin claimed authorship of the song. Since this is the first known appearance of the song, it is not clear whether the song dates to the very famous 1900 Galveston hurricane, which (as of 2014) remains the deadliest natural disaster in United States history, responsible for an estimated 6,000 to 12,000 fatalities. Although as popularized in the 1960s, the song itself references the year 1900 and the lyrics state "Now Galveston had no seawall"—which was built after the flood—some listeners have heard this line as "Now Galveston had a seawall" which in 1900 it did not, the main reason for the extensive death toll. This may be a clue that the song lyrics were written or at least standardized after the 1915 Galveston hurricane by which time a seawall had been built.

Sin-Killer Griffin
Sin-Killer was a well-known preacher, with a mesmerizing delivery and full confidence in the name he had given himself. Death was a subject on which he preached frequently. Relatively little is known about his life, which makes it all the more intriguing that back in 1889, in Denton, Texas, a "Sin-Killer Griffin" tried to organize black Americans to invade Africa. There is some evidence this was the same Sin-Killer Griffin who resurfaced before John Lomax 45 years later, though this reference has not been verified conclusively.

Griffin told Lomax he had written "Wasn't That a Mighty Storm" years earlier, and the lyrics suggest that someone did, since one verse references the flood happening "fifteen years ago.".

Later versions
The song largely stayed in the church until the late 1950s, when folk song revivalists began to record cover versions of rural acoustic songs that had been recorded in previous decades.

Eric Von Schmidt found "Mighty Storm" in the Library of Congress collection, and with his friend Rolf Cahn put together a compelling folk arrangement with powerful guitar chords and a bluesy melody. Von Schmidt handed it off to his fellow New England folkie Tom Rush, who recorded it on a popular album in the early 1960s. The Chad Mitchell Trio recorded a version of the song under the title "A Mighty Day." It appeared in their 1961 album "Mighty Day on Campus." It was revived again in 1972 by a late incarnation of the country band J.R. Mainer's Mountaineers, who may have performed it back in the 1930s. It was then recorded by Nanci Griffith, who is from Texas herself.

Somewhere along the way Sin-Killer Griffin's "fifteen years" became "50 years," suggesting the song was written around 1950, which it wasn't. But most of the other lyrics remained the same, even though several later singers credited themselves with an "adaptation" of "traditional" lyrics, usually cutting out Griffin.

Tom Rush, an American folk singer, guitarist and composer, recorded "Galveston Flood" in 1966 for his album Take a Little Walk With Me.

Tony Rice, an American guitarist and bluegrass musician, later revitalized the song with a new generation when he recorded the tune as "Galveston Flood" on his album "Tony Rice Plays and Sings Bluegrass" in 1993. Tony Rice is considered one of the most influential acoustic guitar players in bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, newgrass and acoustic jazz.

Canadian folk band The Duhks recorded the song on their 2008 album Fast Paced World.

James Taylor, American singer-songwriter, included his version of the song on his 2009 CD called Other Covers.

Traditional lyrics
"Wasn't That a Mighty Storm"

Chorus:

Wasn't that a mighty storm

Wasn't that a mighty storm in the morning, well

Wasn't that a mighty storm

That blew all the people all away.

You know, the year of 1900, children,

Many years ago

Death came howling on the ocean

Death calls, you got to go

Now Galveston had a seawall

To keep the water down,

And a high tide from the ocean

Spread the water all over the town.

You know the trumpets give them warning

You'd better leave this place

Now, no one thought of leaving

'til death stared them in the face

And the trains they all were loaded

The people were all leaving town

The trestle gave way to the water

And the trains they went on down.

Rain it was a-falling

thunder began to roll

Lightning flashed like hellfire

The wind began to blow

Death, the cruel master

When the wind began to blow

Rode in on a team of horses

I cried, "Death, won't you let me go"

Hey, now trees fell on the island

And the houses give away

Some they strained and drowned

Some died in most every way

And the sea began to rolling

And the ships they could not stand

And I heard a captain crying

"God save a drowning man."

Death, your hands are clammy

You got them on my knee

You come and took my mother

Won't you come back after me

And the flood it took my neighbor

Took my brother, too

I thought I heard my father calling

And I watched my mother go.

You know, the year of 1900, children,

Many years ago

Death came howling on the ocean

Death calls, you got to go

Tony rice version lyrics
"Wasn't That a Mighty Storm" / "Galveston Flood"

It was the year of 1900

that was 80 years ago

Death come'd a howling on the ocean

and when death calls you've got to go

Galveston had a sea wall

just to keep the water down

But a high tide from the ocean

blew the water all over the town

Chorus

Wasn't that a mighty storm

Wasn't that a mighty storm in the morning

Wasn't that a mighty storm

It blew all the people away

The sea began to rolling

the ships they could not land

I heard a captain crying

Oh God save a drowning man

The rain it was a falling

and the thunder began to roll

The lightning flashed like Hell-fire

and the wind began to blow

The trees fell on the island

and the houses gave away

Some they strived and drowned

others died every way

The trains at the station were loaded

with the people all leaving town

But the trestle gave way with the water

and the trains they went on down

Old death the cruel master

when the winds began to blow

Rode in on a team of horses

and cried death won't you let me go

The flood it took my mother

it took my brother too

I thought I heard my father cry

as I watched my mother go

Old death your hands are clammy

when you've got them on my knee

You come and took my mother

won't you come back after me?