"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?