lyrics: little bits of truth – mr. patterson’s john boats

cd: Little Bits of Truth

track 8: Mr. Patterson’s John Boats

Nineteen thirteen Easter Sunday with a hard storm passing through
Some thanked God was too warm for snow, with the rain we would have to do
None of it bled into the frozen ground and the rivers they began to swell
No one knew what lie before us but the next few days would tell

I lived my life close to the river and she’d always been a friend to me
Now her face was an angry scowl, it was a terrifying sight to see
Well the factory whistles and the church bells tolled and the warning cries filled the air
The Great Miami had breached her banks everybody better be prepared

Well the water rushed in when the levee broke, it came pouring through our front door
We ran scared up the stairs and we huddled on the second floor
It kept rising and we fled to the attic, there was brown water all around
And we prayed Mr. Patterson’s johnboats would come take us to the higher ground

They were hanging on porches and fire escapes, they were stranded on roofs and walls
Shattered lives, the will survives, are you there when a neighbor calls?
Well the big mans charge to the NCR “we’ve got a building opportunity”
The workshops churned and the paddles turned and the lifeboats came to be

ChorusThe night was dark and cold and long and we were thankful not to be alone
Our eyes were cast at a distant blast, it was a sound we had never known
The sky it was glowing with an eerie red with the downtown catching fire
People watching lives being swept away with the water getting higher and higher and higher

Chorus