Storm Of The Century (the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane Song) Lyrics

Storm Of The Century (the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane Song) lyrics

The Storm of the Century 



(the 1935 Labor Day hurricane song)



Words and music by Chris FosterJanuary 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 wed 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 couldnt imagine what was to be



Everything would end up in the sea. 







II.	The storm started comingthe 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 couldnt 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 didnt 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 wont 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 Im 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.