Storm Of The Century (the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane Song) Lyrics - Singles - Chris Foster

The Storm of the Century 

(the 1935 Labor Day hurricane song) 

Words and music by Chris Foster January 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 we'd 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 couldn't imagine what was to be 

Everything would end up in the sea. 

II. The storm started coming the 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 couldn't 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 didn't 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 won't 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 I'm 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.