One of my classic pre-Sugar Still story songs, revved up and made real by Sarah. We had quite a few requests for a recording of this song at live shows over the years ("Which CD has that song about the flood on it?") so here it is at long last. Stamped with Sarah's show-stopping segue directly into Jerusalem Ridge.
lyrics
V1
By the seventeenth of February record snows had come
But a warm southern front brought the rain
It didn't take us long to see if we were gonna save our homes
We'd have to pile up the sandbags by the creek on 5th and Main
Jimmy drove the snowplow truck down loaded up with sand
Bobby brought the co-op's burlap bags
If we had to take a break to rest or warm our hands
We sang the Margie Stebbins Waltz while the others laid the sand
CHORUS
The Margie Stebbins Waltz
The Margie Stebbins Waltz
It was the soundtrack of the flood
Of the flood for us that year
The Margie Stebbins Waltz
The Margie Stebbins Waltz
It was the soundtrack of the flood That echoed in our ears
V2
We stacked piles of sandbags high upon the bank
But the water kept on rising towards the top
And though we all worked tirelessly we could see the game was up
The water kept on coming there was just too much to stop
The hungry rapids took out Bill and Ginny’s house
The water ate it up and spit it out
From the hill we could feel our knees fo weak
Cuz the rapids cut that house in half and dragged in the creek
V3
Once the water washed away we gathered by the church
And thanked the lord that nobody was hurt
Bill and Ginny came to live with us while they’d rebuild
There wasn’t any question it’s just something that we did
I suppose that others might’ve tried
To back away from friends in need standing by their side
But I knew we had stood by them and sung
That lilting Margie Stebbins Waltz when the rains had come
credits
from Studio Van,
released May 1, 2020
Lead vocal and violin - Sarah Blick
Vocal and acoustic guitar - Charlie Cheney
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