Five Feet High And Rising

(album: Songs Of Our Soil - 1959)

My mama always taught me that good things come from adversity if we put our faith in the Lord.
We couldn't see much good in the flood waters when they
were causing us to have to leave home,
But when the water went down, we found that it had washed a load of rich black bottom dirt across our land. The following year we had the best cotton crop we'd ever had.

I remember hearing:

How high's the water, mama?
Two feet high and rising
How high's the water, papa?
Two feet high and rising

We can make it to the road in a homemade boat
That's the only thing we got left that'll float
It's already over all the wheat and the oats,
Two feet high and rising

How high's the water, mama?
Three feet high and rising
How high's the water, papa?
Three feet high and rising

Well, the hives are gone,
I've lost my bees
The chickens are sleeping
In the willow trees
Cow's in water up past her knees,
Three feet high and rising

How high's the water, mama?
Four feet high and rising
How high's the water, papa?
Four feet high and rising

Hey, come look through the window pane,
The bus is coming, gonna take us to the train
Looks like we'll be blessed with a little more rain,
4 feet high and rising

How high's the water, mama?
Five feet high and rising
How high's the water, papa?
Five feet high and rising

Well, the rails are washed out north of town
We gotta head for higher ground
We can't come back till the water comes down,
Five feet high and rising

Well, it's five feet high and rising