I wants to go back to Helena,* the high waters got me bogged.
I wants to go back to Helena, the high waters got me bogged.
I woke up early this mornin′, a water hole in my back yard.
They want me to work on the levee, I have to leave my home.
They want to work on the levee, that I have to leave my home.
I was so scared the levee might break out and I may drown.
The water was round my windows and backin' all up in my door.
The water was all up ′round my windows and backin' all up in my door.
I'd rather to leave my home ′cause I can′t live there no more.
The police run me all from Cairo,** all through Arkansas.
The police run me all from Cairo, all through Arkansas.
And put me in jail, behind those cold iron bars.
The police say work, fight, or go to jail, I say I ain't totin′ no sack.
Police say work, fight, or go to jail, I say I ain't totin′ no sack.
And I ain't buildin′ no levee, the planks is on the ground and I ain't drivin' no nails.
I wants to go back to Helena, the high waters got me bogged.
I woke up early this mornin′, a water hole in my back yard.
They want me to work on the levee, I have to leave my home.
They want to work on the levee, that I have to leave my home.
I was so scared the levee might break out and I may drown.
The water was round my windows and backin' all up in my door.
The water was all up ′round my windows and backin' all up in my door.
I'd rather to leave my home ′cause I can′t live there no more.
The police run me all from Cairo,** all through Arkansas.
The police run me all from Cairo, all through Arkansas.
And put me in jail, behind those cold iron bars.
The police say work, fight, or go to jail, I say I ain't totin′ no sack.
Police say work, fight, or go to jail, I say I ain't totin′ no sack.
And I ain't buildin′ no levee, the planks is on the ground and I ain't drivin' no nails.
* Helena è una città degli Stati Uniti d'America, capitale dello Stato del Montana
** Cairo è la città posta più a sud nello Stato dell'Illinois
** Cairo è la città posta più a sud nello Stato dell'Illinois
inviata da Pluck - 2/1/2025 - 10:39
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Writer(s): Lonnie Johnson
Lonnie Johnson (vcl,g); San Antonio, Texas, March 13, 1928
In 1928 famous blues guitarist Lonnie Johnson recorded “Broken Levee Blues”, about the forced conscription of African Americans to work on the levees during the famous 1927 Mississippi River flood.