On the day that the levee broke
The water did rise and the flowers did choke
I sat in my living room, took one last toke
Then I watched it all drift away
My credit card's ringing up at 30%
There's a man in India wond'ring where the money went
But I can't pay
So I sat on my roof in Lake Pontchartrain
Singing woe to my children, singing woe to the rain
A stranger came by – I never caught his name
Said he's rowing to the Rio Grande
Air Force One – a blue streak in the sky
Mr. President, you can afford to lie
Cause I can't afford to pay
[Chorus]
Hurricane Angel
I'm lifting my eyes over Baton Rouge
Lift up your wings – let me hear your voice singing
Can you turn these black skies to blue again
Oh, I'm laying on the floor of a trailer at night
With sixteen refugees waiting on the daylight
But I still can't pay
Caught a flat-bed Ford up to Baton Rouge
Four worn out souls and one old corkscrew
You can drown New Orleans but you can't drown the blues
So bartender, just pour away
Exxon's having one helluva year
Three bucks a gallon, man they're making it clear
That I can't pay
[Repeat chorus or piano interlude]
Lord, Lord, we haven't spoken in many a day
I got myself in trouble downin the Ninth Ward
Thought I'd send a prayer your way
On my window sill's a stack of insurance bills
There's a man in Delaware who says I can't have the pills
Until I can pay
[Repeat chorus]
Somebody should pay....
On the day that the levee broke
The water did rise and the flowers did choke
I sat in my living room, took one last toke
Then I watched it all drift away