Chords for "Wasn't That a Mighty Storm" performed live by Tom Rush, 2012-09-15 at Circle of Friends

I learned this tune from Mr.
Eric Von Schmidt, _ who was, for my money, was the _ main string of the whole thing.
_ He [G] wrote great songs.
He wrote Big Fat Woman, Get Your Fat Legs [F#] Off of Me.
_ _ _ _ [G] _
I wish I was sure.
[D#] _ _ One of those songs you can't do anymore.
_ _ Though you can play it on a CD over there.
[E] _
_ _ [F#] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [A] _ _ _
_ _ _ [F#] _ _ _ [A] _ _
[D] _ _ [A] _ _ _ [E] But he also had a real knack for finding songs on these scratchy old steel recordings that nobody else could decipher.
And this is such a song.
He learned this off [N] a Library of Congress recording of a man with a very cool name.
_ Reverend Sin Killer Griffin.
_ _ Yeah. _ _ _
_ Sin Killer was recorded at the Library of Congress at the Darlington State Penitentiary on Easter Sunday, [E] 1946.
_ I'm a little geek with this.
[A] _ _
_ _ He was singing about a flood that happened in Galveston, [B] Texas in [E] 1900.
_ _ [C#m] _ [A] _ _ [E] _ And it was a worse than I thought it would be.
This _ [E] _ _ _ _ [A] is a style called knife guitar, where you take a [F#m] guitar [F] and a knife.
_ [A] _ _ _
_ [E] It's a terrible record.
A huge hurricane was out in the Gulf of Mexico the first week of September in 1909.
You hear the water?
[A] _ _ [E] _ Northwest wind holding it offshore.
It was out there for days and days gathering strength.
Nobody knows [A] what's there.
[E] _
_ Except the humans.
_ _ _ [D] _
_ [E] _ On the 9th of September, sorry, the 8th of September, that wind shifted and a storm came on land.
And the water rose 12 feet in an hour in the streets of Galveston.
[A] _
_ [E] And they don't know where the wind stopped at because the anemometer blew away at 120. _
_ _ [D] _ _ Coming down the coast, 12,000 people died.
The chorus goes, wasn't that a mighty storm, wasn't that a mighty storm in the morning.
Wasn't that a mighty storm, it blew all the people all [E] away.
And I need you to help me [A] sing it.
It goes like this. _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [A] _ _ Wasn't that a mighty storm.
Wasn't that a mighty storm in the morning.
Wasn't that a mighty storm.
It blew all the people all away. _ _ _ _
_ Wasn't that a mighty storm.
Come on.
Wasn't that a mighty storm in the morning.
Wasn't that a mighty storm.
It blew all the people all away.
You know the year of 1900.
_ You're gonna need me in your world.
Death come howling out of your head.
Death calls you, got to go.
Wasn't that a mighty storm.
Wasn't that a mighty storm in the morning.
Wasn't that a mighty storm.
It blew all the people all away.
You know, hey.
You know the trumpets give that warning.
You better leave this place.
Now no one thought of leaving.
_ They're coming with grace.
And then the train and the station were loaded.
And the people are all leaving town.
_ They stopped moving away with the water.
And those trains, they went on down.
Wasn't that a mighty storm.
_ Wasn't that a mighty storm in the morning.
Wasn't that a mighty storm.
Wasn't that a mighty storm.
It blew all the people all away.
You know the trees fell on the island.
And the houses gave way.
And the nations cried and drowned in the water away.
And the sea began to roll in.
And the ships, they could not stand.
And I heard a captain cry,
_ God save the dam in the main.
It wasn't that a mighty storm.
It wasn't that a mighty storm in the morning.
It wasn't that a mighty storm.
_ It blew all the people all away.
Just your [D] hands were [A] clenching.
Got them on my knees.
_ Coming to my mother.
Won't you come back after me.
And the flood, it took my mother.
And it [D] took my brother.
[A] _ And I thought I heard my father calling.
I watched my mother go.
It wasn't that a mighty storm.
It wasn't that a mighty storm in the morning.
It wasn't that a mighty storm.
It blew all the people all away.
You know the year [D] of 1900.
[A] _
Many, many, [D] many, many, [A] many years ago.
Death come howling on your knees.
Death calls you as it goes.
It wasn't that a [N] mighty storm.
It wasn't that a mighty storm in the morning.
It wasn't that a mighty storm.
[F] It blew all the people [A] all away.
It wasn't that a mighty storm.
It reached all the power.
It wasn't that a mighty storm.
It wasn't that a mighty storm.
It blew [D] all the people all away.
_ _ [E] _ _ [A] _ _ _ _ _ _ _