"Wasn't That a Mighty Storm" is an American folk song concerning the 1900 hurricane that destroyed Galveston, Texas. It was revived and popularized by Eric Von Schmidt and Tom Rush in the 1960s, and later by the bluegrass musician Tony Rice.
 "Wasn't That a Mighty Storm" likely originated as a spiritual in the black churches in the early part of the 1900s. In the days before radio and television, almost every major public event inspired songs, which spread like text messages spread today, so the precise origin of songs is often hard to pin down.
 "Wasn't That a Mighty Storm" was a tale of hardship and trouble and the sometimes inscrutable hand of God.  Although the song dwells on a tragic subject, it was typical of songs of this time; in a similar vein, there were dozens of songs written about the sinking of the Titanic and the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927.[citation needed]
 The song was first recorded in 1934 by a preacher named "Sin-Killer" Griffin for the Library of Congress, in a session conducted by folk song collector John A. Lomax at Darrington State Farm (now the Darrington Unit), a prison near Sandy Point, Texas. The prison inmates served as Griffin's congregation, and  Griffin claimed authorship of the song. Since this is the first known appearance of the song, it is not clear whether the song dates to the very famous 1900 Galveston hurricane, which (as of 2014) remains the deadliest natural disaster in United States history, responsible for an estimated 6,000 to 12,000 fatalities. Although as popularized in the 1960s, the song itself references the year 1900 and the lyrics state "Now Galveston had no seawall"—which was built after the flood—some listeners have heard this line as "Now Galveston had a seawall" which in 1900 it did not, the main reason for the extensive death toll. This may be a clue that the song lyrics were written or at least standardized after the 1915 Galveston hurricane by which time a seawall had been built.[citation needed]
 Sin-Killer was a well-known preacher, with a mesmerizing delivery and full confidence in the name he had given himself. Death was a subject on which he preached frequently. 
Relatively little is known about his life, which makes it all the more intriguing that back in 1889, in Denton, Texas, a "Sin-Killer Griffin" tried to organize black Americans to invade Africa.  There is some evidence this was the same Sin-Killer Griffin who resurfaced before John Lomax 45 years later, though this reference hasn't been verified conclusively.
 Griffin told Lomax he'd written "Wasn't That a Mighty Storm" years earlier, and the lyrics suggest that someone did, since one verse references the flood happening "fifteen years ago.".
 The song largely stayed in the church until the late 1950s, when folk song revivalists began to record cover versions of rural acoustic songs that had been recorded in previous decades.
 Eric Von Schmidt found "Mighty Storm" in the Library of Congress collection, and with his friend Rolf Cahn put together a compelling folk arrangement with powerful guitar chords and a bluesy melody. Von Schmidt handed it off to his fellow New England folkie Tom Rush, who recorded it on a popular album in the early 1960s. The Chad Mitchell Trio recorded a version of the song under the title "A Mighty Day." It appeared in their 1961 album "Mighty Day on Campus."  It was revived again in 1972 by a late incarnation of the country band J.R. Mainer's Mountaineers, who may have performed it back in the 1930s. It was then recorded by Nanci Griffith, who is from Texas herself.
 Somewhere along the way Sin-Killer Griffin's "fifteen years" became "50 years," suggesting the song was written around 1950, which it wasn't. But most of the other lyrics remained the same, even though several later singers credited themselves with an "adaptation" of "traditional" lyrics, usually cutting out Griffin.
 Tom Rush, an American folk singer, guitarist and composer, recorded "Galveston Flood" in 1966 for his album Take a Little Walk With Me.
 Tony Rice, an American guitarist and bluegrass musician, later revitalized the song with a new generation when he recorded the tune as "Galveston Flood" on his album "Tony Rice Plays and Sings Bluegrass" in 1993. Tony Rice is considered one of the most influential acoustic guitar players in bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, newgrass and acoustic jazz.
 Canadian folk band The Duhks recorded the song on their 2008 album Fast Paced World.
 James Taylor, American singer-songwriter, included his version of the song on his 2009 CD called Other Covers.
 WASN'T THAT A MIGHTY STORM
 Chorus: 
Wasn't that a mighty storm 
Wasn't that a mighty storm in the morning, well 
Wasn't that a mighty storm 
That blew all the people all away.
 You know, the year of 1900, children, 
Many years ago 
Death came howling on the ocean 
Death calls, you got to go 
Now Galveston had a seawall 
To keep the water down, 
And a high tide from the ocean 
Spread the water all over the town.
 You know the trumpets give them warning 
You'd better leave this place 
Now, no one thought of leaving 
'til death stared them in the face 
And the trains they all were loaded 
The people were all leaving town 
The trestle gave way to the water 
And the trains they went on down.
 Rain it was a-falling 
thunder began to roll 
Lightning flashed like hellfire 
The wind began to blow 
Death, the cruel master 
When the wind began to blow 
Rode in on a team of horses 
I cried, "Death, won't you let me go"
 Hey, now trees fell on the island 
And the houses give away 
Some they strained and drowned 
Some died in most every way 
And the sea began to rolling 
And the ships they could not stand 
And I heard a captain crying 
"God save a drowning man."
 Death, your hands are clammy 
You got them on my knee 
You come and took my mother 
Won't you come back after me 
And the flood it took my neighbor 
Took my brother, too 
I thought I heard my father calling 
And I watched my mother go.
 You know, the year of 1900, children, 
Many years ago 
Death came howling on the ocean 
Death calls, you got to go
 "Wasn't That a Mighty Storm" / "Galveston Flood"
 It was the year of 1900 
that was 80 years ago 
Death come'd a howling on the ocean 
and when death calls you've got to go
 Galveston had a sea wall  
just to keep the water down 
But a high tide from the ocean  
blew the water all over the town
 Chorus 
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 away
 The sea began to rolling  
the ships they could not land 
I heard a captain crying  
Oh God save a drowning man
 The rain it was a falling  
and the thunder began to roll 
The lightning flashed like Hell-fire  
and the wind began to blow
 The trees fell on the island  
and the houses gave away 
Some they strived and drowned  
others died every way
 The trains at the station were loaded  
with the people all leaving town 
But the trestle gave way with the water  
and the trains they went on down
 Old death the cruel master  
when the winds began to blow 
Rode in on a team of horses  
and cried death won't you let me go
 The flood it took my mother  
it took my brother too 
I thought I heard my father cry  
as I watched my mother go
 Old death your hands are clammy  
when you've got them on my knee 
You come and took my mother  
won't you come back after me?