The river ran through Howard County

It was the life blood of the land

It made fields of green tobacco

Aching backs and callused hands

Mama talked of a coming battle

That the women folk had to fight

'Cause the good lord owned the daytime

But the devil seemed to own the night Well, it came up out of nowhere

From a dark and bitter seed

It was the roughest kind of roadhouse

And a most unwanted weed

It drew the men folk like a magnet

The women knew what they had to do

So they put it in the hands of Jesus

'Cause they knew that he'd come through And the rains came and the river swelled

And the more they prayed, the more it fell

When the levies broke, everybody saw

The awesome power of God

Then the clouds rolled back and the rainbow came

To bring a brighter day

'Cause when the flood hit Howard County

All the sins were washed away Now the mothers tell the story

Of the week that the river raged

It's the passing of the wisdom

To the ears of tender age

Better walk the straight and narrow

Better keep a watchful eye

'Cause there's a symbol of the wrath of Heaven

In every dark cloud in the sky And the rains came and the river swelled

And the more they prayed, the more it fell

When the levies broke, everybody saw

The awesome power of God

Then the clouds rolled back and the rainbow came

To bring a brighter day

'Cause when the flood hit Howard County

All the sins were washed away