Lyrics (English)

Words & Music by Talitha MacKenzie

Down along the Ohio River
Chilly spring wind’ll make you shiver
Where the Lenape Warriors left their warning
Nature’s vengeance here by morning

The Benwood Steel Mill grinds to a halt
The foreman there is not at fault
Nothing to do, nowhere to go
Just listen for news on the radio

Batten down the hatches and bar the door
Bring your things up to the second floor
Watch the water rising till the break of day
Tune your radio to WWVA

Batten down the hatches and bar the door
Bring your things up to the second floor
Watch the water rising till the break of day
Tune your radio to WWVA

Evangelists left their creation
A mighty church with no foundation
Soon they’ll have no place to pray
The Tabernacle’s slip-sliding away

Red Cross coming to save the day
What’ve they got to give away?
They’re going around from group to group
With sardine sandwiches and mock-turtle soup

Chorus

Nancy, Jane and Norma June
Huddle by the light of the silvery moon
No heat and no electricity
Just high spirits and camaraderie

Scooping up her skirts and climbing aboard
Straight into a rowboat—Oh my Lord!
Nancy’s in her ball gown, won’t miss a chance
Out the second storey window, on to the dance!

Have you seen the papers, read the news?
Journalists put out their views
About the hardship and the deprivation
They missed the warmth and the celebration

Wheeling Island girls are having a ball
They can see Daddy waving through the hole in the wall
Just three of them, they’ve got no brother
But they’ll get by—they’ve got each other

So hose out the mud and fix the floors
Paper the walls and paint the doors
Work together till it looks real fine
Then do it again in one year’s time

Hose out the mud and fix the floors
Paper the walls and paint the doors
Work together till it looks real fine
Then do it again in one year’s time