Lyrics

Nineteen-thirty-six was a bad year
When the river rose, heavy rains, late snows
When the river rose and the ice jammed high
The size of freight trains, stacked up to the sky
And the bridges fell, and we watched them fall
Snapped like twigs and bones, fell like dominoes
To the ice flow

It was 2 am when the neighbour knocked
Said the road’s awash, that it was time to go
Time to leave this place, head for higher ground
But I was not inclined to leave it all behind

I heard the timbers crack, there was no turning back
We lost the highway out, we lost the train tracks
We didn’t shed a tear, that’s just the way it goes
When a river crests and the banks won’t hold
From an ice flow.

Seven days ago we sent the kids away
On up to Fredericton, left them with some friends
I guess they’ll worry some now that the lines are down
And there’s no safe way out, there’s no way around

I hope the sand bags hold, I hope the ice jam breaks
Give me some dynamite, this is the chance I’ll take
If we could blow a hole, send her far down stream
Out to the Fundy Bay, somewhere far away
From where this ice flows

We’ve been here before, this is nothing new
In our history we have seen a few
When the moon is full and the branches bare
And a northern wind whistles out despair
For it sings a song that we all know well
When the river crests and the waters swell
From an ice flow

Nineteen-thirty-six was a bad year
When the river rose, heavy rains, late snows
When the river rose and the ice jammed high
The size of freight trains, stacked up to the sky
And the bridges fell, and we watched them fall
Snapped like twigs and bones, fell like dominoes
To the ice flow