Story Behind The Song

The disaster of Hurricane Katrina pissed-off Chris Lock so much, he wrote a check to the red-cross and he wrote a song.

Song Description

This Chris Lock song is a protest song that captures the pain of the days after Hurricane Katrina, while also using the event as a metaphor for all of the times in life when tragedy strikes, you pray for someone to save you and no one comes. ?There are times in my life, I rip a breach in my faith, There are times in my life, make me wanna attack? ?Cry me a hurricane, tell me that my life won?t change, Cry me a river of pain, lie to me in the pouring rain? Hurricane Katrina cost at least 1,836 people their lives and caused over $81 billion US dollars in damage. Federal disaster declarations covered 90,000 square miles (233,000 km) of the United States, an area almost as large as the United Kingdom. During the aftermath of Katrina hundreds of thousands of people waited for days for help to come. It didn?t come for days. Then when it came it was nowhere near enough. Many were seen praying for help. It took days for the various levels of government to respond. The government was too late and poorly managed and thus contributed to the pain and suffering that followed. People called it ?Katrina-gate?. Many of the people most hurt by this tragedy were poor, working-class, and/or African-American. The tragedy prompted musician Kanye West to declare on national TV ?George Bush doesn't care about black people.? Almost two years later many in the Gulf Coast Region are still in need, the damage still widespread and the government?s efforts are still criticized.

Lyrics

Jesus on the Levee
Words & music copyright Chris Lock 2005
www.myspace.com/chrislockrock
www.chrislockrock.com


There are times in my life, when everything breaks
There are times in my life, when I stand to fall
There are times in my life, I rip a breach in my faith
There are times in my life, make me wanna attack

Leave me searchin? for jesus on the levee
And I?m searchin? for jesus on the levee

Cry me a hurricane, tell me that my life won?t change
Cry me a river of pain, lie to me in the pouring rain
Cry me a hotel room, mistakes I made I got no one to blame
Cry me a hurricane, you let me drown in my river of shame

And I?m searchin? for jesus on the levee
searchin? for jesus on the levee

there?s a voice in my head, sings a song of regret
there?s a voice in my head, speaks of duplicity
then the voice in my head, becomes an ?enfant terrible?
and the voice in my head, questions my will to live

Leave me searchin? for jesus on the levee
searchin? for jesus on the levee
searchin? for jesus on the levee
searchin? for jesus on the levee