from Ebb Wren 1990
Willis Collection.

THE FORBES FLOOD

Another great disaster has came upon this land
Down where the Lachlan river flows on its way so grand.
T'was in the month of August, and the town was bright and gay,
And folks upon the Lachlan were happy all the day.

And then the skies grew cloudy and rain came falling down,
For days the mighty torrents came pouring to the ground.
The streams throughout the country kept swelling day by day
Until the angry Lachlan was roaring on its way.
And then there came a warning “the levees cannot stand”
And brave men fought and struggled to save their native land
But still the raging waters kept pounding at the shores
Until it broke the levee and into Forbes it poured.

Oh, many homes were flooded, and brave men knelt to pray
As all that they had cherished was madly swept away.
The world will gladly help them to pay the awful cost;
No-one can ever give them the treasures they have lost.

We can't explain the reason these great disasters come
But we must all remember to say “Thy will be done”,
And though the good may suffer for other people's sins
There is a crown awaiting where eternal life begins.

NOTES:

Rob Willis recorded this song sitting on the front verandah of Ebb's house just after it had been inundated by the 1990 flood in Forbes.

“This song was originally called the Mississippi Flood and I've altered the words to suit the Forbes flood. I would say it was about 1930 when I was a young fella that first heard it.” - Ebb Wren