Songs of Storm-Water Management. New Words by John and Jan Haigis to familiar tunes- Copyright 2006
For the past few years Jan and I have coordinated the annual Darby Creek/Cobbs Creek Cleanup for the Darby Creek Valley Association. This year we wrote Songs of Storm-Water Management, of which these are a few examples. For the complete booklet, please call us at (610) 583-0788 or e-mail johnghd@yahoo.com
These songs may be used in classrooms but if copied, please indicate the source, who wrote them  and say they are  "Used by Permission"
Tune: The River is Wide/Wally Wally
Oh the watershed's wide, and the waters drain
To a common point, every time it rains
Lyrics Copyright, 2006
John and Jan Haigis
1006 Main Street
Darby, PA 19023
But when the rain, has no place to go Tune: The Caissons go rolling along
The waters rise, and over flow
Runoff here, runoff there
Causing floods that bring despair
I had a house on a piece of land
Picture from Mt Zion AME The storm water goes rushing along
With lovely views on every hand
From our lawns, from our roads
But then men came and cut down the trees
It all makes too big a load
Like a killing blight or a dread disease
The storm water goes rushing along
For it's you and me
And then I watched as the waters came
Need to learn some BMP's
But the land below was not the same
Where rain had once, soaked into the ground To let all the rains soak in the ground
Hard parking lots, were all it found For we all must know
Rain needs a place to go
I watched this rain, falling drop by drop
As storm water goes rushing along
Join with other rain, and it could not stop
Until it filled, every water course
Tune: Row RowRow Your Boat (2)
And the flooding came, with an awful force
Every time it rains
Junk flows in the stream
Oh the watershed's wide, and the waters drain
Paper cups and pesticide and spills from gasoline.  
To a common point, every time it rains
But when the rain, has no place to go
The waters rise, and over flow
Tune: Row RowRow Your Boat
Every time it rains
Junk flows in the stream
Don't throw trash into the drain
Keep our water clean 
Tune: I've Been Working on the Railroad
Keep your water on your property
Every way you can
Retention basin or rain barrel
Water for your plants
It won't overwhelm the storm drains
Or flood the land around
Keep your water on your property
Let it soak into the ground
(Below) Map of Darbyshire, England showing why early settlers felt at home
(Above) Darby Creek Watershed




(Left:)Peaceful scene along an Irish canal