Destroyed By A Big Earthquake
Bob A. Feldman
A folk song from 2010, using a traditional folk song melody, about the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti which killed between 220,000 and 316,000 people and left more than 1.5 million people homeless.
There was a town called Port-au-Prince
Destroyed by a big earthquake
And it's been the ruin of many poor souls
And tragic was their fate.
His mother lived near a mountain
With a small crack in the ridge
They did not reinforce it
Down in Port-au-Prince.
His father was a laborer
Built shanties by the cliff
On top of land right near a fault
Down in Port-au-Prince.
All knew about the danger
All knew about the risk
But the rich did not spend money
To prepare in Port-au-Prince.
The land began to rumble
All felt the shaking earth
The buildings began to crumble
And death came to Port-au-Prince.