I agree that it's about the July 1993 floods in Missouri, and that's what Ste. Genevieve (a town in SE Missouri) refers to here.
But I also think it's interesting that the historical woman Genevieve (patron saint of Paris) urged the Parisians not to evacuate when Attila the Hun was on his way to attack them. She told the people that they should fast and pray for God to protect them. The Huns never showed up in Paris -- they went to Orleans instead because they got word that the Romans were staging a counterattack.
If you've ever watched coverage of natural disasters, particularly in the Bible belt of the midwestern U.S. (where there are often floods and tornadoes), the residents often cite their faith in God as a reason why they won't evacuate, even against common sense. So I think the confluence (no pun intended) of those two elements (the person Saint Genevieve and the town Ste. Genevieve) adds an interesting dimension to the meaning of this song.
It's a beautiful song, and my very favorite by Son Volt.
I agree that it's about the July 1993 floods in Missouri, and that's what Ste. Genevieve (a town in SE Missouri) refers to here.
But I also think it's interesting that the historical woman Genevieve (patron saint of Paris) urged the Parisians not to evacuate when Attila the Hun was on his way to attack them. She told the people that they should fast and pray for God to protect them. The Huns never showed up in Paris -- they went to Orleans instead because they got word that the Romans were staging a counterattack.
If you've ever watched coverage of natural disasters, particularly in the Bible belt of the midwestern U.S. (where there are often floods and tornadoes), the residents often cite their faith in God as a reason why they won't evacuate, even against common sense. So I think the confluence (no pun intended) of those two elements (the person Saint Genevieve and the town Ste. Genevieve) adds an interesting dimension to the meaning of this song.
It's a beautiful song, and my very favorite by Son Volt.