SCVHistory.com LW2404a | 'St. Francis Dam Disaster' Song by Frank Black (Black Francis).

Front

Back

Dog in the Sand

As indicated on the back of the CD cover, in 2001 we provided a few photos to Frank Black (better known as Black Francis of the Pixies) as front and back cover art for the CD-single of his original song, "St. Francis Dam Disaster," released under the name Frank Black and the Catholics by Cooking Vinyl of London.

Here is the original cover photo.

Black Francis in 2009 | Photo by Simon Fernandez

Black Francis — born Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV in Boston on April 6, 1965 — made his claim to fame as leader of the alt-rock band Pixies. After the band broke up in 1993 he went solo and formed a new band, Frank Black and the Catholics. The Catholics featured Francis (as Frank Black) on vocals and guitar, Scott Boutier on drums, Eric Drew Feldman on keyboards, Rich Gilbers on dobro, David McCaffrey on bass, Dave Philips on acoustic guitar and Moris Tepper on banjo.

"St. Francis Dam Disaster," written by Francis (as Black), was included on the band's critically acclaimed 2001 album, "Dog in the Sand" (which didn't use our artwork).

In 2004 he reformed the Pixies, in 2007 he readopted his old stage name, and as of 2013 he's still touring as Black Francis.

"St. Francis Dam Disaster" by Frank Black, 2001

There was a well known water master man
He was the king
He could do anything
The Saint Francis Dam disaster man
Thought she was all right
Until around midnight

Because that water seeks her own
She had a desire to flow
She was looking for somewhere to go

She was a slave to the great metropolis
She was feeling choked
She pushed the wall till it broke

When they heard
The great apocalypse
At power house number two
Well there was nothing they could do

Because that water seeks her own
Five and one half hours she would flow
She had fifty-three miles to go

A cascade down to Santa Clara way
Near sixty feet high
Now she's a mile wide
It was clear she was going far away
And whole towns were too
A few got lucky in Piru

Because that water seeks her own
But four more hours she would flow
She had twenty-nine miles more to go

She carried in her every kind of thing
House, trees, and telegraph pole
Some say a thousand souls
At three a.m. she gave Santa Paula a ring
She was still twenty-five feet high
Under a peaceful sky

Because that water seeks her own
But two more hours she would flow
She had nineteen miles more to go

It was a real bad night in little Saticoy
El Rio then Montalvo
How many no one really knows
Ventura Beach was very scary boy
Humanity a pile
She went her final mile

Because that water seeks her own
Into the sea the water flowed
And now forever she would go

LW2404a: 9600 dpi jpeg from CD cover.

ST. FRANCIS DAM DISASTER IN POETRY, MUSIC, FILM

John Hutchens

Black Francis

Katy Moffatt

John Bergstrom

Ron Pinkerton

Dan Devere

Film: "Big Surf" by Brian Smee 2017