When blues musical duo Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie wrote " When the Levee Breaks " , the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was still fresh in people 's memories . The flooding affected 26,000 square miles of the Mississippi Delta – hundreds were killed and hundreds of thousands of residents were forced to evacuate . The event is the subject of several blues songs , including " High Water Everywhere " by Charley Patton and " Backwater Blues " by Bessie Smith . Ethel Douglas , Minnie 's sister-in-law , recalled that Minnie was living with her family near Walls , Mississippi , when the levee broke in 1927 . The song 's lyrics recount the personal toll on a man who lost his home and family . Despite the tragedy , biographers also see in it a statement of rebirth
Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
When the Levee Breaks