"When the levee breaks" generally refers to a situation where a barrier built to hold back floodwaters fails, leading to overwhelming and destructive flooding. Metaphorically, it is often used to describe a moment when problems or pressures become too great and cause a breakdown or collapse. In popular culture, "When the Levee Breaks" is well known as a blues song originally written and recorded by Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie in 1929, about the catastrophic Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. The song uses the levee breaking as a powerful symbol of devastation and loss but also survival and resilience in the face of disaster. The lyrics describe the emotional toll of such a calamity and the struggle to cope with overwhelming circumstances. Later, the British rock band Led Zeppelin reworked the song in 1971, keeping the themes of hardship, loss, and endurance. Their version mixes blues and rock to convey a strong feeling of impending disaster and the personal strength required to survive when "the levee breaks," meaning when everything falls apart and one must find a way to deal with it.
Additionally, "When the Levees Broke" is also the title of a 2006 documentary by Spike Lee about the failure of the levees during Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, examining the human and infrastructural disaster caused by the levee failures.
