“The Ballad of Devil’s Slide”

Cheri Parr

Blue Moon performing The Ballad of Devil's Slide

A couple of weeks ago we were invited to party that represented a lot of the things we love about the Coastside. The party was a (somewhat late) Devil's Slide re-opening party by some folks we didn't know because a couple of them had re-connected through Coastsider for a Devil's Slide closure carpool. From the invitation:

I remember that first week - in fact within the first few days - you were the first newsperson I contacted to try to get help finding people to commute with, and you promptly created the link on the very front of your home page to connect people searching for alternatives. I want you to know that your posting was such a help, and also enabled a person from a car pool I was in years ago to find me and hook up again. She's one of the people still commuting with us now, and it looks like we'll all continue to do so. By the way, four of us are still commuting together, as it's worked out really well! We all survived and have forged lasting friendships in the process.

That really meant a lot to us and it turned out that the party was on the other side of our block, practically in our back yard. And it featured live music by the party-goers themselves. A real small-town experience in the shadow of San Francisco. One band, Blue Moon, performed an original song called "The Ballad of Devil's Slide" and an original poem "Stuck on 92".

I wasn't able to get a recording of the performance, but you can click the link below to see the lyrics to "The Ballad of Devil's Slide":

©2006, Words and music by Steve Lutes

Tween the foggy shores of Pacifica and the sprawl of Half Moon Bay
There’s a place that lives in infamy, it’s cursed the locals say
Oh many a man has tempted fate, and many a man has died
From trying to go a bit too fast, through the place called Devil’s Slide.

A lot of us used too drink too much, then take off on a ride
It’s lots of fun to drive real fast, at night through Devil’s Slide
It’s more fun yet when it’s rainin hard, it really tests your skill
If a head-on crash don’t kill you, you know the landslide will.

Devil’s Slide Devil’s Slide you’re the cruelest place I know
Broken windshield glass and crosses line both sides of the road
The devil himself he lives there, in the rocks along the brink
Making drivers lose control, so they end-up in the drink.

God got pissed at Satan, and all his foolish pride
Decided to show him a thing or two, screwed with the Devil’s Slide
He summoned all his angels and told ‘em take a dump
The whole mess landed on the Devil’s Slide, and caused the place to slump.

It used to be when the road fell down, we’d build it up again
But this time round all the engineers felt that would be a sin
They’ve opened it for a little while, so you can drive there still
But soon it’s going to be replaced, by a tunnel through the hill.

Devil’s Slide Devil’s Slide you’re the cruelest place I know
Broken windshield glass and crosses line both sides of the road
The devil himself he lives there, in the rocks along the brink
Making drivers lose control, so they end-up in the drink

Those engineers did quite a job, their fix may never fail
But soon there’ll be no driving there, it’ll be a nature trail
Guess most folks are happy, but there’s one thing I don’t like
It ain’t no fun being fall down drunk and tryin to take a hike.

Devil’s Slide will soon be gone, so drive there while it lasts
Get in your car get all tanked up and take off real fast
We’ll have a competition with a six pack as the prize
For the last drunk fool who kills himself while driving Devil’s Slide.

Devil’s Slide Devil’s Slide you’re the cruelest place I know
Broken windshield glass and crosses line both sides of the road
The Devil himself he lives there, in the rocks along the brink
Making drivers lose control, so they end-up in the drink.