El Temblor De San Francisco
By Steve Jordan (Hacienda hac-7225), 1990
El Temblor De San Francisco memorializes the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake along the San Andreas Fault. This 6.9 earthquake was responsible for 63 deaths. The upper deck of the Bay Bridge fell on the deck below, a portion of Interstate 880 collapsed, and homes in the Marina District of San Francisco were set ablaze. Steve Jordan was scheduled to perform in San Francisco and was heading to the area at the time of the quake.
In San Francisco Marina District
The flames engulfed the whole block
Some lost their lives
Because of the damn earthquake
Spanish
Voy a cantarles señores
Aunque yo me encuentre triste
Íbamos pa’ San Francisco
Salimos de Corpus Christi
El 17 de Octubre
Como a las 5 más 4
Íbamos a un concierto
Pero que nunca llegamos
Llegamos a Houston, Texas
En un avión que volaba
Allí nos dieron la noticia
Que San Francisco temblaba
La Madre Naturaleza
No se le puede ganar
Porque cuando se le antoja
Allí comienza a temblar
El Puente de la bahía
De Oakland a San Francisco
Unos perdieron la vida
Sin culpa y sin delito
El 880, quedó como una tortilla
La gente quedó atrapada
Se cayó el puente de arriba
A los dos días después
Recibimos la noticia
Que tembló en Roma, Italia
También temblaba en China
Y No Nuevo León, Tú
Hollister y también Modesto
Muy fuerte que les pegó
En Santa Cruz no se diga
Cerca de allí comenzó
Cuatro personas murieron
En un mercado mayor
Que Dios los tenga en el cielo
En Santa Cruz sucedió
En San Francisco Marina
Toda una cuadra encendió
Unos perdieron la vida
Por el maldito temblor
También a un pequeñito
Una pierna fue a perder
Su madre salvó su vida
Y a su hija también
Ojalá y no sea cierto
Lo que se dice por hay
Viene un temblor más violento
Ojalá y no sea verdad
Este corrido señores
No lo puedo terminar
En donde haiga temblores
Este corrido estará
English
Gentlemen, I am going to sing
Even though I am sad
We were on our way to San Francisco
Making our way from Corpus Christi
On the 17th of October
At around four past 5
We were on our way to play a concert
But we never arrived
We got to Houston, Texas
In an airplane flight
Once there, we heard the news
That San Francisco suffered an earthquake
Mother Earth
You can not win
Because when she wants to
That’s when the earth shakes
The Bay Bridge
From Oakland to San Francisco
Some lost their lives
Without being guilty of a crime
The 880 was left flat like a tortilla
Some people were trapped
When the top section of bridge fell
A couple days after
We received news
That there as an earthquake in Rome, Italy
And in China as well
But not Nuevo Leon
Hollister and Modesto
Got hit hard
And don’t even mention Santa Cruz
Where it started close by
Four people died
In a department store
May God have them in heaven
This happened in Santa Cruz
In the Marina District of San Francisco
A whole city block went up in flames
Some lost their lives
Because of the damn earthquake
Also, a little one
Lost his leg
As his mother saved his life
As well as her daughter
I hope it isn’t true
Of what they say
There is a more violent earthquake coming
I hope that it isn’t true
This corrido Gentleman
I cannot finish
Wherever there is an earthquake
This corrido will be
