The Day the Freeway Froze lyrics

'Twas at eight-o-five a.m. on a hot old July day

When a hiker got up on the Garfield ramp where he wasn't supposed to be

He was hit by a Fairlane Riviera with automatic drive

And a Chevrolet Bel Aire coupe, and he didn't stay long alive

On the day the freeway froze in Los Angeles U.S.A.

What an affair!

I wish I'd been there

On the day the freeway froze

Well, the cars began to stop, but the ramps kept feeding slow

And a little VW superbug was winged by a Dynaflow

And some of them could have made it, going out on a ramp marked "in"

But nobody does the like of that, because that is a cardinal sin

Meantime down in town, at the Spring Street underpass

A couple of trucks collided, and one had a load of gas

It could have been a holocaust cause no one could turn about

But the engines got up on the cloverleaf and they put that fire out

On the day the freeway froze in Los Angeles U.S.A.

What an affair!

I wish I'd been there

On the day the freeway froze

Mr. Gorbach sat at his wheel, a hungry man was he

And up ahead was an unmanned truck from Momma's Bakery

He opened the drawer marked "D" and found doughnuts glazed and plain

And he pulled real hard and drawer flew out, and the doughnuts fell like rain

On the day the freeway froze in Los Angeles U.S.A.

What an affair!

I wish I'd been there

On the day the freeway froze

Well, the people jumped around, and the doughnuts soon were gone

And Stanley Hackett he had ten, but coffee he had none

Then somebody found a truck that was full of cows and steers

And he opened the doors, and the cattle strolled among the lanes and piers

On the day the freeway froze in Los Angeles U.S.A.

What an affair!

I wish I'd been there

On the day the freeway froze

A Bekins van was stalled, and some ladies worked amain

And they set themselves up in housekeeping in the Harbor outbound lane

And a truckload of brassieres was very quickly gone

When they all cried "Viva Havana!" and tied the arm bands on

On the day the freeway froze in Los Angeles U.S.A.

What an affair!

I wish I'd been there

On the day the freeway froze

The greatest find of all was a wagonload of rum

It was all dealt out with a generous hand to whoever wanted some

And a couple of guys they ran along with car tops for their track

Wearing "Save the Bay" sandwich boards which they carried front and back

On the day the freeway froze in Los Angeles U.S.A.

What an affair!

I wish I'd been there

On the day the freeway froze

It was seven hours, they say, till the jam began to go

The last lost car was towed away after eighty hours or so

Three thousand ice cream bars were sold to the sound of the auto horn

Twenty three people died that day, and three little babes were born

On the day the freeway froze in Los Angeles U.S.A.

What an affair!

I wish I'd been there

On the day the freeway froze

These details can be found in City police reports

In interviews in the Daily News and TV newsreel shorts

And all I do is tell to you the facts as they arose

In the city of Los Angeles the day the freeway froze

• Artist:Malvina Reynolds
• Album:Another Country Heard From (1960)