Quick! Name a song about San Francisco.
If you picked “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair),” you are not alone.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve danced to that song, usually as part of some oldies remix at an out-of-town wedding or vacation nightclub. It might just be the most well-known, terribly cliché San Francisco song there is. And you know what? When I hear it, I get into it. Because although I was born long after the Summer of Love and hardly ever wear flowers in my hair, I can’t help but feel a sense of pride when I hear it. That and the fact that by then, I’m usually a few drinks in.
But what about some of the lesser-known tracks that capture this city in all its glory (and gloom – and I have come to learn, it’s mostly the gloom)? Here’s a list of nine songs about San Francisco by indie musicians from here and abroad.
.
Notable lyrics:
Old San Francisco, San Francisco B.C.
I lived with my true love and she lived with me.
"Romance is the douche of the bourgeoisie"
Was the very first thing she imparted to me
We had sarcastic hair, we used lewd pseudonyms
We got a lot of stares on the street back then.
Wrap up:
In this tragicomedy (okay, so it's mostly comedy) about a time long past, a guy gets sucked into a life of crime following the demise of his relationship. “Sarcastic hair” sounds a lot like modern-day San Francisco, except smoking was still allowed in bars.
Notable lyrics:
Damn you. I've never stayed up as late as this.
Wrap up:
There’s an important lesson to be learned here: When involved in a long-distance relationship, you always want to be on the better coast, time-zone wise.
Notable lyrics:
If you're going to San Francisco
Lay some flowers on the gravestone.
Wrap up:
This one’s about a guy who’s about to commit suicide, or is already dead, or something equally grim. I’m sure the “cold wind” is meant to be some kind of metaphor but I prefer to imagine that San Francisco’s frigid summer actually killed him.
.
Notable lyrics:
Grace Cathedral Hill
all wrapped in bones of a setting sun
all dust and stone and moribund.
I paid twenty-five cents to light a little white candle
for a New Year's Day.
Wrap up:
New Year’s Day is always a bit of a downer. If your night was awesome, you’re sad it’s over; if it wasn’t, you’re disappointed (again!). And no matter what, you’re tired and hungover. Maybe sightseeing isn’t the best idea.
.
Notable lyrics:
The sky is blue most every day
The lemons grow like tumors
They are tiny suns
Infused with sour.
Wrap up:
When life gives you lemons, think of them as tumors and jump off a bridge. Is it just me, or is San Francisco sounding more and more depressing?
.
Notable lyrics:
But I shot my wife today,
Dropped her body in the Frisco bay.
I had no choice it was the only way.
Death's comin', I'm still runnin'.
Wrap up:
SF is just a stop on the road for this wanderer who is playing pool, cutting throats, and “waltzin’ with the Holy Ghost.” The best thing about Two Gallants is that despite being homegrown, they’re not afraid to call it “Frisco.”
.
Notable lyrics:
San Francisco mornings can be so hazy
With everybody waking up drunk and lazy
Wrap up:
What do you expect from a city in which brunch is an institution (along with bottomless mimosas)?
.
Notable lyrics:
I came looking for the party
Ah come on Marty, you're the king of 22nd Street
Just give me some hope, or give me at least enough rope
I want to fly, shake the dirt off my feet.
Wrap up:
Pretty sure this guy now lives outside the MUNI station at Van Ness and Market.
.
Notable lyrics:
We hung about the stadium, we've got no place to stay
We hung about the Tenderloin and tenderly you tell
About the saddest book you ever read, it always makes you cry
Wrap up:
Don't be thrown off by its title. This pleasant little folk number celebrates the Tenderloin, romantic escapades, and baseball (all with equal affection). Belle & Sebastian might be from Scotland, but they feel like one of us.
.
What did I miss?
Share your favorite San Francisco songs - from any genre - in the comments below.
To listen to, sing along with or share your own review of the songs listed above, check out the Grooveshark playlist.
Sign in with Facebook
Sign in with Twitter
thorn
of course you missed the best one ever: sick pleasure - get the muni driver
here it go:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVuXFl4N6Ck
sparkles777
It's not indie, but if all indie rock has to offer are these wrist-slitting, jar-full-of-my-tears drinking, kick-the-chair-out-from-under-me anthems, I don't think I relate wrt SF.
"Lights" by Journey, if I have a good New Years Day hangover going, will make me weep like that Folgers commercial from the 80s where the son comes home for Christmas. http://youtu.be/zsieIGFnbYI
Additionally, it's a great way to be a subtle prick to some "Believing"-screaming beer-pong darsh.
"I hate this song. 'Lights' just means so much more to me..."
<slow close-up on face for dramatic effect>
<fade to black>
Meredith K
one of my favorites is The Orange Peels' "Back In San Francisco". A bit self-loathing, but I first heard it when I was living away from SFBA. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB9ABhdFIf4
ghostlypenguin
http://cornerlaughers.bandcamp.com/album/transamerica-pyramid-single
cashew
Sun Kil Moon - Lost Verses!
Melisssa T
You would think by now I wouldn't miss this place // It makes my poor legs weak and my sweet heart start to race.
Melisssa T
Huh. Those lyrics were supposed to follow a description of Camera Obscura's "San Francisco Song".
Heather T
Death Cab for Cutie: Bixby Canyon Bridge.
"All the way from San Francisco
As I chased the end of your road
'Cause I've still got miles to go."
Although it's technically about Big Sur and Kerouac, it does give SF a mention.
ashleylilla
a swedish indie pop take on SF, "san francisco," by hello saferide: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NqrleFU2zo
"the only place in north america not too destroyed by the government!" haha.
ashleylilla
also:
australian take on long-distance love: lucksmiths, "the chapter in your life entitled san francisco"
girls, "life in san francisco"
red house painters, "grace cathedral park"
peterV
Ramon and Jessica's "Fog" also named "Diamond in the Sky" from their upcoming album. Here's the live video I shot a couple of years ago the night I fell in love with that song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqJPtqtWY1Y
stacyj
Bonus points for Sunset District reference:
One Man Army - Stuck in the Avenues
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cegS6pxumYw
Nicole G
Devendra Banhart – 16th and Valencia!
Endroit
Also:
Architecture in Helsinki - Rendezvous: Potrero Hill
Beulah - My Side of the City
Flaming Lips, the - Halloween on the Barbary Coast
Stephen Fretwell - San Francisco Blues
DCFC - Song for Kelly Huckaby
Elliott Smith - Needle in the Hay (according to a performance mention)
Rogue Wave - Eyes
Ryan Adams - Strawberry Wine
Of Montreal - Honeymoon in San Francisco
Katrina L
"San Francisco" by Brett Dennen
"Up in north beach they drink spicy Italian liqueur
Down on market there's a lot of hobos and hustlers"
LastCallSF
Black Randy, "Playland At The Dump".
http://lastcallsf.com/2011/02/03/playland-at-the-dump/
Run Your Mouth