By Tania Khadder
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 — as 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 (OK, 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.
Illustrated by Jenifer Wofford
More Jams
Share your favorite San Francisco songs — from any genre — in the comments below.
