Tomorrow is the twenty year anniversary of the biggest tumbler I've ever experienced. I was working my way through college and living with my brother in a grim apartment in a very uninspiring part of town, and our sitting room was divided in half with crepe paper streamers because he was an A's fan and I am a Giants girl and like everyone else, we were getting ready to watch the game when it started. And even the most blase' of us California natives knew there was something different about this one, something off, because about the time a normal earthquake would've stopped, this one gave a great lurching jolt and kept going.
And still, it lasted only seconds. When it was over most of our dishes were on the floor, shattered, and we had no electricity so we hunted for batteries and the old radio. And then we went outside to compare notes with the neighbors and their old radios. At first the news reports consisted mostly of people calling in from all over the area, describing what had happened to them. It seemed like a long time before there was any coherent overview. But we were lucky because we and everyone we knew wound up being okay.
Even so, I'm feeling extra misty-eyed about my little corner of the world these days. Until very recently, this was without a doubt my favorite song about San Francisco. Obvious and traditional but no less lovely for that, this will make me cry even if I am standing right in my own kitchen when it comes on.
Tony Bennett - I Left My Heart In San Francisco
But then there's this. I think it captures the city so well, both its insanely romantic beauty and its sad shadowy pockets. I especially love these lines-
a beauty our hearts all recognize
and never get their fill
where everyone is humming a love supreme
and watching it pour softly down the hill
American Music Club - All The Lost Souls Welcome You To San Francisco
And then one more, not about San Francisco but a non-album track from one of my favorite San Francisco bands.
Jellyfish - Baby's Coming Back (live acoustic)