The Ten Best Songs About San Francisco
The other day I was on this page which is full of awesome quotes about San Francisco and it got me thinking of all the great songs written about our fair city. So I’ve decided to share ten of my favorites in no particular order. I also made sure to exclude the obvious ones like Journey, Otis Redding, and Tony Bennett, because those were givens. Feel free to post some of what you think the best songs about San Francisco are in the comments section.
San Francisco Bay Blues – Richie Havens: Even though he didn’t write this song, Richie Havens’ version is my favorite. His voice is just so soothing that it makes me wanna snuggle with someone or some shit. It won’t let me embed it unfortunately, but you can listen to the song right here.
The City – Richie Cunning: I know that I’ve totally been on Rich Cunning‘s jock lately, but seriously, have you heard this song? Dude fucking nails it!
I’m Always Drunk in San Francisco – Nancy Wilson: You and me both Nancy. It won’t let me embed it unfortunately, but you can listen to the song right here.
Fake Tales of San Francisco – Arctic Monkeys: I don’t even know if this song is actually about SF, it’s just good. It won’t let me embed it unfortunately, but you can listen to the song right here.
Bay Area Slang Top 100 (The Grinch Song) – Rafael Casal: A DOPE song explaining how the rest of the world steals Bay Area slang words. Rafael Casal murders this track!
Frisco Town – Memphis Minnie: This is just awesome! Old guitar blues at it’s best. Gotta give extra props for being a female guitar player back in the day.
Frisco Blues – John Lee Hooker: You can’t find many people cooler or classier than John Lee Hooker was. You know he owned the Boom Boom Room right? I knew you did. It won’t let me embed it unfortunately, but you can listen to the song right here.
Hello San Francisco – Buddy Guy: Yeah, I guess by now you can tell I love the blues. Buddy is excellent on this. It won’t let me embed it unfortunately, but you can listen to the song right here.
Don’t Give Me No Bammer Weed – RBL Posse: It’s true, we don’t smoke that shit in the SFC. It won’t let me embed it unfortunately, but you can listen to the song right here.
San Francisco Nights – The Animals: Fucking Classic! But once again It won’t let me embed the song so you can hear it right here.
And the WORST song about San Francisco:
We Built This City – Starship: This song makes me wish I didn’t have ears. No really, fuck this song. I’m not even gonna put the stupid video or link it.
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Great songs (love the Animals myself). I’d have to add two more – Tony Bennett’s “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” – yes I know it’s trite, but so good – and “If You’re Going to San Francisco (Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair).” Another old fave of mine.
Girls-“Life in San Fransisco” B-side on “Lust for Life” 7″
Connor Oberst & the Mystic Valley band-“Sausalito”
Arcade Fire’s “Cold Wind” is also about driving to SF on tour
what about Journey’s “Lights”?! God, I love that song, no matter how cliche it gets.
Betty – It’s not a bad one. I actually mentioned it in the intro. I didn’t list it because I figured it was a given.
Belle & Sebastian have a stanza about SF in a song called “Piazza, New York catcher,” on Dear Catastrophe Waitress.
Zion I “The Bay.” Love it.
Titus Andronicus-“Arms Against Atrophy”
Nice ones people! I love it! Keep ’em coming.
The Orange Peels-“Back in San Francisco”
Also, I’m pretty sure that Lida Husik’s fantastic “Fly Stereophonic” is at least partiially about living in SF. At the least moreso than “Back in San Francisco” actually is (although the Orange Peels have a pretty good track about how hard it is to live in “Redwood City”).
“Save Me, San Francisco” by Train
Oh and that corny Christmas song “Christmas By The Bay” by Tim Hockenberry
Grace Cathedral Hill by The Decemberists is a personal favorite of mine.
finally someone hates that jefferson starship song as much as i do! i also want to throw some love to big brother and the holding company – combination of the two.
The Lucksmiths – The Chapter In Your Life Entitled San Francisco.
Casiotone For The Painfully Alone – Hotel Huntington Sign
16th & Valencia Roxie Music by Devendra Banhart. The lyrics have nothing to do with the Mission or SF as far as I can tell…but the name of the song is neat.
Ooh, all these are great songs. Let me add San Francisco BC by the Silver Jews. And 2x for Grace Cathedral Hill.
Otis Redding: “Sitting on the dock of the bay”
Shannon – I blame “we built this city” on cocaine, that new fangled thing called “synthesizers”, and the 80’s as a whole. Anyone who says it’s their favorite song is without a doubt a sociopath who probably mutilates animals.
Hello Saferide’s “San Francisco
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NqrleFU2zo
x3 for Grace Cathedral Hill by the Decemberists
Great list!! Thanks
“Rendezvous – Potrero Hill.” Architecture In Helsinki.
I keep waiting for a song to come out about Noe Valley, but I’m not sure if Milfs, Dilf, and Golden Retrievers are that inspirational…
PS, I got a Youtube ad on the “fucking awesome” Animals vid for “people mating with animals.”
I think I need to clear my cookies now.
La la la laura –
That’s funny because I almost made this entire website about bestiality, but at the last moment decided to make it about cheap stuff.
A bit late to the show but Brett Dennen’s ‘San Francisco’ is divine.
I’m really home sick right now, and this list just cheered me up completely. Thanks for it. And for the laugh at the end there.
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SUPER late to the game, but I’m a tour guide in San Francisco and I’ve been looking for some songs to play on the bus while we go over the Golden Gate (It’s too windy for anyone to hear me talking so I figured I might as well just throw a dance party on the bridge) Your list really helped me out! Now I’ve got an arsenal of songs I can chose from to adjust to the mood of the day. Oh, and by the way, if you need another one, “San Fran” by Kids of 88 is pretty fun. They’re a band from Australia, I believe. Saw them perform a couple months ago and they were so happy and grateful to be able to perform this song for the first time actually IN San Francisco. Keep bluesing out, btw, Stuart. Love it!
Glad you dig this stuff!! 🙂
Stuck in Sheboygan off my new album Hard Learned Truths is about SF.
(It’s pretty obscure 🙂
“Fillmore Street Boogie Woogie”-by Dave Alexander; “Leavin Memphis, Frisco Bound” by Jesse Fuller; “Who Needs The Peace Corps?” (a hilarious send-up of The Summer of Love) by Frank Zappa and The Mothers. Are Chris Isaak’s “San Francisco Days, San Francisco Nights” and “San Francisco (Open Your Golden Gate”) in the ‘given’ category? I’ve never heard anything about Memphis Minnie being a lesbian. She was married to three different guitar players each of whom recorded with her.
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Cascada – San Francisco
Catchy, Bubble Gum Pop, Dancey Song… Those Stupid songs we love! 🙂
16th St. Dozens- Two Gallants
San Francisco- The Mowgli’s
and
Sittin on the Dock of the Bay by the-man-himself Otis Redding
“San Francisco” by Foxygen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq19haZ0w7s
San Francisco by Zorge band http://youtu.be/TJzWdMZj0Qg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-QPDr_LZls
Lee Oskar- San Francisco Bay
Sam Johnson – The City https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y10ujabUGs
Sam Johnson’s “The City” – “This, my friends, is the song MTV will use when they do establishing shots of the city in the next SF iteration of either Catfish or The Real World, whichever comes first. And if it’s not, well, more the fool them.” – SFist