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I left my heart in San Francisco
With the death of Tony Bennett who died today at 96 a small portion of the hearts of those of us who were born in the Bay Area also died because for us his signature song became our signature song and a haunting memory of where we came from and where many family members lived on for years after we left. We went back often during my pre-school years and then I want back later when I was in the Navy and had an apartment in the Mission District down a steep hill from my aunt’s apartment, the place where she lived when I was a child and the place where she still lived when I was stationed acrosss the Bay at the former Alameda Naval Air Station when my ship was in port.
Tony Bennet first sang “I Left My Heart in San Franscisco” in 1961 at the Fairmont Hotel. Perhaps KABL, my favorite SF station was there. I was in Florida then and not a happy camper at being pulled away from California when my father’s job brought us to Tallahassee. In many ways, I never recovered from that that move because the Florida Panhandle, though beautiful in many ways that I learned to love, was just too alien for a kid who thought he’d grow up many miles due west.
Sadly, I can never go back. San Francisco became to expensive and, like the state, was totally messed up by the politicians. And yet, Tony Bennett kept the dream of going back alive with that song and with his recording longevity with Lady Gaga and other artists over the years. He was my connection to times gone by. The cord has finally been cut.
