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The opening track off of the fantastic 2010 EP Animal Shapes.

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Merritt is openly gay and is talking about his lover whom is presumably out in the San Francisco gay club scene being wooed by “pretty boys.”

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Stephin Merritt employs singer Shirley Simms to coo about a lover who has made his way to San Francisco. This song seems more autobiographical than the others because Stephin Merritt, at the time, lived in New York City. As an assured gay man he worries about his lover who has moved to San Francisco which is known to be a gay mecca. Things don’t look good for Stephin.

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The dude is a plain old wanker. A scenester you hear telling all these glamorous stories at a bar and you know he’s just full of shit.

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A reference to Calvary (Golgotha) where Jesus was crucified. Perhaps a reference to the singers birthright trip in Isarel, where Calvary is a necessary stop.

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“That song helped make me a world citizen. It allowed me to live, work and sing in any city on the globe. It changed my whole life.” – Tony Bennett

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This song was written by George Cory and Douglass Cross as they were longing for San Francisco upon moving to New York City.

Prior to Tony Bennett signing the song, it was pitched to [Tennessee Ernie Ford](

Bennett sang the song for the first time at The Fairmont Hotel atop Nob Hill in San Francisco. Mayor George Christopher and future mayor Joe Alioto were in attendance.

The 1962 record of the year Grammy winner is a timeless classic heard all over the world.

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The fog rolls in over the bay just about every morning. While it makes the general temperature colder, it’s not enough to offset all of SF’s beautiful qualities:

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San Francisco is laden with hills:

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The famous cable cars of San Francisco climb up these hills:

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