Five San Francisco Songs By Out-of-Towners

The City captures the imagination of non-natives

From Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller to UK indie act Arctic Monkeys, the City by the Bay is a point of inspiration for a diverse group of artists who share one thing in common — they don't actually live here.

Mac Miller describes a vivid acid trip in "San Francisco," taken from his recent mixtape Faces. Unfortunately he didn't get much further than the strip club, so it couldn't have been that much fun.


UK indie rock act Arctic Monkeys rails against the superficial in 2005's "Fake Tales of San Francisco"with surprising accuracy: "Fake tales of San Francisco echo through the air/And there's a few bored faces in the back, all wishing they weren't there."


The Mowgli's look and sound as if they are from here, but they live in Southern California. Still, it doesn't stop them from declaring their love for Karl the Fog on "San Francisco."


Foxygen, also from Los Angeles, can't help but declare their allegiance to the North with 2012's "San Francisco." Yet another group leaving important stuff like their love up here. "That's okay," they sing, "I was bored in LA."


But the O.G. is Florida singer-songwriter Scott McKenzie, who penned his loving ode to The City back in 1967. "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)," the song perhaps most responsible for SF's persisting image as a hippie haven of gentle people. 

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