Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Purchasable with gift card
$1USD or more
about
Candace Roberts, political cabaret chanteuse, sings the blues about San Francisco's economic crisis. “Not My City Anymore” is both a song and music video on YouTube.
I’ve always felt so proud to live in San Francisco. From such a young age I was keenly aware of how truly special it was … a place of radicalism and acceptance where anyone could show up and just be themself. However, this song speaks of a changed San Francisco, in a manner one would speak of the loss of a loved one. We anxiously stand by as their soul leaves them (gets sucked out?) and all we have left is our grief. My grief for San Francisco is all the more potent because it’s coupled with a sense of helplessness. As this cultural and economic cleanse sweeps San Francisco it echoes the rise of income inequality all across the globe and the corporate take over of every aspect of our lives. Somehow I thought San Francisco was different and that we wouldn’t let this happen. One evening I was walking past yet another newly-sprung luxury condo and I actually said out loud to myself, “There isn’t a place for me here anymore” and then out of nowhere I started humming the chorus, “She’s Not My City Anymore.”
"Not My City Anymore" kind of wrote itself and I immediately started playing it around town at variety shows and at my monthly cabaret show. It went over big, resulting in great enthusiasm, discussion and anger. But invariably it was the song that everyone wanted to talk about after the show. I kept thinking “I gotta get this out there” and toyed with the idea of a video.
Not My City Anymore (the video) is a theatrical piece, both frenetic and melancholy, espousing an almost campy, vaudevillian flair. The saloon girls, bartenders and I represent the city of San Francisco, dressed in old-timey garb, referencing the boom of the Gold Rush and the Barbary Coast nostalgia intrinsic to San Francisco’s history. Just when the viewer is situated within this visual paradigm, in saunters a young tech guy, breaking up the party with his anachronistic clothing and technological devices. Mr. Tech goes on to make special deals with City Hall while we sing and dance our indignation and heartbreak, all the while watching our city become unrecognizable. "Isn't there room for us all?"
lyrics
Not My City Anymore
I fell in love with a girl who was sort of a saint
And her name was Fran, Fran Cisco, San Fran Cisco
She had long wild hair and a loud belly laugh
She said "Come as you are, you can fly whatever flag"
It was love, it was love
But they rode into town with their dollars and bling
They were promised the sky, this was more than just a fling
They beat Fran down and smashed her face into dirt
They slowly bent her over, ripping off her skirt
Now she's not my city anymore
No she's not my city anymore
They tied my hands, forced me to watch
While she became what she's not
No she's not my city anymore
Hey City Hall ......
Fran lost the light in her eyes, I never thought her a quitter
But she's been pimped til she's dry to the highest bidder
So another high rise and another Whole Foods
You're a 24 year old gazillionaire with nothing to lose
You wake up in your loft, with your view of the bay
You skip down to Valencia for your artisanal shave
Drinking $6 coffee while creating your app
Then you tweet your friends that you just took an artisanal crap
Hey, can you save one for me? I'm kinda hungry.
I cook your food, wait your tables
Serve you cocktails, where's my tip?
I teach your kids, wipe their asses
Walk your dogs, I suck your dicks
Write your songs, paint your murals
Haul your garbage, wax your beave
Funny who you decide to reward
While the rest of us make beans
Up go the rents, in come the chains, oh, out with the little guy
It's an economic cleanse, the great divide, now a mile high
The top tier always looks the same, no matter the city you name
So Fran's not Fran anymore, you kicked your whore to the door.
Didn't this all happen before?
Now she's not my city anymore
No she's not my city anymore
They tied my hands, forced me to watch
While she became what she's not
No she's not my city anymore, no she's not my city anymore
San Francisco, they forced open your gates too wide
Shot all their fear and greed inside of you
Hey City Hall must it always be boom or bust
Isn't there room for us ...all?
credits
released June 16, 2015
Music and Lyrics by Candace Roberts
Recorded and Mixed by Ryan Clark
Arranged by Candace Roberts and Ryan Clark
Mastered by Paul Miner
Vocals: Candace Roberts
Drummer: Ryan Clark
Pianist: Larisa Migachyov
Recorded Cello: Jessica Ivry
Video Cellist: Meredith Axelrod
Recorded Bass: Chris Wagner
Video Bassist: Olive Mitra
Candace Roberts is a San Francisco based singer/songwriter, filmmaker and cabaret performer. In 2014 she released a much
acclaimed music video called "Not My City Anymore" about economic inequality in San Francisco. Since the release of her 2010 CD, "Honeymoon for One", Candace has been singing, telling stories and playing ukulele at such local venues as the Fillmore and Martuni's Piano Bar....more
The prolific Glenn Donaldson continues spinning out your new favorite pop songs from his San Francisco kitchen on this latest EP. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 19, 2023
The latest from prolific San Francisco musician Glenn Donaldson is another record full of catchy, jangly winners with a gloomy edge. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 2, 2023
A surprise single from beloved indie pop group Aislers Set marries the charm of C86 with the festivity of Phil Spector's Christmas album. Bandcamp New & Notable Dec 10, 2020
