Cultural English 434 -“I Left My Heart in San Francisco”; Niagara Falls; Q&A

Complete Transcript

You’re listening to ESL Podcast’s English Café number 434.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast’s English Café episode 434. I'm your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.

On this Café, we’re going to talk about another famous American song, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.” We’ll also talk about a famous place in the United States, Niagara Falls. And, as always, we’ll answer a few of your questions. Let's get started.

In 1954, George C. Cory Jr. and Douglass Cross wrote “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” a song that was to become one of the most famous songs in the U.S. during the twentieth century. Both Cory and Cross were from the city of San Francisco, which is located here in California, in the northern part of the state. San Francisco is famous for many different things, some of which are described in the song, as we’ll hear in a few moments.

Both Cory and Cross had moved to New York in the 1950s, and like a lot of people who move away from their hometown, they were homesick. “To be homesick” (homesick) – one word – means to be sad and to miss a place where you are from. You can be homesick for your home and your family and your town. Even after a few weeks, some people who go on vacation become homesick. They want to go home. They miss their home and their family. That's what happened to Cory and Cross. They were homesick for their hometown of San Francisco.

They decided to write this song, and then they pitched the song to a famous singer by the name of Tony Bennett. When we say they “pitched” (pitched) their song to Bennett, we mean they tried to get Bennett to sing and record the song. That verb “to pitch” is one you will hear a lot in Los Angeles. It can be used for people who are trying to sell their story idea to a movie studio, or who are trying to sell their script to a television production company. All of these would be cases of using the verb “pitch” to mean to try to sell – to try to convince someone to buy what you are selling.

You can pitch anything. It doesn't have to be a song or a script. We sometimes even talk about a salesman as being a “pitchman” – somebody who is trying to sell you something.

Don't confuse this meaning of pitch with the other meaning of pitch, which is to throw something, especially a ball. We talk about “pitching the ball” in baseball, the world's greatest sport, but that's a different meaning of pitch. Here, we’re talking about selling an idea or selling something to you. Cory and Cross pitched their song “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” to Tony Bennett, and Bennett said okay, yes, I will record this song.

The song became very famous and later became what we might call Tony Bennett's “signature song.” The expression “signature (signature) song” means the song that this person is most famous for, the song that most people associate this person with. “Signature” is also the word we use for when you sign your name. That is the way that you put your name down on a piece of paper.

Tony Bennett first performed “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” in 1962. So, it was several years after the song had been written. He performed it in a hotel – the Fairmont Hotel in, of course, San Francisco. It was immediately popular, especially with the people who lived in San Francisco. The song stayed on the list of most popular songs for almost a year. That same year, Tony Bennett won two Grammy music awards for the song. The Grammy (Grammy) Awards are the awards given in the United States for the best songs and best music of that year. They are similar to the Oscars, which are given to the best movies, or the Emmys, which are given to the best television programs.

You can probably guess that the song “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” is all about someone who is missing San Francisco, who is homesick for San Francisco. San Francisco is located on the San Francisco Bay. A “bay” (bay) is a small body of water that is connected to the ocean but is surrounded by land on three sides. San Francisco and the towns nearby, or close to the city, are often called the “Bay Area” because they are all close to the San Francisco Bay. San Francisco itself is called the “City by the Bay.” So, if you hear someone say, “I'm going to be traveling to the Bay Area,” they are referring to San Francisco or the towns and cities near San Francisco.

For many years, San Francisco was the largest city in the United States. It had a much larger population than Los Angeles had for many years, especially during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. San Francisco is what I would call an eastern city, even though it is located in the western United States. Cities in the eastern part of the United States, especially the east coast of the U.S. – cities like New York, Boston, and Philadelphia – are very compact, very close together. Everything is close together. You can walk from one place to another inside of the city.

Western cities are much more spread out. That is, you would need a car or some other form of transportation to get from one part of the city to another. Los Angeles is definitely a western city. San Francisco, however, is really more like an eastern city even though it is located in California, which is in the west. Why are western cities so much more spread out? Why do they take up so much more land? Well, because land was cheap when people first started coming to the western part of the United States, and so it wasn't necessary to build a city where everything was very close together.

The song “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” begins by talking about other famous cities in the world:

The loveliness of Paris seems somehow sadly gay
The glory that was Rome is of another day
I've been terribly alone and forgotten in Manhattan
I'm going home to my city by the Bay

The first line of the song talks about the “loveliness,” or beautifulness, “of Paris,” referring to Paris, France. He says, “The loveliness of Paris seems somehow sadly gay.” The word “gay” (gay) means happy here in this song. In more recent years, it has come to mean something different, but in the song it means happy. The song talks about Paris being “sadly gay.” So, there's sort of a strangeness about that description. It's supposed to be happy, and yet somehow it's sad.

The next line is, “The glory that was Rome is of another day.” “Rome” refers to Rome, Italy. “Glory” refers to greatness. Rome, of course, was the capital of the Roman Empire in ancient times. “The glory that was Rome” – notice the past tense – “is of another day,” meaning that's passed. It's no longer the same as it was before. You can see that he's talking about these other great cities but finding faults, finding problems, in each one of them.

The third line is, “I've been terribly alone and forgotten in Manhattan.” “To be terribly alone” means to be very alone. You’re sad. There’s no one with you, and if you move to a new city and you don't know anyone in that city, that's a very common feeling. I certainly experienced that when I first moved to Los Angeles. Many times I felt terribly alone because I didn't know anyone else when I first came here to the city – or very few people, anyway. That's what the singer of the song feels. He feels “terribly alone and forgotten in Manhattan.” Manhattan is the downtown or central area in New York City.

The last line is, “I'm going home to my city by the Bay.” Remember, San Francisco is known as the “City by the Bay,” meaning next to this small body of water that is part of the Pacific Ocean.

The next verse is the most famous one. It's the chorus – it's the part of the song that's repeated – talking about how the singer left his heart in San Francisco. Your “heart,” of course, refers here to your affections, your love. Let's listen to the chorus, and then we'll go back and explain it.

I left my heart in San Francisco
High on a hill, it calls to me
To be where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars
The morning fog may chill the air, I don't care

The singer begins by giving us the title of the song – “I left my heart in San Francisco,” meaning San Francisco is really the place that he loves and that he wants to go back there. He then mentions a few things for which San Francisco is famous. The first is the “hills” of San Francisco. A “hill” is like a very small mountain. Many of the streets in San Francisco are very steep. “To be steep” (steep) means they go almost straight up and down, not flat like you would expect for a street.

When we say something “calls to me,” we mean that it has an appeal. It is something that is attractive to me. Then the song mentions the “little cable cars.” One form of popular transportation in San Francisco is the “cable car.” This is basically a small train that drives down the street. So, the hills are so steep, it seems to the singer that the cable cars going up the streets are “climbing halfway to the stars,” meaning halfway to a very high point.

The singer also mentions another famous characteristic or trait of San Francisco, and that is the “fog.” Because it is by the ocean, there is often “fog” – basically, low clouds that make it difficult to see. Many people, including me, complain that San Francisco is too cold, but the singer says, “I don't care.” That doesn't bother him. If you can, go on the Internet and search for Tony Bennett (Bennett) and the title “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” to hear the real version of this wonderful song.

We’re going to move on to our next topic, which is another beautiful place in the United States: Niagara Falls, New York. Niagara Falls is both a city and a park that belongs to the state of New York, where it is located. The town of Niagara Falls is about 400 miles, or around 600-plus kilometers, northwest of the city of New York. The state park is right next to the town. Niagara Falls is famous for its waterfalls. “Waterfalls” are when water goes over a rock and drops down sharply so that it falls straight down, usually a very long distance.

There are actually three waterfalls in Niagara Falls State Park. One of them is called the “American Falls.” The other two are called the “Horseshoe Falls” and the “Bridal Veil Falls,” but we usually refer to them “collectively” – that is, all together – as Niagara Falls. Horseshoe Falls, as well as another town called Niagara Falls, is in Canada, right across the border from the United States. So, Canada has its Niagara Falls and we have our Niagara Falls. Whose are better? Well, you’ll just have to go and decide for yourself.

The waterfalls connect two of what are called the “Great Lakes” of North America, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. One of the first Europeans to see Niagara Falls was a priest by the name of Louis Hennepin. Hennepin was born in what is now the country of Belgium. Father Hennepin is also famous in the state where I'm from, Minnesota, because Hennepin, when he was traveling through the Great Lakes, at one point was captured by the Sioux Indians and brought to Minnesota. The Indians eventually allowed Father Hennepin to leave.

Hennepin, while he was in Minnesota, was the one of the first Europeans to see another famous waterfall, Saint Anthony Falls, which is located in Minneapolis and is the only waterfall on the Mississippi River.

Niagara Falls didn't really become popular until it was easy for people to travel there. That happened during the nineteenth century when the railroad system arrived. Once people could take the train to Niagara Falls, people began to visit it more frequently. Most had never seen anything like Niagara Falls, and indeed, when I went to Niagara Falls many years ago, I was very impressed by it. It is a very beautiful sight.

However, it wasn't just the beauty of Niagara Falls that people thought about. They’d also thought about the power that you could generate or get from the waterfalls themselves. And in the 1800s, people began building factories – buildings where things were made – that were powered by the water of the river. Using water in the factories meant that less water was going over the falls, and that, of course, made the falls a somewhat less beautiful place to visit.

The building of these factories began to make some people angry, who thought that the area was too beautiful to be full of factories. There was a group called the “Free Niagara Movement” that asked the state of New York to take control of the land near the waterfalls and make it a park.

One of the leaders of this group was a man named Frederick Law Olmsted. He happens also to be the man who designed, or planned, the most famous park in New York: Central Park, in New York City. Olmstead was a very interesting man himself. We don't have time to talk about all he did, but he also was the person who planned the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, as well as Stanford University and dozens of other public parks throughout the United States.

Niagara Falls was taken over by the state of New York in 1885. The land became part of the state park. It is quite a large park. There are 400-plus acres in it. Although the park was meant to save the area for its beauties – so people could enjoy the beauty of Niagara Falls – they did still and continue to use the falls for power as well. The waterfalls are still used today to “generate,” or create, power. In 1895, a hydroelectric plant was opened by Niagara Falls. “Hydro” (hydro) refers to water.

There are two things that most Americans associate with Niagara Falls, other than their beauty. The first is the practice that was popular in the late nineteenth, early twentieth centuries of people going over the falls in a wooden barrel. A “barrel” (barrel) is a large round container normally used for storing things. However, people actually decided to go into the barrel and go over the falls.

Annie Taylor was the first person who got the idea to go over the falls. She did it in October of 1901 and survived. Many other people have tried and have not survived. In 2003 there was someone who simply jumped in the river and swam over the falls. He survived – he lived. But he had to pay a $2,300 fine to the government because he had done something illegal.

The other thing Americans know about Niagara Falls is that it is considered the honeymoon capital of the world, or at least the United States. A “honeymoon” is a vacation that a newly married couple takes right after their wedding or soon after their wedding. Because Niagara Falls is such a beautiful area, people decided to go there for honeymoons, and eventually it got the reputation as being the place to go on your honeymoon. I did not go on my honeymoon to Niagara Falls. I didn't have the money to travel from California. So, I stayed right here in California.

Now let's answer some of the questions that you have sent to us.

Our first question comes from Sergio (Sergio) in Brazil. Sergio wants to know the meanings of three words: “assessment,” “evaluation,” and “appraisal.” “Assessment” (assessment) has a couple of different meanings. One is the process of studying how much a certain piece of land is worth, how much money you could sell it for. More generally, an “assessment” is an opinion or judgment you have about something. In American schools, you'll sometimes see the word “assessment” used to mean “test” or “examination.”

“Evaluation” (evaluation) is similar to assessment. It means to judge the value of something, or to form an opinion or judgment about something. In the business world, the word “evaluation” is often used for the process of a boss or a manager determining how well his or her employees have performed. At the university, “evaluations” are surveys that are given to students at the end of each semester, or each session, asking their opinions about the professor and how well the professor taught the class.

Finally, “appraisal” (appraisal) refers to the process of determining the value of something, similar to one of the definitions we gave of “assessment.” However, “appraisal” usually is used when we are talking about someone who's an expert, especially when we're talking about art or other physical objects that might be worth a lot of money or might be collected by someone, such as stamps or coins. The verb “to appraise” means to determine the value of something – often, as I say, a piece of art or something else that someone might collect.

Alberto (Alberto) in Italy wants to know the difference between the words “sympathy” and “empathy.” “Sympathy” (sympathy) means to feel bad for someone who has gone through or experienced difficulty or difficult times. “I feel sympathy for people who have suffered because of wars and violence.” “Empathy” (empathy) is your ability to identify with people who are experiencing difficulties. It's your ability to imagine how it feels to go through that difficult situation.

The words are often used interchangeably. Really, “sympathy” has to do with your feelings of, often, sadness for someone who has gone through a difficult situation, but it doesn't necessarily mean that you can identify with that person. “Empathy” is the ability to understand and imagine yourself in that situation, almost as though the difficulty were happening to you.

Finally, “Kristina” (Kristina) in Russia wants to know the meaning of two expressions: “take your time” and “take a load off.” “To take your time” means to not hurry – to not think about how long something is taking, but instead to make sure you are doing it correctly. When you are doing your homework, you want to take your time and make sure you are doing it correctly. Well, you may not want to take your time, but your teacher wants you to take your time.

“Take a load off” is an expression meaning simply “to relax.” To sit down and rest is to “take a load off.” The word “load” (load) is often used to describe something heavy that you are carrying. So, “to take a load off” would be to remove that burden, to remove that weight, allowing you to relax.

From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan. Thank you for listening. Come back and listen to us again right here on the English Café.

Glossary

homesick – the feeling of being sad and wishing to be in the place one thinks of as home

* Even though she was enjoying her vacation, Saby felt homesick and knew she would be glad to be back with her family when her vacation ended.

to pitch – to suggest an idea (such as a song, movie, or book) to a person who has the power to make or create that thing

* Myung pitched his idea for a movie about dogs that could talk to people to one of the most famous directors in Hollywood.

bay – a small body of water that has land on three sides and is connected to the ocean

* Bays are often good places for sailing because there is some wind but the water is calmer than in the ocean.

steep – for land or any area under one’s feet to go almost straight up and down

* The stairs in the house are very steep and Matilda was scared she would fall while walking down from the top.

cable – a thick wire, usually used for sending electricity, for building, or for pulling boats or cars

* The storm knocked the telephone cables down onto the street so no one had phone service for two days.

fog – low clouds that make it difficult to see

* The fog was so thick that Dylan couldn’t see his hand in front of his face.

waterfall – a sharp drop in a river where water passes over very quickly and drops a long distance

* The waterfall was very powerful so the sound of the water coming over the falls was very loud.

factory – a building where items are made by machines, usually in large numbers and for sale

* The workers in the clothing factory made thousands of shirts each day.

to generate – to create or to produce something

* Elisabeth’s password expired so she had to generate a new one.

hydroelectric – electricity created by moving water

* Hydroelectric power is very clean and does not result in much pollution.

barrel – a round container usually made of wood, used for storing things

* The wine was aged in a barrel made of oak for over a year before it was poured.

fine – an amount of money that is charged as punishment for doing something illegal

* Sophie was parked in front of a driveway and had to pay a $100 fine.

assessment – the act of forming an opinion or judgment about the current condition of something or someone; the process of studying a property’s value in order to apply the proper taxes on it

* We need an assessment of the storm damage for the governor’s office.

evaluation – the process of judging the value of something or someone after careful thinking

* Every employee has a year-end evaluation to determine whether he or she should get a raise.

appraisal – the process of determining the value of someone or something done by an expert

* Before the insurance company adds your jewelry to our insurance policy, each piece must get an appraisal.

sympathy – feeling badly for someone because they are going through hardship or difficult times

* We just heard that your father passed away. You have our sympathy.

empathy – the ability to identify and relate to the hardship that another person is experiencing and imagine how it feels to go through a similar experience

* Grief counselors have to have a high level of empathy with the people they are trying to help.

to take (one’s) time – to not hurry; to not think about the time and just make sure that what one is doing is done correctly

* Take your time getting here. Your order won’t be ready to pick up for another hour.

to take a load off – to relax, usually by sitting down to get some rest

* We’ve been sightseeing all day. I’m ready to take a load off and have a drink!

What Insiders Know

“Hail to the Chief”

A piece of music is played when the president of the United States enters a room for a formal gathering or presidential events. This piece of music is called “Hail to the Chief.”

The title “Hail to the Chief” comes from a 1810 poem written by the British poet Sir Walton Scott called “The Lady of the Lake.” This poem became very well known. Several “composers” (writers of music) wrote their own versions of a song based on the poem, including one by Albert Gamse. Gamse’s “lyrics” (words in a song) are now in the version of “Hail to the Chief” used for the U.S. president.

The song was first associated with the U.S. president when it was used to honor the first president, George Washington, on his birthday in 1815. The song was used in different ways by several other presidents, but it was President Andrew Jackson who first used “Hail to the Chief” in a way connected with the “presidency” (the job of president) during his “term” (time in an elected job) from 1829 to1837.

President Martin Van Buren, during his “inauguration” (ceremony at the beginning of a president’s time in office) in 1837, used “Hail to the Chief” as well, and Julia Tyler, wife of President John Tyler, also requested the song be played as Tyler arrived for his inauguration in 1841.

However, it wasn’t until 1954 that the Department of Defense made it official. From then on, it became the official song to be played to announce the arrival of a United States president during presidential events and formal occasions.