There's something about this seven-by-seven-mile peninsula that makes people want to sing about it. And not just any people — legends.

The Grateful Dead knew it. In Standing on the Moon, Jerry Garcia looked down from the cosmos and where did his mind land? A back porch in San Francisco in July: "Somewhere in San Francisco on a back porch in July / Just looking up to heaven at this crescent in the sky." That's not just a lyric — that's a love letter from outer space.

San Francisco has arguably the deepest songbook of any American city. Scott McKenzie told an entire generation to wear flowers in their hair. Tony Bennett left his heart here (and frankly, who hasn't). Otis Redding sat on the dock of the bay, watching the tide roll away. Journey told us not to stop believing under the streetlights of South Detroit — but Steve Perry was pure Bay Area. The Dead Kennedys screamed about it. Tupac repped it. Even if you've never set foot on Haight Street, you know this city through its music.

Here's what strikes us: the best San Francisco songs aren't really about the Golden Gate Bridge or the cable cars. They're about a feeling — that specific, hard-to-pin-down sense that this city sits slightly outside the normal American experience. For better and worse.

And maybe that's worth remembering right now. While City Hall burns through billions on problems that only seem to get worse, and while tech money reshapes neighborhoods faster than anyone can track, the soul of San Francisco lives in these songs. It's the back porches, the bay water, the fog rolling through the Sunset.

No amount of bureaucratic mismanagement can kill that. Though lord knows they're trying.

What's your San Francisco song? We're building a playlist. Drop your picks — extra credit if you bring the lyrics.