Story Behind The Song

The history of Hayes Valley, a neighborhood of San Francisco.

Song Description

See above

Lyrics

My Hayes Valley Gal
By
Winston Montgomery

Verse 1
She wasn't born in San Francisco but she loves its history
And she's walked every street and neighborhood from the Bay out to the sea
She found a little flat on Linden Street where she could build her world
And that's when she became my Hayes Valley gal

Chorus A:
Oh, my Hayes Valley Gal, she loves the irony
Of tourists buying lingerie where there's so much history
Where gas lamps and Chinese laundries
Were lost to designer clothes
And they sip their bottled water where the Hayes River used to flow

Verse 2
In Gold Rush San Francisco, old Colonel Thomas Hayes
Bought an empty tract of sand dunes convinced he could make it pay
He built a grand pavilion, some parkland and a fair
And a railroad line from Market Street to bring the people there

Verse 3:
The neighborhood kept growing, with families moving in
The Corbett Stables rose on Hayes, the home of Gentleman Jim
After the quake a Gough Street matron, her woodstove flue unsound
Cooked ham and eggs for breakfast and burned half the City down

Chorus B:
Oh, my Hayes Valley Gal, she loves the irony
Of hipsters from the hinterlands filling up all the boutiques
Where second hand stores and soul food joints
Were lost to designer clothes
And they sip their bottled water where the Hayes River used to flow

Verse 4:
But city life was dying as the suburbs quickly grew
And they built a concrete overpass cutting old Hayes Valley in two
And the shadowed streets turned desolate and a breeding ground for crime
And working girls turned tricks amidst the litter and the grime

Verse 5:
The Loma Prieta earthquake made them tear the freeway down
And fashionistas far and wide brought their handiwork to town
Up sprung fancy restaurants and a park, Patricia's Green
And on weekends swells put on their chic to join the trendy scene

Verse 6
At night she strolls the silent streets, my true Hayes Valley gal
And though the shops are all closed down, to her it's a crowded world
The sidewalks teem with friendly ghosts from earlier centuries
And she smiles and waves at the passersby that only she can see

Chorus
Oh, my Hayes Valley Gal, she loves the irony
Of folks so smugly avant-garde they ignore their history
Cause the latest styles and fashions will come and they'll surely go
As they sip their bottled water where the Hayes River used to flow