When Damion Suomi (Sue-me) stands before you on a slightly elevated stage y… Read Full Bio ↴When Damion Suomi (Sue-me) stands before you on a slightly elevated stage you will find yourself wondering where exactly you heard the songs before that night, there is just something familiar about them; like they have always been inside you, but you never heard them actually sung before. Damion takes the stage as a nomad who just found his home again and will fight to stay in it as long as possible, empty and half empty beer bottles will surround him like a protective fence. Damion says the songs he sings are “a mix of hope and despair,” but what only takes one verse to realize is that hope and despair is sung as a doppelganger that can only survive conjoined to each other, which is why when Damion is singing a song that reads like forgotten lines by Yates and Bukowski, but he’ll be smiling as an only child does on Christmas morning.

Damion used to be in a rock band of the pop rock persuasion, but at some point he began writing a collection of songs that felt rooted in Irish culture and bar drunk poetry. “These songs were birthed from pubs, drinks, and relationships,” He says. So he took this newly discovered collection and added in some classic Irish folk songs and began playing sets in Irish pubs all around Florida out of a hope that others would smile with him in the sorrow.

“I’ve always loved Irish Culture”, Damion says, “If you study it you’ll see heartbreak with a smile.” This mixture is evident in all of the songs on his self-titled debut on P Is For Panda Records. On the song San Francisco Damion sings of great love and what a waste it is all within the same breath. The chorus houses the line, “I gotta sing. I gotta shout. This world is tough. Boy, you should know if you love something let it go.” Tailgating on that line is yell from the mouth of a shot glass, “Watch it die.”
If you’ve ever searched out aged whisky to help you sort things out, then Damion will be your preacher. If you’ve held onto your friends and lovers like stolen money, then Damion’s self-titled album will be your holy book to keep at your side. It will remind you to smile when sadness comes crashing in because you have to have them both to live.

San Francisco
Damion Suomi Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Send me out to San Francisco
And Fill me up a pint of Steamer
Boys are cruel,
But girls are meaner
Soon I'll be begging you to leave

If you choose to love a woman
That's the saddest life you'll lead

When she's broken you down
You'll be begging her to leave

'Cause boy I used to be a dreamer
And now I can't get to sleep
Haunted by those memories
Now I'm just begging them to leave

The poison in
The poison out
I gotta sing
I gotta shout
This world is tough
Boy, you should know
If you love something
Just let it go

So don't go wasting all your money
On a girl that doesn't drink
Her sober heart will always hate you
That kind of woman doesn't need
And if you get stuck in bottle
And all your thoughts, they fade away, away
Don't go thinkin' 'bout that woman
She ain't comin' back today

The poison in
The poison out
I gotta sing
I gotta shout
This world is tough
Boy, you should know
If you love something
Just let it go

Let it go
"Let it go"
And watch it die
"Yeah, and watch it die"
Let it go
"Let it go"
And if you love something
Don't even try

The poison in
The poison out
I gotta sing
I gotta shout
This world is tough
Boy, you should know
If you love something
Just let it go
Yeah, if you love something
Just watch it die!

So, let's go out to San Francisco
And we'll go singin' in the streets

All those songs about them women
And how we begged them not to leave

Overall Meaning

The first verse of Damion Suomi's song "San Francisco" speaks to the desire to escape from a painful situation. The singer begs to be sent away to San Francisco and given a pint of Steamer to ease his pain. He references the cruelty of boys and the meanness of girls, indicating that he has been hurt by both. He anticipates that he will beg to leave once he is finally in San Francisco. The second verse addresses the pitfalls of loving someone, particularly a woman. The singer warns that loving a woman leads to a sad life because eventually she will break you down and you will be the one begging her to leave. He reveals that he used to be a dreamer, but can no longer sleep due to haunted memories.

The chorus emphasizes the harshness of the world and advises the listener to let go of things they love because holding on will only cause pain. The third verse offers more specific advice, warning against wasting money on a woman who doesn't drink and revealing that a sober heart will always hate you. The singer cautions against getting stuck in a bottle, but suggests that thinking about the woman who has left won't bring her back. The outro advises singing and shouting to release the poison inside and let go of love completely.

Overall, "San Francisco" is a melancholic but wise song about the pain of love and the desire to escape it. The singer acknowledges that loving someone is a sad and difficult experience, but also recognizes that it's important to let go and move on.

Line by Line Meaning

Send me out to San Francisco
I want to go to San Francisco

And Fill me up a pint of Steamer
Give me a pint of Steamer beer

Boys are cruel,
Boys can be unkind

But girls are meaner
Girls can be even tougher

Soon I'll be begging you to leave
I will want you to leave

If you choose to love a woman
If you decide to love a woman

That's the saddest life you'll lead
It will be a very sad life

When she's broken you down
When she has hurt you

You'll be begging her to leave
You will want her to go away

'Cause boy I used to be a dreamer
I used to be idealistic

And now I can't get to sleep
Now I have trouble sleeping

Haunted by those memories
I am tormented by those memories

Now I'm just begging them to leave
I just want them to go away

The poison in
The bad influences

The poison out
Get rid of the bad influences

I gotta sing
I must sing

I gotta shout
I have to shout

This world is tough
The world is difficult

Boy, you should know
You should be aware

If you love something
If you care about something

Just let it go
Just release it

So don't go wasting all your money
Don't spend all your money

On a girl that doesn't drink
On a girl who doesn't drink alcohol

Her sober heart will always hate you
She will always dislike you

That kind of woman doesn't need
That type of woman doesn't require

And if you get stuck in bottle
And if you become addicted to alcohol

And all your thoughts, they fade away, away
And all your thoughts disappear

Don't go thinkin' 'bout that woman
Don't think about that woman

She ain't comin' back today
She is not returning today

Let it go
Release it

"Let it go"
"Release it"

And watch it die
And let it fade away

"Yeah, and watch it die"
"Yeah, let it disappear"

And if you love something
And if you care about something

Don't even try
Don't make any effort to keep it

Yeah, if you love something
Yes, if you care about something

Just watch it die!
Just let it fade away!

So, let's go out to San Francisco
Let's go to San Francisco

And we'll go singin' in the streets
And we'll sing in the streets

All those songs about them women
All those songs about women

And how we begged them not to leave
And how we asked them not to go away

Writer(s): Damion Suomi Copyright: Hopelessly Devoted To Music, Recovering Christian, WB Music Corp.

Contributed by Camilla K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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