In I Left My Heart in San Francisco (Tony Bennett, 1962), Tony leaves us in no doubt on where his heart is (San Francisco). If he were in San Francisco now he would sing "I'm living the vida loca in San Francisco" or words to that effect. But the question remains: if Tony's heart is in San Francisco, where is the rest of him now? Where is the heartless Tony Bennett?
Is he in Paris? Quite possibly. Tony sings "The loveliness of Paris seems somehow sadly gay" (an observation that might more appropriately be applied to San Francisco itself, I should have thought). Is he perhaps in Rome? "The glory that was Rome is of another day". But these are sentiments not best calculated to endear him to the Italian Tourist Board.
He may very well be in Manhattan, as he sings that he has been "terribly alone and forgotten in Manhattan". I think this is the best bet but I'm worried about the "terribly" which smacks more of British English - not as much as "awfully" or "dreadfully" but certainly more than "totally".
Could Tony have sung "I've left my heart in San Francisco"? Yes, but the context would be subtly different. We would have to imagine him saying to a girl: "I'm sorry I can't pursue/begin our relationship because I've left my heart in San Francisco".
In We're a Couple of Swells (Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, 1948), Fred and Judy note that the Vanderbilts "have asked us out to tea". The offer is in the past but, and this is the important part, the invitation still stands.
In Have you Got a Loight, Boy? (The Singing Postman, 1964), the girl asks the postman if he has a light, or loight as they say in Norfolk. This is the best example of the present perfect tense in action. In our minds, "I've got", "Have you got?", etc. is nothing if not the present tense, but on closer examination, we see that, for example, I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts (Danny Kaye, 1951), is not only structurally but also semantically a valid example of the present perfect. Danny obtained (got) his coconuts at same point in the past but what interests him here is the fact that he has them in his possession now.
Finally, in The Street Where You Live (Victor Moan, 1954), Victor sings "I have often walked on the street before". Here again, he is not actually walking down the street at this moment of or in time, but the consequences or impact of walking down the street concern him now.
Strewth.
Is he in Paris? Quite possibly. Tony sings "The loveliness of Paris seems somehow sadly gay" (an observation that might more appropriately be applied to San Francisco itself, I should have thought). Is he perhaps in Rome? "The glory that was Rome is of another day". But these are sentiments not best calculated to endear him to the Italian Tourist Board.
He may very well be in Manhattan, as he sings that he has been "terribly alone and forgotten in Manhattan". I think this is the best bet but I'm worried about the "terribly" which smacks more of British English - not as much as "awfully" or "dreadfully" but certainly more than "totally".
Could Tony have sung "I've left my heart in San Francisco"? Yes, but the context would be subtly different. We would have to imagine him saying to a girl: "I'm sorry I can't pursue/begin our relationship because I've left my heart in San Francisco".
In We're a Couple of Swells (Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, 1948), Fred and Judy note that the Vanderbilts "have asked us out to tea". The offer is in the past but, and this is the important part, the invitation still stands.
In Have you Got a Loight, Boy? (The Singing Postman, 1964), the girl asks the postman if he has a light, or loight as they say in Norfolk. This is the best example of the present perfect tense in action. In our minds, "I've got", "Have you got?", etc. is nothing if not the present tense, but on closer examination, we see that, for example, I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts (Danny Kaye, 1951), is not only structurally but also semantically a valid example of the present perfect. Danny obtained (got) his coconuts at same point in the past but what interests him here is the fact that he has them in his possession now.
Finally, in The Street Where You Live (Victor Moan, 1954), Victor sings "I have often walked on the street before". Here again, he is not actually walking down the street at this moment of or in time, but the consequences or impact of walking down the street concern him now.
Strewth.
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