@ Geoffrey > “You can feel his yearning to return to where he left his heart.”
The Welsh have a word for that: hiraeth.
It’s a combination of nostalgia, homesickness, and longing perfectly expressed in Bennett’s song about San Francisco.

I am reminded of the Portuguese Saudade.

Saudade (English: /sa??d??d?/,[1] European Portuguese: [s?w?ðað?], Brazilian Portuguese: [saw?dad?i], Galician: [saw?ðað?]; plural saudades)[2] is an emotional state of melancholic or profoundly nostalgic longing for a beloved yet absent something or someone. It is often associated with a repressed understanding that one might never encounter the object of longing ever again. It is a recollection of feelings, experiences, places, or events— often elusive —[citation needed] that cause a sense of separation from the exciting, pleasant, or joyous sensations they once caused. It derives from the Latin word for solitude.[3]

Nascimento and Meandro (2005)[4] cite Duarte Nunes Leão’s definition of saudade: “Memory of something with a desire for it.”

In Brazil, the day of Saudade is officially celebrated on 30 January.[5][6] It is not a widely acknowledged day in Portugal.

From Amalia Rogrigues, the late, great Portuguese singer of Fado, we have AMALIA RODRIGUES – FADO DA SAUDADE

Having lived a year in San Francisco and Berserkeley, I can understand the longing for a lost San Francisco.
Here is the story of a lost Venezuelan dealing with lefty San Francisco. Dealing with Chavista Propaganda in the Heart of San Francisco

The thing about first-world leftists who support chavismo is that they don’t realize they embody the imperialistic dynamics they criticize…
Before tech booms would bring in a different, gentrifying demographic, San Francisco’s liberal politics and Latino population were a draw for Latin American leftists in exile who weren’t welcome in Miami.

An irony here is that Chavismo and Cuban/Caudillo/Fidelismo are great mutual supporters. Castro etc was/is the friend of Chvismo,and vice versa. Miami Cubans are the enemies of Castro/etc. One would think that the enemies of the friends of Chavismo- the Cubans in Miami- would be a welcome place for refugees from Chavismo. O hwell…

German’s have a word, “heimweh.” I wonder if it’s also in Yiddish?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0LSVIdsfvA

The Welsh have a word for that: hiraeth.
It’s a combination of nostalgia, homesickness, and longing perfectly expressed in Bennett’s song about San Francisco.

Here’s a song on the subject.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkqq64tSj10
“Hiraeth” : This word has no exact English equivalent. The nearest translation is a yearning or longing.
A song collected by J. Lloyd Williams. Published in: Davies, Grace Gwyneddon (1933) “Chwech o Alawon Gwerin Cymreig”, Cardiff. [Six Welsh Folk Songs]
Recorded by AR Log 1980 ( Album Ar Log 2)

Dwedwch fawrion o wybodaeth
O ba beth a gwnaethpwyd hiraeth
A pha ddefnydd a roedd ynddo
Na ddarfyddo wrth ei wisgo ?

Derfydd aur a derfydd arian
Derfydd melfed derfydd sidan
Derfydd pob dilledyn helaeth
Eto er hyn ni dderfydd hiraeth

Hiraeth mawr a hiraeth creulon
Hiraeth sydd yn torri ‘nghalon
Pan fwyf dryma’r nos yn cysgu
Fe ddaw hiraeth ac a’m deffry

(Hiraeth hiraeth cilia cilia
Paid a phwyso mor drwm arna’
Nesa dipyn at y erchwyn
Gad i mi gael cysgu gronyn)

English lyrics:

Tell me oh wise ones
Of what stuff is hiraeth made?
And what substance is put into it
That it never fades from being worn

Gold fades and silver fades
Velvet fades silk fades
Every sort of clothing fades
And yet hiraeth doesn’t fade

Great Hiraeth cruel hiraeth
Hiraeth tears at my heart
When I’m sleeping deeply at night
Hiraeth comes and wakes me

(Hiraeth hiraeth away away
Don’t weigh so heavily on me
Go a little nearer to the edge
Let me have a little bit of sleep)

***
The literal translation of the last line is “let me have a little grain of sleep”

“Frank Sinatra, whom Mr. Bennett counted as a mentor and friend, once put it another way. “For my money, Tony Bennett is the best singer in the business,” he told Life magazine in 1965. “He excites me when I watch him. He moves me.” NY Times

When my squadron deployed to the Pacific theater knowing that we were going in harm’s way, we hoped we would return safely to the City by the Bay.

On those few occasions where my squadron would dine at the Subic Bay P.I. O’Club, someone would always ask the band to play that song. The band had an excellent vocalist who did the song justice. (Though not up Tony Bennett’s standard.) That far from home, the song was very meaningful to us.

The fate of San Francisco is something that’s hard to grasp. If you loved and enjoyed the city the way we did, it’s an outrage. Really an unforgivable sin.

Tony Bennett has been a long time favorite. I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing him in person, but his artistry has always been top notch for me. What a wonderful, full life he lived. We just don’t see many like him anymore. RIP.