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Suzanne Vega — Gypsy
Album: Solitude Standing
Avg rating:
7.5

Your rating:
Total ratings: 3625









Released: 1987
Length: 3:58
Plays (last 30 days): 1
You come from far away
With pictures in your eyes
Of coffeeshops and morning streets
In the blue and silent sunrise
But night is the cathedral
Where we recognized the sign
We strangers know each other now
As part of the whole design

Oh, hold me like a baby
That will not fall asleep
Curl me up inside you
And let me hear you through the heat

You are the jester of this courtyard
With a smile like a girl's
Distracted by the women
With the dimples and the curls
By the pretty and the mischievous
By the timid and the blessed
By the blowing skirts of ladies
Who promise to gather you to their breast

Oh, hold me like a baby
That will not fall asleep
Curl me up inside you
And let me hear you through the heat

You have hands of raining water
And that earring in your ear
The wisdom on your face
Denies the number of your years
With the fingers of the potter
And the laughing tale of the fool

The arranger of disorder
With your strange and simple rules
Yes now I've met me another spinner
Of strange and gauzy threads
With a long and slender body
And a bump upon the head

Oh, hold me like a baby
That will not fall asleep
Curl me up inside you
And let me hear you through the heat

With a long and slender body
And the sweetest softest hands
And we'll blow away forever soon
And go on to different lands
And please do not ever look for me
But with me you will stay
And you will hear yourself in song
Blowing by one day

Oh, hold me like a baby
That will not fall asleep
Curl me up inside you
And let me hear you through the heat
Comments (269)add comment
Saw her in New Orleans years ago as the opening for Kitchens of Distinction. With some small puffs on a joint outside in the underbrush and a bag of peanut m&ms inside. Loved her then and now.
Man, this song is beautiful, and the lyrics... 

The story behind it (find it in the other comments) makes me love it more.  A ten from me.
Vividly remember 1986, when I bought this album and was 20-something.
her fist album was quite, quite, quite good.  It should get alot more air time.

Back in the day: listening to her 1st album and starting at Cindy Sherman photos on the walls.  No phone. No tv.  I was up to my ears in art.  And I had a grand rocking chair, next to 2nd floor windows.  
This might be a bit corny but her's is an angelic way of saying not to worry, everything will be all right.  
"But with me you will stay
And you will hear yourself in song
Blowing by one day."

Given how long ago this was originally sung (by her) do ya think.......?  
From a favorite artist and album, happy to hear this.
I haven't heard the original but this sounds sweet. She sounds so nice., must have a very nice speaking voice
Makes be pause and take inventory everytime... life is like this for me now. I still need to be held like a baby....
That guy's beard needs a darn good waxin'! And I'm just the lumberjack to do it!
Boosh-wa!
Love this woman's musicality and poetry.  Such an interesting discography and history.

I admit it: I'm smitten.
Very nice song.

The album cover photos blows chunks.  
"What does she have on her face in the album cover? Some sort of New York hipster face thing?" - you kill me Bill 
Suzanne Vega was the only singer that I heard in my youth while being in a heavy metal and punk phase. I love her voice and the melodies of all her songs. Remembers me of a good time!
Ah the "Cellar Door". I assume this is when it was up on M st. It was across from Desperados which is now the Ukrainian embassy. Some time I think in the 80's the manager of the Cellar Door married the manager of Desperados. 

I only saw one show while the Cellar Door was on M st. My date was a lady who was in DC for the summer. She was a Ph.D candidate in Operations Research at Stanford.  We saw Robert Hunter.  Turns out we had a mutual friend who tried to kill himself by eating honey. He was not successful. 

I did see two show when the Cellar Door was on K st. One was "Evan Johns and the H bombs. The lead guitarist was a friend of mine. He was a very quite guy until you put a guitar in his hands.  During one of his solos he jump off the stage which was maybe 4 ft from the floor. The he started walking across the tables while still playing.  He finally had to stop to jump back up on stage. 

I can't remember who played the last time I was there but it was the night they closed. 
Voice like clear water

Think Kim deal has a uniquely clean voice too
What a beautiful song.
Nice!
Classic singer/songwriter stuff...this is foundational material for the vast majority of the RP crowd, I'm sure...just listen and enjoy folks...this is the kind of stuff that we all wish we could create...
One of the most beautiful songs ever written.
Saw her in NYC in 1984, she was one of several acts on the show and before she got famous. At the time I thought, she's going to be big. I was right too. 
Always very enjoyable to hear her songs.
Such a perfect, powerful song. What a talent.
there has never been a better time to pay a  little more  for the amazing job Bill and Rebecca have tirelessly worked so hard at to bring enjoyment to all
A real artist.

I wonder what she thinks of the music industry in it's present form? 
HAAAAA! I can finally comment.  I like this song too.
 Proclivities wrote:

I saw her in concert at Carnegie Hall when this album came out.  Before she performed this song she said it was about another counselor she had met years earlier, while working at a summer camp in upstate NY.  Not that it really matters for the appreciation of the song, but I've always remembered that introduction from her.
 

She wrote a song for him, and he gave her a headband/scarf. Is that the story?
 Rockit9 wrote:
Copperline by JT influence or rip-off?
 
This came out four years before Copperline.
Far too much Suzanne Vega here.  PSD.
btw its not knocking :)
 snagle.1776 wrote:


Why would she get a bad rap for Luka? Because it got a fair bit of airplay? It is a great song. 
 

Because some people can't handle songs about child abuse. Having said that it was her best charting song in the US (hit #3) and reached the top of the charts in Poland and Sweden. 
While I really like both the lyrics and music, I always think the album cover is 

Macaulay Culkin in "Home Alone"
Beautifully presented young lass, way before your time! 💯💋
 chyk5 wrote:
Never heard this one. Quite lovely. 
 

Bill is the master of doing that
 agd3 wrote:
Sometimes she gets a bad rap for Luka, but everytime she comes on RP, it makes me smile and reminds me to put on an album of hers.
 

Why would she get a bad rap for Luka? Because it got a fair bit of airplay? It is a great song. 
 rpdevotee wrote:
"My name is Puka...
I threw up from the second floor..."
 
Too Funny!
"My name is Puka...
I threw up from the second floor..."
I really enjoy Suzanne Vega.  It seems RP do as well - she gets plenty of airplay.
Thank you Bill. That hit the spot.
Copperline by JT influence or rip-off?
I played this album so much after a few years i had to buy another copy. Just outstanding artistry.  😎
Oh, hold me like a baby...
Bought the album because "Luka" made me curious (it was the early 1990s in France, Luka was still a hit then). No need to say I didn't regret it. At all. For me, one of the best albums ever. Poetry and music, and getting lost, absorbed in pretty much all the songs.
I think my favourite is Calypso :-) 
On French radios, to the best of my knowledge, they wouldn't play other tracks.
And the kids love her too!

Thanks R&B :-)
 Grayson wrote:
Awww jeez, King Mr. Bill. I need my hankie for this one. 
 

Very pretty...
Awww jeez, King Mr. Bill. I need my hankie for this one. 
The best, this version is great!  Better than the one in the album. A nine.
Wonderful! New to me. 
 Biscobret wrote:
I looked up "average" in the dictionary and it played this song.  Weird...
 

I looked up Biscobret on Google and it came up empty .... not a coincidence ...

RP 
Total Ratings: 1885
Rating: 7.5

Conclusion: Biscobret  ≡ troll
I've likely said this a dozen times already here about Suzanne Vega, and I apologize if so, but every last song of hers is a vintage wine. They truly get better with age. So rare, such a quality. 
 jimtyrrell wrote:
Beautiful voice and the lyrics tell a beautiful tale of love. I always thought it was a "pretty"song until today,  I read the lyrics and bumped my rating up. 8 for this classic.

 
{#Yes}  {#Notworthy}
Beautiful, which is no surprise, really. 
Apparently this is about a boyfriend who moved away to the UK.  The song ”In Liverpool” is a follow up to it. She was playing a concert in Liverpool years later and found out that he lived there. They didn’t meet up at that time, but have since met again and are now friends. Sometimes there is a happy ending!
not my fav singer (by a long shot) but she nails this one!
{#Bananajam}
I haven't overplayed this recently so it's back up to a 9
Saw her preform at the "Fast Folk Festival" in 1988 in NY at I think the Bottom Line....still sounds as good as ever
Heard many times, but first time listening...

Wow! Love her... :)
one of Vegas sweetest songs
{#Bananajam}
"And please do not ever look for me But with me you will stay And you will hear yourself in song Blowing by one day"

I didn't heed this advice and now someone who introduced me to RP is gone or under a new alias. :'(

goodbye catey.
Beautiful song from her best album, IMO.
lovely.
 jimtyrrell wrote:
Beautiful voice and the lyrics tell a beautiful tale of love. I always thought it was a "pretty"song until today,  I read the lyrics and bumped my rating up. 8 for this classic.
 
I saw her in concert at Carnegie Hall when this album came out.  Before she performed this song she said it was about another counselor she had met years earlier, while working at a summer camp in upstate NY.  Not that it really matters for the appreciation of the song, but I've always remembered that introduction from her.
Never heard this one. Quite lovely. 
Second part: You got dimples on your cheeks.
Beautiful voice and the lyrics tell a beautiful tale of love. I always thought it was a "pretty"song until today,  I read the lyrics and bumped my rating up. 8 for this classic.
Sweet song of youth...
ugh....never liked this....sounds off key and messy....depressing{#Stop}
Always wished she were my girlfriend, with such a voice she could talk to me 24 hours a day, I'd never feel bored.
Every time I see this album cover it freaks me out a little. I know it's just an illusion with the black gloves, but still, the floating head missing just enough to give it the shape of a skull...

Love Suzanne Vega, this song isn't amazing though. 
Sometimes she gets a bad rap for Luka, but everytime she comes on RP, it makes me smile and reminds me to put on an album of hers.
I like some of her tracks, but this one is just plain boring, sung in a monotone, unenthusiastic voice.
 bigbargain wrote:
I like her music, but more than anything I like her lyrics

 
Bigbargain:  HA!  Yes indeed.  There are some songs that are heavy on the beat and the noise, making you want to slam your head against the wall in sheer enjoyment...especially in a group setting....even if there's little clue on the lyrics.  For those songs it ain't about the lyrics at all.  It's all about the thump down in the guts.  Then there are those songs that're less about that thump than the lyrical statement being made.....words like foggy night vapor that wind around your head and down thru yer ears where......surprise surprise they proceed to enwrap the soul.   This song is such for me.

Highlow
American Net'Zen
I like her music, but more than anything I like her lyrics
 BWGunner wrote:
Twas in the midst of getting lost in this song when I thought, "Is this the lady Paul Simon married?" and I pictured the lyrics as such, and it was very sweet and endearing. But then, no, it's not at all. Poor Paul Simon.
 

 
No but he did marry the lovely and musically gifted Edie Brickell so don't feel too sorry for him.  Love everything by Suzanne Vega.
 Biscobret wrote:
I looked up "average" in the dictionary and it played this song.  Weird...

 
What's weird is your contention that there is any meaning in your comment. Of course, if the goal was not to disparage, likely this response would not have been summoned.
Twas in the midst of getting lost in this song when I thought, "Is this the lady Paul Simon married?" and I pictured the lyrics as such, and it was very sweet and endearing. But then, no, it's not at all. Poor Paul Simon.
 
wonderful song from a very, very, good album.
 Biscobret wrote:
I looked up "average" in the dictionary and it played this song.  Weird...

 
Why bother making comments like this? Or any comments at all, really. Music is so subjective that they're all utterly meaningless. (My first, and last ever comment).  :)
 Biscobret wrote:
I looked up "average" in the dictionary and it played this song.  Weird...

 
What an average comment... Play on Ms. Vega!
 robus wrote:
It must feel so good to be able to write a song so perfectly formed as this...

 
...and performed...
I looked up "average" in the dictionary and it played this song.  Weird...
Has she ever done a poor song? This is wonderful. I could listen to her sing the contents of my laundry basket and feel content I'm sure.
There's something blissfully poignant about this. 
{#Daisy}
 Proclivities wrote:

I saw her around 1987 or '88 at Carnegie Hall and I was about twenty rows back.  She didn't do a whole lot of twerking, for some reason.  It's much more difficult while wearing an acoustic guitar anyhow.

 

It's funny how we can only hope but to bump up the music we've heard before to a higher rating, because we've only now begun to understand it's true beauty as we grow older and more seasoned...and more appreciative of life itself.
 rdo wrote:
I'd pay $500 for front row tix to see Suzy twerking it.  Rrrow.

 
I saw her around 1987 or '88 at Carnegie Hall and I was about twenty rows back.  She didn't do a whole lot of twerking, for some reason.  It's much more difficult while wearing an acoustic guitar anyhow.
Wow...this is ageless music.  This could easily be the music of a new performer...but not typical of songs 27 years past.

 
 rdo wrote:
I'd pay $500 for front row tix to see Suzy twerking it.  Rrrow.

 
I'd pay £1000 :)) 
I'd pay $500 for front row tix to see Suzy twerking it.  Rrrow.
Suzanne Vega = Paul Simon with a wig.   This aint a bad thing..
After 25 years, this still has lots of juice.
lovely
There's always something about Suzanne Vega that says "twisted" in a cool way:  like if you met her in a smoky bar at 1 in the morning, you'd be in for an adventure.
Ya gotta love her voice...timeless!{#Daisy}
Love SV. {#Heartkiss}
 Sloggydog wrote:
This song is sweeter than sugar.  I love it.  Conjures an ever so slightly different sort of a gypsy than the ones the word is applied to in the UK.

 
Hurting my teeth.


Great mix tonight Bill. Just what I'm needing to hear. Now if you could take this into The Wheel somehow.
She is playing in Brighton this Thursday. . . was musing today if I should take Mrs Poacher out to see her and then this came on. 

Guess I'll have to go - would be a shame to miss it.  
 fuzzy wrote:
Lovely voice.
 
Yes, I've always found her voice to have a comforting quality.  Beautiful song.
It must feel so good to be able to write a song so perfectly formed as this...
Great song!
Yap, nice voice!
9 —> 10 

so good 
Great song — I heard her play in June and she puts on a great show!
man, she's got a great voice.
What a sweet voice — I wish my mother had sung to me like this when I was a kid.
Love Suzanne!
{#Puke}
oh sooo sweet :-)
Love this song.
Oh Suzanne!!!!!   I love you.  Your art always speaks to me and such a comfy way. 
 Wisecrowe wrote:
I love her voice but am not sure how I feel about the song....on the horn's of a dilemma.
 
I've always wondered what a dilema looked like; horned Siamese lama? A lemming crossed with a  dulangdulangduolang?
Just wondering.
As the song as the singer ''Beautiful''
This brings back memories.  Attended the Fast Folk Festival concert at the Bottom Line in the Village in NYC in 1988.  Suzanne was one of the artists preforming and this was one her songs.   Best part was my seat was stage front....SWEET!!!   Shawn Colvin was another artist there as well...
I need to be held like a baby today.
9 on first listening. {#Clap}
Love, love, love Suzanne Vega's music and lyrics.  Though it helped her career, I pray that I never have to hear "My Name is Luka" (or whatever the title is) ever again.  When I worked at Barnard College in NYC in the early 90s ('91-'94), I always hoped I'd have the opportunity to meet her (or see her perform) at an alumni event.  No joy. 

p.s.,
For the record, Barnard is an outstanding select liberal arts institution and I am very proud to have been a part of it, if only briefly. Never have I met a more devoted (& talented) faculty, administration, and staff devoted to delivering a high-quality college experience to such incredibly bright, promising, and talented group of women.  In case you've never heard of it, Barnard is across the street from (but never in the shadow of), Columbia University in Morningside Heights (NY, NY).  See >>> www.barnard.edu

the best of suzanne vega
 jagdriver wrote:
Antje Duvekot must have listened to this exclusively prior to recording her own stuff.
 
Dead on!  I just couldn't figure who it was that I was thinking of.

Did you play this just for me? ;)
Thanks!
A little too close to Eric Anderson's "Thirsty Boots", 1960's.