[ ]   [ ]   [ ]                        [ ]      [ ]   [ ]
Suzanne Vega — Tom's Diner (2010)
Album: Close-Up, Vol 2, People & Places
Avg rating:
6.9

Your rating:
Total ratings: 989









Released: 2010
Length: 4:25
Plays (last 30 days): 0
I am sitting
In the morning
At the diner
On the corner

I am waiting
At the counter
For the man
To pour the coffee

And he fills it
Only halfway
And before
I even argue

He is looking
Out the window
At somebody
Coming in

"It is always
Nice to see you"
Says the man
Behind the counter

To the woman
Who has come in
She is shaking
Her umbrella

And I look
The other way
As they are kissing
Their hellos

I'm pretending
Not to see them
Instead
I pour the milk

I open
Up the paper
There's a story
Of an actor

Who had died
While he was drinking
It was no one
I had heard of

And I'm turning
To the horoscope
And looking
For the funnies

When I'm feeling
Someone watching me
And so
I raise my head

There's a woman
On the outside
Looking inside
Does she see me?

No she does not
Really see me
Cause she sees
Her own reflection

And I'm trying
Not to notice
That she's hitching
Up her skirt

And while she's
Straightening her stockings
Her hair
Has gotten wet

Oh, this rain
It will continue
Through the morning
As I'm listening

To the bells
Of the cathedral
I am thinking
Of your voice...

And of the midnight picnic
Once upon a time
Before the rain began...

I finish up my coffee
It's time to catch the train
Comments (80)add comment
I still can't get over the fact that William Holden was "the actor she had never heard of." C'mon, Suzanne. Sunset Boulevard? Stalag 17? Sabrina? Even Network or Towering Inferno? I chalk it up to her being a music-focused 20-something when she wrote it. 
 boober wrote:

Well....there's this girl in a diner...she wants her coffee cup filled up....but the guy behind the counter only fills it halfway....cause he's looking out the window at somebody coming in....do da do da do do da do da do da do da  do da!!!




 Stratocaster wrote:

Weird to hear this with musical accompaniment. I like it, though.




Me too! I like it better than the original!   
Weird to hear this with musical accompaniment. I like it, though.
Another Glorious Track ! All Hail SV 10/10. Thanks RP ie R&B
The original version is haunting, but I find this version neat. I read that when she heard this version (done without her knowledge), she was surprised, and loved it.

The story she tells is melancholy and illuminating, in both versions. Cool art.
 boober wrote:

Well....there's this girl in a diner...she wants her coffee cup filled up....but the guy behind the counter only fills it halfway....cause he's looking out the window at somebody coming in....do da do da do do da do da do da do da  do da!!!

 

 dubberdan wrote:
Prefer the original
 
Yes, yes.  She changed all her old songs and we never hear the originals anymore.  They were better.
Sorry, but this song really sucks!
Had to check to make sure I had already rated this a 1.  Yup.    
No singing, no real music - just a simple beat - and even I could write a better poem about my shitty day. 0/10
Sorry, I love the a capella so much more than this version.
THis is such a great song but a version I have never heard... again so amazed by RadioParadise!  Luck of the Irish to ALL of you all!

Haters gonna hate, but Vega's gotta vague.
What an incredible, sad, melancholic, timeless, song! 9
The original had its charme, but this is just weird.
tata-tada, tata-tada, tatatata-tatada
I am sitting
In the morning
At work and
Waiting for this song to be over soon
Bury this shit!
This is somewhere half-way in between the original a capella version and the well-known DNA remix, and it has the appeal of neither.
Prefer the original
Has it become some sort of rite of passage to remix this a capella afterthought that Vega closed out her second LP with?
Oh she forgot to say the Radio was playing November Rain
SWEET!!  PSD>> got me some Knopfler.  {#Roflol}
Seems every one agrees 
brownsr wrote:
I love this song , but this is a much inferior version to that on the original album 
 

 


And there we go, this will be in my head for the next 24 hours.

thanks

{#Headache} 
{#Snooty}
I like the original version much better!
A bad version of a bad song.
 
Superb mix.
{#Stupid}Why mess with success?
I love this song , but this is a much inferior version to that on the original album 
 
Nice to hear this again, radioparadise is so cool :)
A little of this song goes a looking way.
Does anyone know the reason behind all these re-recordings of earlier works? I can think of at least four groups that have done it.

I got the impression at some point that it had to do with who owned the rights to a song... like the record label owns the original, but if an artist re-records, they own the new version. Did I just make that up?
This goes to 11 on the shit-o-meter.

I am SO over this song - especially this version.
 Cynaera wrote:

I don't think even a cowbell could make this song more "palatable."  Maybe a tuba? Or a glockenspiel? Or a kazoo?

Wait - I know!  Omit the vocals! {#Roflol}
 
Didgeridoo?

I don't know, I kinda like this song.

 philipburrows wrote:

Or a ride cymbal...

...no a cow bell, you're right. Sorry 
 
I don't think even a cowbell could make this song more "palatable."  Maybe a tuba? Or a glockenspiel? Or a kazoo?

Wait - I know!  Omit the vocals! {#Roflol}


 shutter wrote:
Is she related to Vincent?
 
haha, thass funneh.
You would hate to be stuck in a hotel in Libya waiting for your captors to free you while she narrates ever little thing the rebels did ... "he's like waving his AK-47, and I do do do do do ... notice the way his hair moves  ... do do do do do ..."  This song is truly annoying.
gawd I hate hate HATE this song.
Took me a while to notice that this was a different version. It's still going to be stuck in my head all night long. There's a rule in the house - you can't even hum this song for fear of it becoming an insane earworm that will haunt you for days and wake you in the middle of the night. Yes, earworm is a word.
 
Always enjoyed the original, but not a fan of the 2010 version.
Great!!!!!
God help me...I've actually always LOVED this...

 peter_james_bond wrote:
Needs cowbell!
 
Or a ride cymbal...

...no a cow bell, you're right. Sorry 
 mandolin wrote:
...i don't get this song, i've never gotten this song at all - someone, please explain it to me...
 

Psst...There's nothing to get...it's just a camera-like observation of a slice of life. It was a catchy, jingly change of pace when it came out. This new version actually takes away from the original's appeal, which is fading a bit for me...
Nighthawks, Edward Hopper

I can dig it.
 Hannio wrote:


Gripping stuff.  Especially the part where she forgets the lyrics.
 


Preferred the original. The bass just doesn't do it for some reason - too heavy with her voice? I don't know. Just not feeling it.

Suzanne Vega sings Tom's Diner, Live

Suzanne Vega took part in the Academia Festival Olomouc party in 2006. There she sang her hit song Tom´s Diner. Her performance was transmitted online to Prague Crossroads venue where ex-president and playwright Václav Havel was celebrating his 70th birthday. Two days later Suzanne Vega and Václav Havel met personally at their common breakfast.

"50 years old and still looking good."

"50 years old? She is gorgeos!! Damn!!! "



Pandora, here I come....
 boober wrote:

Well....there's this girl in a diner...she wants her coffee cup filled up....but the guy behind the counter only fills it halfway....cause he's looking out the window at somebody coming in....do da do da do do da do da do da do da  do da!!!

 

Gripping stuff.  Especially the part where she forgets the lyrics.
Nice voice, vacuous lyrics.
Needs cowbell!
Yet another version of "Tom's Diner."  Geez, you'd think this was the only song in her repertoire.  I don't care for it at all. Not rating it. {#Stop}

Hell yeah!
 mandolin wrote:
...i don't get this song, i've never gotten this song at all - someone, please explain it to me...
 
Well....there's this girl in a diner...she wants her coffee cup filled up....but the guy behind the counter only fills it halfway....cause he's looking out the window at somebody coming in....do da do da do do da do da do da do da  do da!!!

Being an Avid Suzanne Vega fan that I am, I am thrilled that you play her, but this is one song I wish you HAD NOT included in your playlist.
Ho-Hum,Ho-Ho-Ho Hum, Ho-Ho-Ho-Ho Ho Ho Ho Hum, Ho-Ho-Ho Hum....
 mandolin wrote:
...i don't get this song, i've never gotten this song at all - someone, please explain it to me...
 

 
...i don't get this song, i've never gotten this song at all - someone, please explain it to me...
I take it this is a new version that got rereleases recently? I heard this yesterday on here too, which seems like pretty heavy rotation for something that's so old (and I haven't heard in years...)
And I'm back at Cadogan Hall, London sitting about 30m from Ms Vega and feeling like i'm in one of my favourite dreams.  So glad to see one of my all time favourites touring in a concert that included all my favourite songs.  I saw Rodrigo and Gabriela the night after ...definitely my favourite week of this year.
You can sing the verses (but not the chorus) from Steely Dan's "Do It Again" to the tune of "Tom's Diner" and it scans perfectly.
Is she related to Vincent?
 WonderLizard wrote:
Many years ago—I'm thinking something like 20—there was this DJ mix "tribute" CD to "Tom's Diner" featuring versions by a bunch of different folks, including one that's eerily similar to this remake. What's funny is that Vega's sorta copying someone who copied her...if that makes any sense. At any rate, I always liked the DJ'd versions a bit more than the original...if that makes any sense.

This may be the disc: https://www.amazon.com/Toms-Album/dp/B001NTPCP0/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1289860571&sr=8-6


 

Yep, I have that disc at home.

 WonderLizard wrote:
Many years ago—I'm thinking something like 20—there was this DJ mix "tribute" CD to "Tom's Diner" featuring versions by a bunch of different folks, including one that's eerily similar to this remake. What's funny is that Vega's sorta copying someone who copied her...if that makes any sense. At any rate, I always liked the DJ'd versions a bit more than the original...if that makes any sense.

This may be the disc: https://www.amazon.com/Toms-Album/dp/B001NTPCP0/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1289860571&sr=8-6

 
AAaaaaahhhhhhhh!  Thank you!!!  For years I've had it in my head that there was a version of this song with I Dream of Jeannie lyrics, and here it is.  My friends had me convinced that I must have dreamed it.
 ArbiterOfGoodTaste wrote:
"Oh no, not this song... I gotta mute this."
"Oh wait, it's the 2010 remix. Maybe I need to check that out.

 
That's EXACTLY what I thought!
Improved from the original, but dammit I know now I'll be do do doing all night...

Excellent!
Why is she still flogging this old song?
I like doo doo songs. Hearbreaker and Talk a Walk on the Wild Side come to mind
I live down the street from Tom's Diner. My wife will start singing it as we walk by....EVERY TIME.
Though I love love love SV. 
Once I hear it, I can't get it out of my head for hours, maybe days.  When I was teaching English abroad, I used this song as an example of the present whatchamacallit, with all the "ing" endings.  Poor people ended up more confused than ever, but wow, did they ever like this song{#Whistle}
Many years ago—I'm thinking something like 20—there was this DJ mix "tribute" CD to "Tom's Diner" featuring versions by a bunch of different folks, including one that's eerily similar to this remake. What's funny is that Vega's sorta copying someone who copied her...if that makes any sense. At any rate, I always liked the DJ'd versions a bit more than the original...if that makes any sense.

This may be the disc: https://www.amazon.com/Toms-Album/dp/B001NTPCP0/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1289860571&sr=8-6


aw man.. this screams for a funky drum track.
"Oh no, not this song... I gotta mute this."
"Oh wait, it's the 2010 remix. Maybe I need to check that out.
Coworker: "Uh..."
"Yeah, you're going to be hating me when you wake up with this in your head tonight."
I've never heard this version before, nice.
This song has aged well.