Suzanne Vega - Tom's Diner | The Story Behind The Song

Suzanne Vega tells New York the story behind her hit 'Tom's Diner', which became a great hit in the remix by DNA. An interview from 2018.

[@cjw6659]

I visited the diner last week : ) Needless to say, I took my headphones, sat at the counter to eat and listened to the track about 10 times. Such a cool experience : )

[@seonewport363]

what a good idea

[@aholuthedistinguishedgentl929]

Dope👍🏿

[@vidviewer100]

ha ha ! I've put it on my bucket list! The song must have been so good for their business

[@dragon7590]

I love that the lyrics are grounded in so much reality. Kinda reminds you that everyday life can be a piece of music/art if you look at it right.

[@1ORiiON]

Life can be an amazing, interesting experience 💯

[@D3lexis]

yes I love the way you put it into words.

[@nlee4566]

Exactly!!

[@OMGWTFLOLSMH]

Aren't _most_ songs based on the writer's real life experiences?

[@Kismet5898]

How do you listen to this and not feel that she's someone you'd like to have a coffee with?

[@gary1961]

And after the coffee ...... wine, then a sing-song.

[@chrissheehan4774]

Very easily

[@INFILTR8US]

@@chrissheehan4774 Congrats, you sound like the butt of a family joke

[@positivevibez73]

So true

[@K0ntakt5]

simp

[@Chiqsan]

I like how there are so many real moments. The newspaper really exist, the restaurant, the cathedral. How captivating!

[@xrey25]

like a map to her New York life

[@eckoalbino1623]

Tom's Restaurant was in Seinfeld

[@garydunn3037]

And clips of Suzanne performing at the "Montreaux Jazz Festival" back in 2004.

[@hasslevania8138]

This song is a musical masterpiece as well as a work of art In its own right. She tapped into something very powerful, as many of us loners can easily identify with the diner goer. If you're reading this and are a loner, even if you aren't, my heart goes out to you ❤️

[@valeriahelena3699]

Yeah, I can call myself a loner as well :)

[@ZealKingdom]

Never realized why I connected with it so much.

[@elchatodeoro1]

Why a masterpiece? hahaha It's just a great mellody and that's it... doesn't even have any music at all

[@josephbarrett7724]

I feel like this song is basically a story

[@elchatodeoro1]

@@josephbarrett7724 well.. sir.. it is a story

[@MVEProducties]

This is a legendary song. Not only because of the melody/lyrics, but also this song was used by the Fraunhofer institute in Germany when they developed the MP3 audio compression algorithm, that meant the breakthrough of digital online music!

[@juniorm641]

And ruined audio fidelity for good

[@fiftyfuckingfeet]

@@juniorm641 Not necessarily. As long as you throw enough bitrate at your source material you should get a result that is transparent to the source material provided you're using a good modern encoder. If you encode an mp3 properly yourself it will sound great. If you are a corporation skimping on bitrate to save money on bandwidth costs it won't. Most streaming services these days just use high bitrates like 256k aac or 320k mp3/ogg. "For good" is a statement that also shows you're not following what's happening because streaming services are also doing lossless streaming now as well. In the age of video streaming lossless audio files aren't really considered too bandwidth intensive for streaming anymore.

[@misstekhead]

@@juniorm641 As @x mentioned if you know what you’re doing the quality is left intact. Also, the MP3 revolution led to so many people discovering new music from all over the world that just wasn’t available to the everyday person. If it wasn’t for MP3s I wouldn’t be the massive music fan I am today and I’m more than certain that others of my generation feel the same way.

[@rickdeckard1075]

damn vega's fallen apart since the whole adrenochrome supply drying up during the trump years

[@squirlmy]

@@misstekhead although... "a hacker named SoloH discovered the source code of the "dist10" MPEG reference implementation shortly after the release, on the servers of the University of Erlangen. He developed a higher-quality version and spread it on the internet. This code started the widespread CD ripping and digital music distribution as MP3 over the internet." A lot of the "MP3 revolution had to do with "piracy", not necessarily the Fraunhofer Society, or their use of this song. "Music" might have been better off moving directly to .Ogg or some other free and open source standard. If you want to praise Mp3's relative good quality over contemporary standards, and usefulness today, by all means... but its widespread adoption had to do with other factors than that.

[@nerdmeister2]

fun fact: This song was used for the fine tuning of the MP3 psychoacoustic model encoding during its development, someone named it "Mother of MP3" accordingly. Several years ago, as a student I was tasked to restore the - well worn out and cracked - DAT tape of this song used by Karl Heinz Brandenburg and Thomas Sporer.

[@Crackrzz]

Came in here to mention it, but you know more of the technical details. Oh wow.

[@darknight3050]

thank you very much for sharing

[@dlg78]

Bit of fantasy story to be fair for attention. Loads of music would have been used, with a vocal track being least used, as mp3 compression primarily and most importantly affects high frequencies. Vocal range is barely noticeable.

[@DJBrianOBrien]

@@dlg78 ... And yet they had the most trouble cleanly compressing the not-so-"barely-noticeable"-after-all human voice. When Brandenburg heard that high-end speaker manufacturers were using "Tom's Diner" to fine-tune their product, he decided to use the same track. You can hear the man himself speak about it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hZaoZqdtlq-Jqas.

[@nichole9677]

The above conversation was great🤣 link and all. I found that extremely satisfying, call me petty 🤷‍♀️😋

[@ItisMoody]

How not a single word in this song rhymes with the other, and yet it's a groundbreaking, timeless, epic masterpiece I listen to every day?!!! Wow!

[@HarryHoffaHunter]

Magic of story telling

[@TheEulerID]

It's not necessary to rhyme to produce poetry. The song is blank verse, and so precisely on beat that DNA were able to turn it into a dance track and could be used to fine-tune the MP3 format.

[@dannythehoundxxdarknessxx4530]

I feel like her beauty added onto the song and how she clearly described every moment as if the words came right out of her heart. This is without a doubt, a masterpiece.

[@wilfojac9643]

the cadence of her voice is hypnotic it just draws you in

[@beverlygannon4141]

it's her voice that makes the song special I love it ❤️👍

[@chloeevans2569]

Totally!

[@djperses1]

I must have heard DNA’s version at some point as a kid.. never knew the lyrics nor the artist… but for decades the “daada da daa da” lived in my head rent free. I would randomly start singing that part… sometimes I would try and ask friends what’s the song and never got an answer. Till recently when I saw two guys doing their version of it! The damn relief I felt from finally knowing this song… Now learning the true story behind it just completes it! Thank you Suzanne Vega for creating this masterpiece and telling us this story!

[@Cedspazzin]

Facts I thought it was a lost Eminem song or some shit lol

[@user-bj2lu9qt3o]

So many more wonderful songs to explore! May I?: Freeze Tag Cracking Marlene on the wall Pilgrimage (underrated!) Caramel Small blue thing Luka (of course) ...

[@johnindigo5477]

I had the same thing happen to me. I thought it wasn't even a real song just a scramble of melodies

[@crystalward1444]

I knew the early 1980s version first prior to the techno version.

[@LuckyDineroTv]

Yeasssss same same

[@Sjon_E]

Wow I’m crying at how tragic it is for her to make a song about someone she obviously loved and for it to be one of her biggest successes, and for the person whom the song is about to basically say that it wasn’t real art because it’s success commercially. And for her most famous song to be a constant reminder of that pain must have been so hard for her.

[@chickennugget6233]

Or a reminder of strength actually. Sure his words could be impactful to her, but she has space to heal! Afterall, I think the world proves them wrong, and that she is, in fact, a serious artiste. Their comment drips in jealously. And honestly I find it embarrassing 🤭

[@user-bj2lu9qt3o]

5:04 she sounds proud.😊

[@bradlafferty6076]

He was no catch

[@lukebailey853]

At no point does she say this song is about him. One verse if that. "But its really a song about a person who is alienated from everyone"

[@KristinaTurnerAquarius]

​​​​​@@bradlafferty6076 Supposed to be kept in your actual body and not experimented on and hacked with everything stolen that you did.

[@raynic1173]

Her name misspelled on the menu is definite pay back ( I assume "Susanne")....too funny. Thanks for sharing Suzanne.

[@paulelverstone8677]

It's a great song. Truly. It was a great song before DNA (Dean'n'Andy) but they gave it a modern injection at just the right time to send it worldwide. There is something enigmatic about Suzanne Vega that makes her so appealing, along with some really terrific songwriting. Kind of reminds me a bit of Carol King...

[@someoneelse101]

That was the first version I heard of Tom's Diner

[@rickshearer]

It's a nice thing to see the environment in which a song is created. It's a great thing when the artist is the guide and narrator, while giving the back story to their song!

[@jessnotliketherest85]

Love the dna version I just wish that they would’ve left the... “& of the midnight picnic once upon a time before the rain began... & I finish up my coffee & it’s time to catch the train.” That’s literally one of if not my favorite part of the song starting with “I am thinking of your voice...” I always sing the full ending no matter what lol. My favorite song of the 90s!! 💜

[@Your.Uncle.AngMoh]

2:53 "A song about nothing". Appropriate seeing as Tom's Restaurant was used as the outside shot of Monk's Café in 'Seinfeld'- the show about nothing.

[@sonsdoingles]

Omg! We had the same thought. 💭

[@VanielDeeform]

I have a strong feeling Suzanne mentioned that on purpose and that there's a mutual appreciation there. :)

[@lastgreathand-drawnproduct3843]

Haha the first thing I thought when she said that. 🤣

[@christopherhowe1488]

Well, it's about life, a love story, and a city...so maybe it's about nothing, or maybe it's about everything :)

[@jeneraljax29]

Hahaha ha I was waiting for someone to point this out..

[@vamps_rock]

How ironic that in the video, Suzanne talks about her name being misspelt, and when you post the video you misspell her name in the title of it AND the description... despite getting it right on screen.

[@markgriz]

Maybe they got the spelling from the Tom's Restaurant menu

[@Top2000agogo]

We've corrected the spelling, thank you.

[@maximiIiaan]

😂

[@del-marmare1646]

Wow, she is so well spoken. Nice post.

[@MM-jf1me]

It was wonderful learning more about what influenced this song and how it came about. And what a treat to hear it explained by Ms. Vega herself! I completely agree with her that just because some artists become commercial successes does not devalue their work or artistry! The idea of the "starving artist" being the only "genuine" creator of "true" art is a bunch of bunk. (I'm not shocked her friend who held this opinion came from a financially wealthy family.) Imagine how much more art could be created if an artist could focus on their creative processes instead of putting their energy into working to put food on the table. I do find it amusing that her name isn't correct on Tom's Restaurant menu given that their restaurant name isn't correct in the title of her song. I'm sure it's only a typo, but it's funny to think it maybe been intentional.

[@jeneraljax29]

Haha I was thinking the same thing about the misspelling of her name lol

[@infinityotto]

I'd say it's like "tipping the hat" - a sign of acknowledgement and respect.

[@apotatosapling5698]

The last part is very funny

[@thomasogar8264]

This song has always resonated with me. I knew it was about a person who felt disconnected from everyone and everything around them. I often felt that throughout my life. That's why it spoke to me so much. Also the musicality of the song is genius and Suzanne Vega does and amazing job of singing and getting that emotion across. It remains one of my favorite songs from the first time I heard it until today.

[@fazerkp]

I love the stories behind the songs. This one is one of my faves!

[@beez1717]

I've always seen this song as a slice of life about someone having their typical coffee on a rainy day and that's why I love it so much. It's all about noticing the normal.

[@darkstar7742]

Also Tom’s Restaurant is the Monks dinner on Seinfeld Show.

[@tangibleandroid285]

Somebody had to say it

[@lastgreathand-drawnproduct3843]

And it's a song about nothing.

[@franconero585]

SUCH A SIMPLE YET EFFECTIVE SONG! Thank you Suzanne!

[@lessismore8533]

She proves a little goes a long way

[@laraoneal7284]

I have loved this song from day one and didn’t even knew what it was called. I love her esoteric free spirit style.

[@Football__Junkie]

Such a likable person

[@kennyharmon1836]

It’s crazy I heard the melody years ago as a kid. Heard the end of the song recently and been googling dada do do da dada for hours. Not only do I love the song but it brings me solidarity I felt the lyrics when the man is more attentive to his love and she asked herself does the woman see me? I always feel like a ghost in public and I assume that’s what she meant. To see this video and know it’s parallel to my emotions makes me love the song even more.

[@MECHANISMUS]

Her young voice was crystal like a spring stream.

[@soin74]

I visited Tom's Restaurant and the cathedral 3 weeks ago, what a joyful experience! Highly recommended.

[@gabe_s_videos]

Tom's Restaurant was the setting for a song "about nothing." Why does that sound familiar? :P

[@patricklaureys1249]

Wow, 35 years after her debut album, and I'm still madly in love with her. :)

[@Lotmeister]

The DNA version was big when I was a sophomore in high school. One day I was looking through my brother's CDs and he had some sort of compilation album that had this song on it, so I played it, not knowing that it was the original version. (Actually at the time I didn't even know there was more than one version.) I was quite confused to hear just Suzanne singing. Back then we didn't have this fancy "internet" you kids have today where you can learn about this stuff in seconds from anywhere. Now get off my lawn!

[@helenchelmicka3028]

🤣

[@emencea866]

I just turned 30 years old. This song brings me back to my youth. Thank you.

[@GlobalMiles]

Wow. Outstanding piece. She’s a Great.

[@RocellerAlvarez]

One the songs I never forget. MASTERPIECE.

[@NOSE-em2xb]

I grew to love her because of the remix of the song. When I first heard the track, I admit that the beat got my attention but I quickly realized that the lyrics were about loneliness. Being a loner I related to it.

[@rajangenesisnatividadsanch7405]

She's still Beautiful....even at 61.

[@bradlafferty6076]

As a huge Seinfeld fan I actually ate there when I moved to NYC in 1998. I ordered the taste free turkey with brown flavorless gravy. I used a lot of salt and pepper but it was a bucket list check off.

[@saurelius5217]

Does it look the same inside as it does in the show?

[@mayflower551]

This song holds a very special place in the soundtrack of my life😊

[@JSatinR]

I loved the open hand album. I still know every song back to back. It was etched onto my soul as a kid.

[@candybanks8717]

The thing with being a loner is seeing the beauty around you, the mundane and ordinary, and you have no one to share it with who won't think you're nuts. Then you hear Suzzanne sing this and you're not as alone anymore!😌

[@veerchasm1]

Solitude Standing is an amazing album

[@devinpetersen2387]

I love finding these songs I never knew.

[@Derellrassy87]

You must be a child

[@laraoneal7284]

Love Suzanne Vega the ULTIMATE ANTI CELEBRITY.

[@jhwheuer]

Oh the wonders awaiting you. Sara by Fleetwood Mac should be a stop on your tour

[@real_hello_kitty]

Thanks for uploading this. :)

[@AimeeAimee444]

I lived on that street for over 5 years. St. John the Devine is magical to me and helped me. My apartment was between Broadway and Riverside across from Bank Street College and next an SRO. Was young and drinking too much. When I left in 2001, many wonderful restaurants opened up but Koronet Pizza remains the best IMHO. So many memories, regrets and fascinating people lived there during my time and still do. Thank you Suzanne Vega! Your song existed 10 years before I moved into the area and continues to be a part of the Upper West Side.

[@cabbage0dusk]

Saw Suzanne Vega live at Beautiful Days festival in 2018ish.. crazy how well she got on with the crowd and still had an amazing energy live!

[@keithfraser5009]

The interesting thing about this song and the album 'Solitude Standing' it came about at the time of the Hifi boom in the late 80's it was used as a test record for decks such as Linn, Thoren, Rega and Dual etc at many Hifi outlets thats how I became aware of it, even back then I had aspirations of remixing it myself but didn't have the production knowledge. At the time I bought the album on 3 formats DCC, Cassette and Vinyl. Considering I was more into reggae n soul it was a divergence for me which I embraced along with Edie Brickell tracks. I didn't miss the opportunity to go to Suzanne's concert in Wolverhampton when she was on tour in the UK.

[@dwaniscool]

This song gives me chills to this day!!!! It is SOOOOOO FRESH!!!! I play this song at least twice a week, every week in my car!

[@winstonbrandt7900]

Hey, just wanted to say thanks for sharing this song and story with us. God Bless 🙏

[@shpliey88]

I really appreciate thank you opened up about the lyrics.

[@dana31335]

Fucking Brilliant! I saw Suzanne Vega in the 80s In LA.at the iconic Art Deco Witern Theatre!!!!! oMg...She, they were Absolutely wonderful ❤

[@shaunmaddox]

Omg I love this song. It brings back memories

[@TheFlyShitOnlyPodcast]

She really had sick flow on this. And it doesn't even rhythm...this so fire

[@mrRambleGamble]

Bars 🔥🔥🔥

[@triskut]

I love the story behind the song!

[@alexander3699]

Great content and thank you for honoring this song! #HonorArtists

[@briansewart5885]

Such a beautiful voice. It is nice to hear some background about that song, It will add some depth now each time I hear it

[@normaxluna5066]

Took me so many years to find this song!

[@marskeins]

Who knew this would turn out to not only be a big song in the hip genre. But it literally changed the game overall.

[@derekcomer4858]

Isn’t she just the best 🙏

[@robertnave5023]

Totally agree!!

[@positivevibez73]

This really wasn't my thing when it first came out. However, looking back, it's one of those moments when I wish I'd paid more attention. She's totally right about the artistic side of things. Even now, you can tell just by looking at her, that she appreciates the artistic side of whatever she's doing. Didn't she have the cutest face? Those dimples when she smiled.

[@MrNickelbrille]

Got her first three Albums,and I hear them on a regular base

[@AdamEats-yc2kc]

And once again hip hop makes it better. My grandmother died in hospice across the street from that church wow

[@Nijthabarber]

Absolute masterpiece….timeless

[@RastaSaiyaman]

One thing that nobody seemed to pick up upon with this song is that it's in what's called "Free verse" Which means that the lyrics don't rhyme.

[@sailingsam3815]

I grew up in that neighborhood south of Columbia University...feel extra special listening to the song.

[@brooklynbabe7896]

Toms diner is as a an absolute classic no question about that

[@alisalah4017]

Thank you for the amazing song we never forget you ❤️

[@gizzykatkat9687]

I love this song!!!!

[@youtubeseagull]

lovely story, shows how sometimes friends can sabotage your success. She's lucky she sold albums to make a living and maybe inevitable b/c the song is just that charming and does so much for the world. Thinking about art having poor boundaries is such an illusion in that respect at least.

[@Neldot]

I have always loved her songs and her voice. She's one of the most underrated singer-songwriter of all the time. The fact that nowadays singers that don't have 1/100 of her talent are so popular demonstrates inequivocably that the mass has no taste for music.

[@outtathyme5679]

Fantastic

[@free1855]

Seeing Tom's Restaurant the 1st time, I remembered this song. Love the Upper West Side.

[@mathiasschneider7690]

This song brings me back to my childhood.

[@lessismore8533]

She proves you can write a song about just anything!

[@ac27934]

3:55 she has perfect pitch.

[@mlgnoscopekingtednotbundy4742]

I found this song on tiktok and now i listen to it while baked. Congrats

[@twelveytwelve]

It's Suzanne Vega, not Susan.

[@user-nd9gw5in8n]

Isn’t that the same name ?

[@CRMcAuliffe]

@@user-nd9gw5in8n no it is pronounce differently. I say Suz anne and Suz in.

[@user-nd9gw5in8n]

CRMcAuliffe Just call her Vega

[@CRMcAuliffe]

@@user-nd9gw5in8n or Sue :)

[@Top2000agogo]

We've corrected the spelling, thank you.

[@gdub713]

If your career was a one hit wonder... way to nail it!!! I love this song, love her, wish she made more music.

[@steveshea6148]

Luka

[@steveshea6148]

Most people never get even one...Ms Vega had at least two with this and Luka.... And neither of them are trivial but instead have deep emotional impact. I think that's pretty great.

[@melliecrann-gaoth4789]

Suzanne Vega is so cool - in the realest sense. I’m lucky enough to be seeing her this weekend. Wow

[@jt1929]

Wow, I made a lucky guess on who the actor she sings about was. William Holden was a major heartthrob who was known for taking his shirt off in many movies

[@AHeady]

❤yassssss

[@BigDancin]

I was a big fan of this song in the a capella version when it was first released. Honestly, I got a bit annoyed when I first heard the DNA version, because I thought it was actually Suzanne who re-released it as a dance tune and I thought that was antithetical to the purity of the a capella version (and a little selly-outy!). After all, part of the genius and appeal of the original version was the bravery of releasing a song this good in a capella format. But I have since come to understand how the DNA remix came about, and I think it is great and has its own place. I applaud Suzanne's open mind to let it fly rather than shut it down. A song this good should be opened up to more people, not remain a "deep cut." But I will always be more than happy to listen to the original a capella!

[@thistree9028]

This song meant a lot to me then..thank you

[@MrJB2224]

God I was so in love with Suzanne Vega!!! She is still a goddess to me

[@davidworkman2329]

I was so inspired by the song I even wrote a one-act mystery play based on it. 👍🏻

[@cantgoslow]

God, she is fabulous and the song gives me genuine joy when I hear it. Knowing the details just makes it more magical for me.

[@jeffreysawatzky]

Wonderful!

[@gabbymcclymont4167]

I remember we had one of our many party’s and this one had this song playing over and over for 3hrs and everyone was 😆

[@davejones5091]

Always loved the song but I came here because I was watching a documentary about the life of William Holden and at the end it mentioned his death was included in the song and I never realized it.

[@cashmerefunk2136]

Just passing thur💯this song was in every dj crate i always had two just in case i scratch one if. you don't have this in your music collection you wasn't a DJ every DJ had this song this song was popular in my neighborhood thanks Suzanne I think I still have it after all these years it still sound good you can play this in the club right now everybody on the dance floor no question this song change everything🎵🎶👍

[@NineHellHeaven]

It would have been nice if the remixers got a bit more credit. Refering to them as "two guys" seems a bit ungrateful when they contributed greatly to this song and Suzanne's success.

[@KirkMonteux]

Nick Batt is one of the guys of DNA who made this song to that world club smash hit. Today, Nick runs a youtube channel (sonicstate) all about music production. Please pay him a visit. kzbin.infovideos

[@1teela]

I agree completely. The song really became iconic with the remix.

[@NineHellHeaven]

@@KirkMonteux Thanks

[@soonersdevil]

It was the 2 guy's they thought about suing...she wouldn't know their names At All.

[@jeneraljax29]

This is hilarious: For one thing, the very first word out of her mouth in the video is DNA (the name of Nick and Neal's group. Secondly, you don't even name them or give them credit either, ironically. You call them "the remixers" lmao.

[@clintstewart5545]

What a Voice !!!

[@IAmLedsterOo]

The crowd gave me goosebumps.

[@360Fov]

Wow the place is so much like I envisaged from hearing the lyrics

[@chloeevans2569]

She’s pretty awesome!

[@khiyatikaushik6986]

That's how songs are written

[@lessismore8533]

This song became a classic! Good for her

[@Fcutdlady]

The original version, sung acapella, is cool too as well as DNAs version 😎

[@MikeHanleyherecords]

A day in the life - mundane things can be the subject of a song - wonderful

[@KJ-tz7vc]

Wow, I didn't know this song was about "Monk's" from Seinfeld!

[@davidhefner2010]

Wonderful