Suzanne Vega indite herwordya cappella tune " Tom ’s Diner " in 1981 during a visit to a diner in her region , the Upper West Side of Manhattan . The lieu itself is actually calledTom ’s Restaurantand would become even more famous as the outside of the dining car frequented by the characters onSeinfeld . The song appeared as the opening raceway on Vega ’s second album , Solitude Standing , in 1987 , but her label overhaul it over as a single in the States , going instead for “ Luka , ” a attractively melodic downer about an mistreated fry . ( " Luka " pass No . 3 onBillboard ’s chart , so it was n’t a bad conclusion . ) But “ Tom ’s Diner ” end up with a much longer , more interesting life full of revitalization , remaking , and other shot at immortality , including a prominent sampling in Fall Out Boy ’s strike “ Centuries ” last year and a recent , well - welcome cover sung byBritney Spearson the Giorgio Moroder albumDéjà Vu . Some of the other highlights of “ Tom ’s ” enduring life :
1. “Tom’s Diner” was written from a male perspective.
Vega wrote the Sung when she was attending nearby Barnard Collage and stopped in for deep brown . It ’s written from aspecifically male perspective , inspired by her lensman friend , Brian Rose , who told her that he perceived the world as if through a pane of glass . She thought of that as she sit around at Tom ’s and tried to conceive of how her supporter would see the things she visualize that daytime . ( She never mentions being a male narrator in the song , but she does imply that the character at first thinks the woman “ hitching up her skirt ” outside the dining compartment is flirting with him , then he realizes “ she does not really see me ‘ cause she fancy her own reflection . ” )
2. The song references real places and events.
The “ bells of the cathedral ” Vega sings about are those of the nearbySt . John the Divine , a majestic structure with a long story of its own , where she once had a " midnight picnic " with songwriter Jack Hardy .
3. Some intrepid fans figured out which day the narrator was at Tom’s.
The prescribed “ Tom ’s Diner Day”—the day Vega presumptively wrote the song — is Nov. 18 , 1981 . Anarticleposted on her prescribed website traces the lyrical evidence , mainly the reference to the paper of that day , specifically “ the story of an actor who had died while he was imbibe / it was no one I had heard of . ” Her friend Brian Rose , in his own article , placed the writing of the song between 1981 and 1982 . Actor William Holden ’s body was come upon Monday , Nov. 16 , 1981 , having lain in his California nursing home for a hebdomad after he fell and fatally hit his head while drunk . The news break Tuesday , Nov. 17 , butThe New York Post , one of the only two New York paper with the “ funnies ” the narrator is seeking , account it on Wednesday , Nov. 18 . And the horoscope that the storyteller had to grow through were , in fact , near the comic strip in thePost . Alas , it did n’t rain that day , as the lyrics hint it was doing while she wrote it . Vega , asked about the contradiction , said she actually drop a line it on at least two freestanding good morning at Tom ’s .
4. The remix wasn’t Vega’s creation, but she loved it anyway.
5. The song became so popular, Vega was able to release an entire album of covers.
There have been many version and samplings since DNA ’s release , including an total 1991 track record calledTom ’s Albumthat collected nine versions by other artists along with several Vega versions . It included a track by an act calledBingo Hand Job , which was the nom de plume R.E.M. used for a yoke of secret London shows with English singer - songwriter Billy Bragg . Other “ Tom ’s ” Riffian explore accidental maternity ( Nikki D ’s “ Daddy ’s Little Girl ” ) , the Gulf War ( Beth Watson ’s “ Waiting at the Border ” ) , and TV’sI Dream of Jeannie(Marylin E. Whitelaw and Mark Davis ’ “ Jeannie ’s Diner ” ) .
6. Hip-hop artists love sampling “Tom’s” beats.
Other sampling and reimaginings throughout the years have add up from a surprising routine of hip - hops artists : Felt ’s “ Suzanne Vega , ” Lil ’ Kim ’s “ Right Now , ” 2 Pac ’s “ Dopefiend ’s Diner , ” Drake ’s “ Juice , ” Aaliyah ’s “ Hot Like Fire . ” Timbaland even sample the Sung on “ Nothing But a Number ” for the TV showEmpireearlier this year .
7. The song was used to create new music technology.
Vega is known as “ the female parent of the MP3 ” because her a cappella version was used by German engine driver Karl - Heinz Brandenberg to fine - tune his compression algorithm when he was creating the format we all use now for our digital birdcall files . Vega evenvisited the science lab where it was done(and shortly haggled with the engineering team about the idol of their sound tone ) . And there ’s a haunting “ version ” of the Song dynasty called “ moDernisT , " write of the echoes from the compression physical process . So when you download Britney ’s newfangled version of “ Tom ’s Diner , ” you have Vega to give thanks in more fashion than one .
