I Am Thinking Of Your Voice

Tom's Diner remix
D.N.A. featuring Suzanne Vega (1990)
A remix track of one of the most fascinating songs of the 1980's was released 35 years ago today.

The diner in the song where Suzanne Vega has her morning coffee is Tom's Restaurant on the corner of Broadway and West 112th Street in New York City.  This is a location that will be instantly familiar to Seinfeld fans as it was the filming location for all of the exterior shots at Monk's Cafe in the series.

Years before Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer turned this establishment into their regular meeting place, a 22 year old Suzanne Vega found herself at the restaurant on the morning of November 18th, 1981 imagining life from the point of view of her friend Brian Rose.  He's a photographer who once told the singer that he saw his life through a pane of glass and that made him feel like he was able to witness many things without ever being involved in them.  She was inspired to put pen to paper and write how Brian would perceive the moment that she found herself in at the restaurant at that moment.

New York Post  (November 18, 1981)

The song's lyrics have led to fans being able to pinpoint the date when Suzanne wrote down her observations that would become Tom's Diner.  About two thirds of the way through the song, she sings 

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

In the years since, Suzanne has confirmed that the actor in question was William Holden.  The man who in 1953 won the Academy Award for Best Actor had been drinking in his apartment when he slipped on a throw rug and fell into the sharp corner of a nightstand that was next to his bed.  The corner reports state that he passed away on November 12th, but his body wasn't discovered until the 16'th, and the New York Post cover story wouldn't be published until November 18th.

New York Post  (November 18, 1981)

The line in the song where Suzanne mentions that she turned to the horoscope while looking for the funnies was the key in fans narrowing down the paper that she was reading.  At the time, there were only two newspapers in the city which had a weekday comics section, and the New York Post was the one out of those which had the story of William Holden's death on the cover.

Suzanne finished writing and recording the song as an a capella track the following year.  It was first released in the January 1984 edition of Fast Folk Musical Magazine, which was a combination of a print magazine with a vinyl record album that was published monthly.  It would receive a much wider release three years later when it was included on her second studio album, Solitude Standing, which was released on April 1st, 1987.

Tom's Diner

Suzanne Vega (1987)

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

And I'm pretending not to see them

And 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...

And I finish up my coffee

And it's time to catch the train

The original Tom's Diner wasn't released as a single in the United States and it didn't chart very high in Europe, but it received a second life in 1990 when Nick Batt and Neal Slateford remixed Suzanne's vocals with a dance beat taken from the 1989 song Keep On Movin' by Soul II Soul.  Under the name DNA, the duo released their remix without the permission of the artist, her record label, or the publisher of the song, but Suzanne liked the interpretation and a deal was struck for it to be released by A&M Records.  It would go on to become an unexpected hit, reaching #1 in Austria, Germany, Greece, and Switzerland and peaking at #2 on the UK Singles Chart and #5 on the US Billboard Hot 100.  The remix was also one of the few songs to reach the Top 10 in both Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks and Hot R&B Singles charts.

Tom's Diner remix

D.N.A. featuring Suzanne Vega

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

And I'm pretending not to see them

And 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

 

photo credit: Richard Perry (New York Times)

In 2008, Suzanne Vega wrote an incredible essay about Tom's Diner that was published in The New York Times that I highly recommend.  Click here to read it.