Tom's Diner by Suzanne Vega

Album: Solitude Standing (1987)

Charted: 2 5

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Tom's Diner is really Tom's Restaurant. At least Suzanne Vega used part of the name - the folks at Seinfeld just cropped off the "Tom's" and made it the generic "Restaurant" for the location of their "Monk's Cafe," where Jerry, Elaine and the gang would hang out.

Photo: Daniel_Afanador, via Flickr, CC 2.0

Comments: 13

Delphine from IrelandYou can't omit to mention it was also sampled in Fall Out Boy's Centuries!
Betj from Lima, OhThis song was in Untamed Heart with Marissa Tomei and Christain Slater. I loved it the first time I heard it.
Bmn from Hisuan, ArgentinaIs it just me who thinks this reminds a little of Luther Vandross' "Never Too Much"?
Fred from Laurel, MdDNA not only added a beat (and some rather pleasant, 'dreamy' strings, prob'ly synth), they removed some words. Not many, but it changed (ruined) the whole character of the song for me--they chopped the ending, destroying the point of the song! The excised part starts with "I am thinking of your voice..." The 'midnight picnic' they removed the reference to, was one of those pleasant memories that makes hectic life in the city (hinted at in the rest of the song) bearable for the speaker, IMHO.
Murali from Hyderabad, IndiaTom Diner is called the mother of MP3. Coz MP3 compression is based on this song.
Salamander from Panama Canal Zone, United StatesSuzanne Vega has confirmed that the dead actor she refers to in the song was William Holden, who died in 1981, when "Tom's Diner" was written. This song should be categorized as "More songs inspired by newspaper or magazine articles".
Ralph from Newton, MaMax, if by nickname you mean what they called it on Seinfeld, it was called "Monk's." Not to razz on anyone else by I hate this song.
Emily from Abingdon, Va"A capella" means without instruments, just voices.
Johnny from Los Angeles, CaI really like this song, unlike my friends. I love Seinfeld. what does acapella mean?
Ron from Qc, OtherWhat about the very notable fact that this song was the first ever encoded to MP3? http://www.suzannevega.com/about/funfactsMusic.htm
Sum Sum from New Delhi, Indiagood song.. liked the dancing in the video...
"when she s straightening her stockings, her hair has got wet"....da..da..da.da
Max from New York, NyTom's diner is an actual location in New York's Upper Westside that was actually a popular shooting location for the show Seinfeld. They had a nickname 4 it and I don't remember what they called it. My source is actually Suzanne Vega herself.
Alan from Singapore, SingaporeA rap singer named Nikki D sampled this song for her hit Daddy's Little Girl

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