Tom's Diner

Album

Single

Label

A&M Records

Genre

House

Duration

6:00

Composer(s)

Suzanne Vega

Entered Chart

Oct 6, 1990

Peak Date

Dec 22, 1990

Released

Unknown

Recorded

Unknown

Catalog #

A&M 1529

B-Side

(12" version)

Tom's Diner" is an a cappella song that became a hit in 1990 when the British production duo DNA added a beat and released the remix as a bootleg. The contrast between Vega's subtle vocal and the driving dance rhythm meshed unexpectedly well. Of course, DNA didn't ask Vega's permission, and when Suzanne first heart it, she said she wasn't sure whether she should sue them or congratulate them. She decided against litigation and her record company, A&M, proving that sometimes there's more to be gained without filing a lawsuit, officially released the remix along with other bootleg recordings that had emerged, including one with a German disco flavor and another with a reggae beat. Suzanne Vega wrote this song while eating breakfast at Tom's Restaurant on the corner of Broadway and 112th Street in New York City. Tom's has another famous place in pop culture as well: it was Jerry Seinfeld's hangout in his hit sitcom Seinfeld. On the show, where it was called "Monk's Cafe," the "Tom's" was cropped out so the exterior sign just said "Restaurant," and the interior shots were done with TV magic on a sound stage. The song has been sampled many times by other artists, including Tupac for his track "Dopefiend's Diner," Aaliyah on her single "Hot Like Fire", Drake on a cut titled "Juice" and David Guetta on his tune "Let It Be Me." Giorgio Moroder covered the song for his 2015 Déjà Vu album. His version features vocals by Britney Spears. "The song doesn't have a big range, and I added a bridge and some instrumental stuff," the EDM godfather told Billboard magazine. "Britney sounds so good, you would hardly recognize her." When German engineers were developing the MP3 file format, they used this song to test their creation, checking for loss of fidelity. They picked an a cappella tune because they were particularly concerned about degrading the human voice. Fall Out Boy sampled this song and used various elements from it on their 2014 hit "Centuries." The German rock groups AnnenMayKantereit and Giant Rooks recorded a cover of the song in 2019 that went viral on TikTok in March 2022 as people used the singing duo's unique and expressive vocals to soundtrack videos on the platform. Their version peaked at #63 on the UK singles chart and #78 on the Hot 100.

Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doodoo, doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, duhdoodoo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doodoo, doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, duhdoodoo

Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doodoo, doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, duhdoodoo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doodoo, doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, duhdoodoo

Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doodoo, doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, duhdoodoo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doodoo, doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, duhdoodoo

Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doodoo, doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, duhdoodoo

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

Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doodoo, doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, duhdoodoo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doodoo, doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, duhdoodoo

"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

Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doodoo, doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, duhdoodoo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doodoo, doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, duhdoodoo

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

Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doodoo, doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, duhdoodoo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doodoo, doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, duhdoodoo

Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doodoo, doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, duhdoodoo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doodoo, doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, duhdoodoo

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

Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doodoo, doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, duhdoodoo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doodoo, doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, duhdoodoo

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

Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doodoo, doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, duhdoodoo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doodoo, doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, duhdoodoo

Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doodoo, doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, duhdoodoo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doodoo, doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, duhdoodoo

Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doodoo, doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, duhdoodoo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doodoo, doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, duhdoodoo

Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doodoo, doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, duhdoodoo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doodoo, doo
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doodoo-do
Writer/s: Suzanne Vega