Today’s classic mid-80s song of the day is “Luka” by Suzanne Vega. “Luka” was the second single from Ms. Vega’s 1987 album, Solitude Standing, and became her biggest hit. It peaked at #3 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts, and #4 on the Cash Box Top 100.
“Luka” is a serious song about a serious subject, child abuse. Ms. Vega tells the story through the words of a young boy named Luka, who tries to explain away the physical abuse he’s suffered. It’s all there in the lyrics:
If you hear something late at night
Some kind of trouble, some kind of fight
Just don’t ask me what it was
Just don’t ask me what it was
I think it’s because I’m clumsy
I try not to talk too loud
Maybe it’s because I’m crazy
I try not to act too proud
They only hit until you cry
And after that you don’t ask why
You just don’t argue anymore
You just don’t argue anymore
Ms. Vega recalls how the song came about:
“A few years ago, I used to see this group of children playing in front of my building, and there was one of them, whose name was Luka, who seemed a little bit distinctive from the other children. I always remembered his name, and I always remembered his face, and I didn’t know much about him, but he just seemed set apart from these other children that I would see playing. And his character is what I based the song Luka on. In the song, the boy Luka is an abused child—in real life I don’t think he was. I think he was just different.”
Suzanne Vega is kind of a folkie and kind of an indie artist, but not really either. She had several successful albums over about a ten-year period, starting with Suzanne Vega (her debut album) and including Solitude Standing, Days of Open Hand, 99.9F°, and Nine Objects of Desire. Of those releases, Solitude Standing was her biggest, thanks to the success of “Luka” and the equally distinctive a cappella tune, “Tom’s Diner.” She is still touring and recording today at age 64.
