And I said, “My name is SUZANNE Vega and we have the same last name”. Write it from his voice, because in that way I wanted the song to stand up on its own, which I think the character songs do, if you do them well. He was nine. And his character is what I based the song Luka on. And I guess his character is what I based the song Luka on. Who was not abused at all. Worldwide, the song charted the highest in Poland and Sweden, peaking at No. Not exactly happy, but he was not abused, as far as I knew. It is his name, I did get his character, but this is not really the situation that he was in, and actually it could be about almost anybody who has been abused in some way.In concert: London School of Economics, England, October 24, 1985A few years ago, I used to see this group of children playing in from of my building, and there was one of them, whose name was Luka, who seemed a little bit distinctive from the other children. Some kind of trouble, some kind of fight Just don't ask me what it was Just don't ask me what it was Just don't ask me what it was.
My name is Luka I live on the second floor I live upstairs from you Yes I think you've seen me before 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 Just don't ask me what it was And they only hit until you cry After that, you don't ask why You just don't argue anymore You just don't argue … In the song, the boy Luka is an abused child , in real life I don’t think he was. It was almost like a theatrical problem.
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. But after the song became popular; I heard from my old roommate who said that, his, uh, he had come back to my old apartment with a girl when I guess that he must have been fifteen or sixteen by the time the song was really big.
And it worked, it really connected with people.“Some people find it a surprise that I was listening to Lou Reed’s ‘Berlin’ album on the day that I wrote ‘Luka’, probably to sharpen and focus myself. I think he was just different. We had the same last name. [...] I had to think of how to write about a subject that no-one talks about.Artwork for North American releases, also used for French and Japanese releasesSuzanne Vega - Luka | The story behind the song | Top 2000 a gogo His name was Luka Vega and I had received his Junior Scholastic’s.
I live upstairs from you Yes I think you've seen me before If you hear something late at night. And he looked at me like, “Yeah big deal I need to go upstairs and use the bathroom.” So that was really the only time I ever spoke to him. I think he was just different.Luka was a boy I used to see in my old neighborhood, although it’s not necessarily about him. In that particular case there was a problem. It remains her highest-charting hit in the United States, reaching No.
He rang my buzzer one day and I, and I opened the door. I never expect the song to become popular. 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. I was also aware that the audience in the song is the neighbor. First of all, how do you introduce the character?
You’re pointing the finger without reall doing it. You’re unfolding this story that can’t really be told and you’re involving the audience in it and that was what I wanted to do.Sometimes I’ll create a character and the obvious example I guess is Luka, which is written from the point of view of a nine year-old boy who is abused by his parents. But I would watch him and he seemed sort of set apart from the other kids when he was playing, and I remember thinking I would take his character and use it for that particular idea. You’re incriminating the audience. My name is Luka I live on the second floor. Here is someone with this problem, but they can’t talk about it. And his character is what I based the song Luka on.