Luka (song)

1987

Luka is a 1987 published English-language song of the U.S. singer Suzanne Vega, written by herself. Produced by Lenny Kaye and the song Steve Addabbo. Luka appeared on Vegas 's second album Solitude Standing (1987) and was released as a single. With third place it is their highest -placed to date hit in the U.S. charts. The song was at the Grammy Awards 1988, the nominees for the Single of the Year ( Grammy Award for Record of the Year ), Song of the Year ( Grammy Award for Song of the Year ) and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance ( Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance ). Vega also took a version of the song on in Spanish.

Melody and lyrics

The melody and based on acoustic guitar instrumentation of the song convey a harmonious, quite joyful impression. The lyrics, however, deals with child abuse in the form of domestic violence, presented from the point of view of an affected child. Typical of the statement and expression of the text are lines like the following:

Already in this text example it is clear that it is not just about child abuse in itself, but also about the social displacement thereof. This is further symbolized on another level of the song, namely by the contrast between the content and its form of presentation: The seemingly harmonious melody covered as it were, the socially critical lyrics.

Suzanne Vega himself wrote in 2008 to the emergence of Luka:

" (...) I wanted to major as me, the combination of minor and a small suffering boy enraged on a door mat. It seemed to me that most abused children are sad and anxious, but that they accept their fate at some point as a fact of life, as something almost expectable. A kind of pragmatism. So I came up major, and we left it at that. In the finished song it sounded encouraging, happy, almost triumphantly, which was not my intention. (...) So many people in America, but also from other countries and cultures on earth, identified with my fictional character. I had thought it was a small, personal thing. But my manager Ron had been right: there was a huge social thing. (...) "

Charts

The song has been covered by various musicians and bands; the Italian singer Paola Turci took in 1988 with Mi chiamo Luka a version in their own language, which is available on their studio album Ragazza Sola, ragazza blu. The Lemonheads published in 1989 a version on their album Lick. In 2009, Laith Al- Deen coverte the song Luka, which can be found on his album sessions. Suzanne Vega himself took in 2010 to a new version of the song, which was released on their album Close- Up Vol 2, People & Places.