Suzanne Vega - TOM'S DINER

Ogni settembre, quando piove e l'autunno sembra ormai dietro l'angolo, prima ancora di cominciare a tirar fuori i maglioni dall'armadio, finisco con l'estrarre questa canzone dai cassetti della memoria.
Mi metto dietro la finestra a guardare gli ombrelli che corrono e le auto che s'accodano l'una mai dietro l'altra, con una mano infilata nel manico di una tazza e questo motivetto che non si leva dalla testa.

(musica e testo di Suzanne Vega)



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

"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

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

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

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...

[And of the midnight picnic
Once upon a time, before the rain began...
I finish up my coffee, it's time to catch the train]