"Luka" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter

Suzanne Vega Suzanne Nadine Vega ( Peck; born July 11, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter best known for her folk-inspired music. Vega's music career spans almost 40 years. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s, releasing four singles that entered the ...

, released as the second

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from her second studio album, ''

Solitude Standing ''Solitude Standing'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega, released on April 1, 1987, by A&M Records. It is the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed album of Vega's, being certified Platinum in t ...

'' (1987), in May 1987. It remains her highest-charting hit in the United States, reaching 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Worldwide, the song charted the highest in Sweden, peaking at No. 2, and reached the top 10 in Austria, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa.

Shawn Colvin Shawn Colvin (born Shawna Lee Colvin, January 10, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. While Colvin has been a solo recording artist for decades, she is best known for her 1998 Grammy Award-winning song "Sunny Came Home". Early ...

sings background vocals on the record. "Luka" earned Vega nominations at the

1988 Grammy Awards The 30th Annual Grammy Awards were held March 2, 1988, at Radio City Music Hall, New York City. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Album of the Year went to U2 for ''The Joshua Tree'', and Song of the Year went ...

, including

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

, Song of the Year and

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The awar ...

. Vega also recorded a Spanish-language version of the song, included on the single release.

Subject

The song deals with the issue of

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to a ...

. On a 1987 Swedish television special, Vega revealed her inspiration for Luka: In a Dutch video documentary by "Top 2000 à gogo" in December 2018, Vega spoke about the meaning of the song:

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Luka" was directed by

Michael Patterson Michael Patterson may refer to: *Michael Patterson (animator), American director and animator, creator of MC Skat Kat *Michael Patterson (English footballer) (1905 – after 1931) *Michael Patterson (Australian footballer) (1941–2002), AFL player ...

and Candice Reckinge. It was shot over three days in New York City. The part of Luka was played by actor

Jason Cerbone Jason Cerbone (born November 2, 1977) is an American actor. He played Jackie Aprile Jr. on the HBO series ''The Sopranos'', Lorenzo Desappio in '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (2012-2016), and Mikey O in '' Paper Soldiers'' (2002). Earl ...

(who years later played Jackie Aprile Jr. on the series ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...

''), who was chosen after the directors auditioned more than 90 children for the part.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Follow-up

During a 2012 episode of

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

's '' Mastertapes'', Vega revealed that she had written a follow-up to "Luka", from the point of view of the character as he looked back on his life. The song, titled "Song of the Stoic", later appeared on her eighth studio album ''

Tales from the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles ''Tales from the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles'' is the eighth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega. Released in February 2014, it was Vega's first album of new material in seven years. The album features contributions ...

'' (2014).

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1987 songs 1987 singles 1989 singles Suzanne Vega songs MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video Songs about child abuse Songs about domestic violence A&M Records singles Rock ballads 1980s ballads American folk rock songs Folk ballads