Summing up the use of urban imagery in the work of Suzanne Vega one can say that she describes the anonymous and impersonal city with its rushing and hurrying and 'not really seeing' people as well as the beautiful, friendly city; the industrial and oppressive city which is like a prison to the inhabitants as well as the city in which there is a place for nature and community spirit. Vega sees the violent aspects of urban life but also its poetic moments, the search for a means of expression, the desire and dream to break free.
She discovers unusual perspectives and depicts the fate of her characters with a remarkable lack of sentimentality and self-pity. She describes the back-alley side of urban life in a poetic and surreal voice at one time, in a realistic and sober voice at others.
In a city like New York, the single person easily gets lost in the anonymity and impersonality of the city, in its rush and hurry, in its inhumanity and urban oppression. The single person is overseen in the pulsing larger-than-life atmosphere. But with her songs, Suzanne manages to remind one that everybody has a certain dignity, that the life of every individual can be interesting and important, even if you are only sitting in the morning at the diner on the corner...