Five Star Big Country Janet Jackson George Michael Suzanne Vega The title of the song refers to actress Marlene Dietrich.[4] Inspired by a poster of the actress, Vega said of the song: "I was thinking, 'If Marlene really had eyes that could see – if she was actually a sentient being, instead of just a picture on my wall – what advice would she give me and what was to be seen?'"[5]
While Vega felt unsure about the song at first, considering it too private and obscure, her guitarist at the time, John Gordon, convinced her to keep the song as a show-opener due to its upbeat nature.[5]
Spin wrote the song is "on the small scale... about a troubled, even masochistic relationship; on the big scale its [sic] about the limits of what one will endure in the name of love." Simple Minds
