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Marlene on the Wall is een nummer van de Amerikaanse zangeres Suzanne Vega uit 1985. Het is de eerste single van haar titelloze debuutalbum.

Het nummer is een rustige ballad. Met "Marlene" en haar "mocking smile", doelt Vega op (een poster van) Marlene Dietrich. Vega haalt er troost uit door te kijken deze poster, nadat haar vriend haar heeft verlaten. "Marlene on the Wall" flopte in Amerika, maar werd wel een klein hitje in het Verenigd Koninkrijk en het Nederlandse taalgebied. In Nederland bereikte het nummer de 2e positie in de Tipparade, en in de Vlaamse Radio 2 Top 30 wist het de 13e positie te behalen.

Suzanne Vega is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega, released on May 1, 1985 by A&M Records. The album was primarily recorded at Celestial Sound in New York City and was produced by Steve Addabbo and Lenny Kaye.

The album's folk-style and stripped-back arrangements deviated from the prevailing trends of the time, and helped to usher in a new era of singer-songwriters. Suzanne Vega was a critical success and helped Vega's rise to popularity. The album surpassed sales expectations by selling over 200,000 copies in the US and was certified platinum in the UK for sales of over 300,000 copies.

"Marlene on the Wall", "Small Blue Thing" and "Knight Moves" were released as singles to promote the album, with the former becoming a top 30 hit on the UK Singles Chart upon a re-release in 1986. The album itself reached the top 20 on the UK Albums Chart. It would later be placed at number 80 in Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Best Albums of the Eighties".