- Gloomy Sunday
"Gloomy Sunday" (from Hungarian "Szomorú vasárnap", IPA2|'somoruː 'vɒʃarnɒp) is a song written by László Jávor and set to music in 1933 by Hungarian pianist and composer
Rezső Seress , in which the singer mourns the untimely death of a lover and contemplatessuicide .Though recorded and performed by many singers, "Gloomy Sunday" is closely associated with
Billie Holiday , who scored a hit version of the song in 1941. Due to unsubstantiatedurban legend s about its inspiring hundreds of suicides, "Gloomy Sunday" was dubbed the "Hungarian suicide song" in the U.S.. Seress did commit suicide in 1968, but most other rumors of the song being banned from radio, or sparking suicides, are unsubstantiated, and were partly propagated as a deliberate marketing campaign. [Brooks, Michael. notes for "Lady Day" – the CompleteBillie Holiday on Columbia, 1933–1944": "'Gloomy Sunday' reached America in 1936 and, thanks to a brilliant publicity campaign, became known as "The Hungarian Suicide Song". Supposedly after hearing it, distraught lovers were hypnotized into heading straight out of the nearest open window, in much the same fashion as investors after October 1929; both stories are largely urban myths."]Urban legends
Szomorú vasárnap száz fehér virággalVártalak kedvesem templomi imávalÁlmokat kergető vasárnap délelőttBánatom hintaja nélküled visszajöttAzóta szomorú mindig a vasárnapKönny csak az italom kenyerem a bánat...hidden beginSzomorú vasárnap
Utolsó vasárnap kedvesem gyere elPap is lesz, koporsó, ravatal, gyászlepelAkkor is virág vár, virág és - koporsóVirágos fák alatt utam az utolsóNyitva lesz szemem hogy még egyszer lássalakNe félj a szememtől holtan is áldalak... hidden end|salign=right|source=— László Jávororiginal hungarian versionUtolsó vasárnap
In 1968, Rezső Seress, the original composer, jumped to his death from his apartment. His obituary in the "New York Times" mentions the song's notorious reputation:
cquote|Budapest, January 13. Rezsoe Seres, whose dirge-like song hit, "Gloomy Sunday" was blamed for touching off a wave of suicides during the nineteen-thirties, has ended his own life as a suicide it was learned today.
Authorities disclosed today that Mr. Seres jumped from a window of his small apartment here last Sunday, shortly after his 69th birthday.
The decade of the nineteen-thirties was marked by severe economic depression and the political upheaval that was to lead to World War II. The melancholy song written by Mr. Seres, with words by his friend, Ladislas Javor, a poet, declares at its climax, "My heart and I have decided to end it all." It was blamed for a sharp increase in suicides, and Hungarian officials finally prohibited it.In America, where Paul Robeson introduced an English version, some radio stations and nightclubs forbade its performance.
Mr. Seres complained that the success of "Gloomy Sunday" actually increased his unhappiness, because he knew he would never be able to write a second hit.
- New York Times, 1968
Gloomy Sunday
The last Sunday
The codifying of the urban legend appears in an article attributed to "D.P. MacDonald" and titled "Overture to Death", the text of which has been reproduced and disseminated countless times online. According to the website of [http://www.phespirit.info/gloomysunday/article_01.htm Phespirit] the article was originally published by the 'Justin and Angi' site to augment their now defunct "Gloomy Sunday Radio Show". Their introduction to the article reads:
Performers
Recorded versions
There are two English-language versions of the lyrics. The first, by Desmond Carter, was used in the 1935
Artists who have recorded or reinterpreted the song include:
*1935: Pal Kalmar (this is by many considered the original and "the granddaddy of them all)
*1935: (UK):
*1935:
*1936: Damia (in French, under the title "Sombre Dimanche", recorded on
*1936: Hal Kemp
*1936:
*1940:
*1941:
*1957:
*1958:
*1958:
*1959:
*1961:
*1962:
*1967:
*1968: Genesis (U.S. band unrelated to the well-known British band)
*1969:
*1979:
*1981: Elvis Costello & the Attractions ("Trust")
*1982:
*1983:
*1983: Swans Way
*1983:
*1984:
*1985: Harri Marstio (in Finnish under title "Surullinen sunnuntai")
*1986:
*1988:
*1991:
*1992:
*1992:
*1995:
*1996:
*1996: Mystic (The Funeral soundtrack)
*1998:
*1998:
*1999:
*1999:
*2000:
*2000:
*2001:
*2001:
*2003:
*2003:
*2003:
*2004:
*2004:
*2005:
*2005:
*2005:
*2006:
*2006:
*2006:
*2006:
*2006:
*2006:
*2007:
*2007:
*
*
*
*
*2007: Nguyen Hong Nhung & Thuy Huong (Vietnamese singers) - from ASIA DVD 56: Mua He Ruc Ro 2007 - Yeu Doi, Yeu Nguoi
*2008:
*2008:
*2008:
Other
The
In popular culture
*Holiday's version was featured in "
*There is a Swedish doom metal band from
*The song inspired the Spanish movie "
*The Japanese movie "
* The song and its surrounding legend play a considerable part in
* The song is featured at the start of the film "
* The song is featured at the start of the film "The Funeral".
* The song is featured in the movie "Gloomy Sunday - Ein Lied von Liebe und Tod".
* The song and its urban legends were a
* In the film "
* Writer
References
a cover of the song was used as a soundtrack for this rocketboom episodehttp://www.rocketboom.com/vlog/rb_08_mar_20
ee also
*
External links
* [http://www.archive.org/details/PaulWhitemanwithJohnnyHauser recording by Paul Whiteman with Johnny Hauser vocal, released under creative commons license, hosted by the Internet Archive]
* [http://www.phespirit.info/gloomysunday/recordings.htm Full list of recordings of the song]
* [http://www.phespirit.info/gloomysunday/lyrics_lewis.htm English version of lyrics by Sam Lewis]
* [http://www.phespirit.info/gloomysunday/lyrics_carter.htm English version of lyrics by Desmond Carter]
* [http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/gloomy.htm Urban Legend Reference Page on Gloomy Sunday]
* [http://www.phespirit.info/gloomysunday/lyrics_seress.htm Lyrics Of Gloomy Sunday in Hungarian and English Translation]
* [http://www.phespirit.info/gloomysunday/article_01.htm "Overture to Death" by D. P. MacDonald]
* [http://blog.le-miklos.eu/wp-content/SombresDimanches.pdf "Gloomy Sundays: A Study in Black" by Michael Fingerhut]
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