Gloomy Sunday" is a song composed by Hungarian pianist and composer Rezső Seress in 1933 to a Hungarian poem written by László Jávor (original Hungarian title of both song and poem "Szomorú vasárnap" (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈsomoruː ˈvɒʃaːrnɒp]), in which the singer reflects on the horrors of modern culture.[1]
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. Owing to unsubstantiated urban legends about its inspiring hundreds of suicides, "Gloomy Sunday" was dubbed the "Hungarian suicide song" in the United States. 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.[2] Possibly due to the context of the Second World War, Billie Holiday's version was, however, banned by the BBC.[3]
There have been several urban legends regarding the song over the years, mostly involving it being allegedly connected with various numbers of suicides, and radio networks reacting by purportedly banning the song. However, most of these claims are unsubstantiated.[4]
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:
“ 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.
Performers
[edit] Recorded versions
There are two English-language versions of the lyrics. The first, by Desmond Carter, was used in the 1935 Paul Robeson recording and a few others. Most English-language recordings have used the Sam Lewis lyrics made famous in Billie Holiday's 1941 recording. That recording added a third verse, not in the original Hungarian song, indicating that the singer was only dreaming about her lover's death. See links below for the lyrics.
Artists who have recorded or reinterpreted the song include:
* 1935: Pal Kalmar (in Hungarian)
* 1935: (UK): Paul Robeson (released in the US in 1936; Desmond Carter lyrics)
* 1935: Pyotr Leschenko (in Russian, under title "Мрачное воскресенье" ["Mrachnoe voskresen'e"])
* 1936: Damia (in French, under the title "Sombre Dimanche", recorded on February 28, lyrics by Jean Marčze and François-Eugčne Gonda, music by Rezső Seress)
* 1936: Hal Kemp
* 1936: Paul Whiteman
* 1936: Spree-Revellers (in German, as "Einsamer Sonntag"; Polydor 2293A)
* 1936: Noriko Awaya (in Japanese, as "Kurai Nichiyōbi")
* 1936: Taro Shoji (in Japanese, as "Kurai Nichiyōbi")
* 1937: Mercedes Simone (in Spanish, as "Triste Domingo" [recorded in Buenos Aires])
* 1940: Artie Shaw, 3 March. Pauline Byrne vocal.
* 1941: Billie Holiday
* 1941: Mimi Thoma (in German, as "Einsamer Sonntag"; Polydor 47563)
* 1954: Laszlo Von Weimerth
* 1957: Josh White
* 1958: Mel Tormé
* 1958: Ricky Nelson (released posthumously)
* 1959: Eila Pellinen (in Finnish as "Surullinen sunnuntai")
* 1959: Orkesteri
* 1961: Sarah Vaughan
* 1961: Inger Qvick (in Swedish as "Sista Söndag")
* 1962: Lou Rawls
* 1967: Carmen McRae
* 1968: Genesis (U.S. band unrelated to the well-known British band)
* 1969: Ray Charles
* 1972: Viktor Klimenko (in Russian as "Ona pred ikonoi")
* 1972: Kai Hyttinen (in Finnish as "Surullinen sunnuntai")
* 1972: Kuoro (in Finnish as "Surullinen sunnuntai")
* 1977: Fredi (in Finnish as "Surullinen sunnuntai")
* 1978: Erik Cronwall
* 1979: Lydia Lunch (Queen of Siam)
* 1981: Elvis Costello & the Attractions (Trust)
* 1982: Associates (Sulk)
* 1983: Marc and the Mambas
* 1983: Swans Way
* 1983: Jacques Calonne (Ténor Mondain) (in French, under the title "Sombre Dimanche", lyrics credited to László Jávor, but probably the ones by Jean Marčze and François-Eugčne Gonda)
* 1984: Peter Wolf (Lights Out)
* 1985: Harri Marstio (in Finnish under title "Surullinen sunnuntai")
* 1986: Christian Death
* 1988: Serge Gainsbourg (Le Zénith de Gainsbourg) (in French)
* 1991: Vlado Kreslin (Bela nedelja, in Slovene)
* 1991: The Singing Loins (Songs For The Organ)
* 1992: Diamanda Galás (The Singer) (Desmond Carter lyrics)
* 1992: Sinéad O'Connor (Am I Not Your Girl?)
* 1995: Gitane Demone
* 1996: Sarah McLachlan (Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff)
* 1996: Mystic (The Funeral soundtrack)
* 1998: Marianne Faithfull
* 1998: Satan's Sadists (On the compilation Their Sympathetic Majesties Request)
* 1999: The Smithereens (God Save the Smithereens)
* 1999: Björk
* 1999: Leena Calas (in Finnish as "Surullinen sunnuntai")
* 2000: Kronos Quartet
* 2000: Sarah Brightman
* 2001: Iva Bittová (The Man Who Cried)
* 2001: Heather Nova (South)
* 2002: Rob Coffinshaker (Live at the Cemetery) 7" EP
* 2003: Edvin Marton
* 2003: Hot Jazz Band
* 2003: Priscilla Chan (with changed lyrics, pop, Cantonese, titled "Gloomy Sunday")
* 2004: Branford Marsalis (Eternal)
* 2005: Yellow Spots (Psychobilly)
* 2005: Eminemmylou featuring Legs MC (raps added, turned into anti-suicide anthem)
* 2005: Venetian Snares under the Hungarian title "Öngyilkos vasárnap" (literally meaning 'Suicidal Sunday'), which incorporates a sample of Billie Holiday's 1941 rendition.
* 2006: Emilie Autumn
* 2006: Tsukimono (on Famousfor15mb.com)
* 2006: Angéla Póka (live) (performing Szomorú Vasárnap live during Megasztár)
* 2006: Red Sky Mourning
* 2006: Lucía Jiménez (for the movie the Kovak Box inspired by the song)
* 2006: Zaorany kytky [1](band from Czech republic)
* 2007: Candie Payne
* 2007: The Unbending Trees (live)
* 2008: Ghoul Recorded with altered lyrics for a split 7" record
* 2008: Ivana Wong
* 2008: The Unbending Trees UK only bonus track on their album.
* 2008: Paris Jones Canadian Singer
* 2008: Saori Yano Tokyo saxophonist, Billie Holiday tribute CD.
* 2008: Laďka Fatien French jazz singer on Album Misery; a tribute to Billie Holiday
* 2009 Aliyah Hussain
* Marc Almond
* Mickey Baker
* Anton LaVey - from "htmpl productions & pcl link dump - Christianity vs satanism" compilation
* 2009: Emilie Autumn
* 2009: Blackmailers
* 2009: Chance Calaway Trinidain Rap Artist - First ever Hip Hop edition of Gloomy Sunday
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloomy_Sunday