#21 'Gloomy Sunday' by Billie Holliday (1941)

SONG

"I think this song is genuinely beautiful. On a slightly worrying note, I can relate. Love her singing too. Despite it's reputation, it's much less depressing than Strange Fruit." - LC

Written by: Rezs Seress, László Jávor and Sam Lewis.

Producer: Uncredited
Label: Okeh

FACTS

• "Gloomy Sunday" is a song composed by Hungarian pianist and composer Rezső Seress in 1933, Vége a világnak (End of the World), with alternate Szomorú vasárnap (Sad Sunday) lyrics written by László Jávor.
• The original lyrics depicted a war-stricken Hungary and a silent prayer to God. Jávor's lyrics are a mourning to a lost lover and a pledge to commit suicide to meet said lover again in the afterlife.
• It has become known as the "Hungarian Suicide Song" because many people have been found dead by means of suicide with this song playing.
• Rezs Seress remained bemused by his song's unsettling reputation, right up until his death in 1968; he committed suicide (after surviving jumping out of a window, he choked himself to death in hospital with a wire).
• Many radio stations, including the BBC, banned the song outright.
• Artists who have covered this song include Elvis Costello, Marc Almond, Sinead O'Connor and Bjork (among many, many others).

Recommended songs by this artist...


Fine and Mellow (1939)
#23 God Bless the Child (1941)
#54 Love For sale (1954)
#16 Strange Fruit (1939)