What is the meaning of Gloomy Sunday?
" Gloomy Sunday " ( Hungarian: Szomorú vasárnap ), also known as the " Hungarian Suicide Song ", is a popular song composed by Hungarian pianist and composer Rezső Seress and published in 1933. The original lyrics were titled “Vége a világnak” ( The world is ending) and were about despair caused by war, ending in a quiet prayer about people's sins.
Where did the song Gloomy Sunday come from?
A highly fictional version of the song's origin is at the heart of the 1999 German/Hungarian film Ein Lied von Liebe und Tod ( Gloomy Sunday – A Song of Love and Death ). The song's lyrics are featured in the bridge of the Dead Milkmen song "Blood Orgy of the Atomic Fern."
What is the notorious ‘Gloomy Sunday’?
In Budapest, a shopkeeper killed himself and left a note that quoted from the lyrics of the same song. In London, a woman overdosed while listening to a record of the song over and over. The piece of music that connects all these deaths is the notorious “Gloomy Sunday.”
Is ‘Gloomy Sunday’ the song that kills people?
In London, a woman overdosed while listening to a record of the song over and over. The piece of music that connects all these deaths is the notorious “Gloomy Sunday.”
Is Gloomy Sunday movie based on true story?
The film is based on the novel by Nick Barkow, co-written and directed by Rolf Schübel and tells a fictional story connected to the creation of the infamous song "Gloomy Sunday".
What is wrong with Gloomy Sunday?
The present article focuses on what is probably the best known song concerning suicide, Gloomy Sunday, the "Hungarian suicide song." An analysis of historical sources suggests that the song was believed to trigger suicides. It was, for example, banned by the BBC in England until 2002.
Is there a cursed song?
Rezső Seress's "Gloomy Sunday" could be one of the most controversial songs of all time. Initially written in 1933, it was soon known worldwide as the cursed song that makes people commit suicide.
What happened Billie Holiday?
Holiday died July 17, 1959, at the age of 44 of complications from cirrhosis. She had 70 cents in the bank and $750 strapped to her leg.
What is the meaning of the song "Gloomy is Sunday"?
The song seems to allude to suicide, as he longs to be with his love in the afterlife, and appears to be taking matters into his own hands to get there. The song was released in English in 1936 with revised lyrics by Ray M. Lewis. This version clearly refers to suicide: Gloomy is Sunday, with shadows I spend it all.
What key is Gloomy Sunday in?
And he did so by putting his heart and soul, his sadness, and his disappointment into the composition. Seress composed the song in the sad key of C minor, and the music alone was said to be enough to make a person extremely depressed or suicidal.
How many suicides were there on Gloomy Sunday?
The legend refers to more than a hundred suicides resulting from the Gloomy Sunday lure to the “other side.”. Many other stories about Gloomy Sunday suicides can be found strewn across the Internet. One tells of a girl in Vienna who drowned herself while clinging to the sheet music of the song.
Why was the song "The Gloomy Song" banned?
The song was banned on the BBC until 2002, and according to some reports, certain outlets in the US refused to play the song, fearing it was somehow responsible for these suicides.” (Lauren Davis, “Could This Gloomy Song Really Inspire a Person to Commit Suicide?” iO9 ).
How many people died in Hungary from the song Gloomy Sunday?
At least eighteen suicide deaths in Hungary are reported to have had close links with Gloomy Sunday. In the Time Magazine article, “ Music: Suicide Song ,” published March 30, 1936, the author (unnamed) described a number of suicides. A Hungarian shoemaker by the name of Joseph Keller left a note at the scene of his suicide quoting some of the Gloomy Sunday lyrics. Several bodies were found in the Danube with their hands clutching the song’s sheet music. Two people shot themselves while hearing a band play the song, and others had been found to have ended their own lives while listening to it. The song was banned in Hungary.
Is Gloomy Sunday a legend?
The story surrounding Gloomy Sunday has become somewhat of a legend, embellished to a certain extent. Many of the details are not verifiable. Nonetheless, the song and story have been widely publicized in popular newspapers and magazines for its supposed eerie connection with many suicides.
Did Rezs Seress survive the Great Depression?
Additionally, antisemitism was taking hold across Europe. He didn’t know it when he composed Gloomy Sunday, but Rezső Seress would later be interned at a Nazi labor camp in Ukraine. He survived the camp, but his mother did not.
Fact and Fiction
Gloomy Sunday Related Deaths
- At least eighteen suicide deaths in Hungary are reported to have had close links with Gloomy Sunday. In the Time Magazine article, “Music: Suicide Song,” published March 30, 1936, the author (unnamed) described a number of suicides. A Hungarian shoemaker by the name of Joseph Keller left a note at the scene of his suicide quoting some of the Gloomy Sundaylyrics. Several bodies …
A Climate For Suicide
- The Great Depression had begun and suicide rates were skyrocketing in the U.S. and Hungary. Additionally, antisemitism was taking hold across Europe. He didn’t know it when he composed Gloomy Sunday, but Rezső Seress would later be interned at a Nazi labor camp in Ukraine. He survived the camp, but his mother did not. Prior to becoming a musician, ...
Food For Thought
- A lot of sad songs have been written. Other songs were not sad, but that may have been about suicide have been written. Many are blamed for having actually caused suicides, however, most of those were isolated incidents. Why is Gloomy Sundayarguably the most suicide-provoking song in history? Related: Aokigahara Forest of Japan: The Suicide Paradox Is it because two men, each …