gloomy sunday

I woke up this morning to a gloomy weather. Alone on a Sunday. And I recall the song "Gloomy Sunday" known to be the "Hungrarian Suicide Song" by Rezső Seress. I came across this song when I was 19 and researching for the meaning behind James Taylor's "Fire and Rain". At that time, I had reservations about hearing the notorious suicide song. Music is a powerful force to reckon with, I figured. It was only last year when I downloaded Billie Holiday's 1940s version, and everytime I'd hear it, I get goosebumps. Yes, it has a depressing tone, but at the same time, it has a certain dark beauty in it. I realized it's not such a creepy song after all, for everyday, I commit suicide.

On a nutshell, Gloomy Sunday was composed in 1933 by Rezső Seress, a Hungarian pianist, after a fight with his girlfriend. The song started to gain its notoriety when several cases were reported about people killing themselves after listening to it, some even had the music sheets or the lyrics held in their cold hands. And, like fuel to the fire, the original composer jumped from a building in Budapest in 1968.

Following is the Sam M. Lewis English translation of the song, as popularized by Billie Holiday:

Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumberless
Dearest the shadows I live with are numberless
Little white flowers will never awaken you
Not where the black coach of sorrow has taken you
Angels have no thought of ever returning you
Would they be angry if I thought of joining you?

Gloomy Sunday

Gloomy is Sunday, with shadows I spend it all
My heart and I have decided to end it all
Soon there'll be candles and prayers that are sad I know
Let them not weep let them know that I'm glad to go
Death is no dream for in death I'm caressing you
With the last breath of my soul I'll be blessing you

Gloomy Sunday

Dreaming, I was only dreaming
I wake and I find you asleep in the deep of my heart, here
Darling, I hope that my dream never haunted you
My heart is telling you how much I wanted you

Gloomy Sunday

Links:
http://www.qsl.net/w5www/gloomy.html
http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/gloomy.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloomy_Sunday


...:::j u l i e:::...