Gloomy Sunday
Encyclopedia
"Gloomy Sunday" is a song composed by Hungarian
pianist and composer Rezső Seress
and published in 1933, as "Vége a világnak" ("End of the world"). Lyrics were written by László Jávor
, and in his version the song was retitled "Szomorú vasárnap" (ˈsomoruː ˈvɒʃaːrnɒp) ("Sad Sunday"). The song was first recorded in Hungarian
by Pál Kalmár
in 1935.
"Gloomy Sunday" was first recorded in English by Hal Kemp
in 1936, with lyrics by Sam M. Lewis
, and was recorded the same year by Paul Robeson
, with lyrics by Desmond Carter
. It became well known throughout much of the English
-speaking world after the release of a version by Billie Holiday
in 1941. Lewis's lyrics referred to suicide
, and the record label described it as the "Hungarian Suicide Song". There is a recurring urban legend
that claims that many people committed suicide with this song playing.
, in an attempt to become established as a songwriter in late 1932. The original musical composition was a piano melody in C-minor, with the lyrics being sung over it. Seress wrote the song at the time of the Great Depression
and increasing fascist influence in the writer's native Hungary, although sources differ as to the degree to which his song was motivated by personal melancholy, rather than concerns about the future of the world. The basis of Seress's lyrics is a reproach to the injustices of man, with a prayer to God
to have mercy on the modern world and the people who perpetrate evil. There are are some suggestions that the words of "Vége a világnak" were in fact not written until World War II
itself and not copyright
ed until 1946.
Seress initially had difficulty finding a publisher, mainly due to the unusually melancholy nature of the song. One potential publisher stated:
The song was published as sheet music
in late 1933, with lyrics by poet László Jávor
, who was inspired by a recent break-up with his fiancée. According to most sources, Jávor rewrote the lyrics after the song's first publication, although he is sometimes described as the original writer of its words. His lyrics contained no political sentiments, but rather were a lament for the death of a beloved and a pledge to meet with the lover again in the afterlife
. This version of the song became the best known, and most later rewritings are based around the idea of lost love.
and using Jávor's lyrics, by Pál Kalmár
in 1935. His version immediately became popular in Hungary, but became associated with a high number of suicides, reportedly including that of Jávor's ex-fiancee, and several people who jumped into the Danube
holding copies of the sheet music. According to some sources, the Hungarian authorities
then banned public performances of the song in response.
After press reports about the "Hungarian suicide song" were published elsewhere in the world, it was quickly translated into other languages. It was recorded in 1935 by Pyotr Leschenko, in Russian, as "Мрачное воскресенье" ["Mrachnoe voskresen'e"]. It was recorded on February 28, 1936, by Damia
as "Sombre Dimanche", with French lyrics by Jean Marèze and François-Eugène Gonda, and was recorded in Japanese in 1936 by Noriko Awaya
, as "Kurai Nichiyobi".
Several versions using English lyrics were published. In the United States
, the most successful set of words was written by Sam M. Lewis
, whose other lyrics included, in marked contrast, "I'm Sitting on Top of the World
". Lewis' lyrics start with the line "Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumberless..." and, unlike earlier versions, refer specifically to suicide in the lines "Gloomy is Sunday, with shadows I spend it all / My heart and I have decided to end it all." However, Lewis's song ends with the realisation that the singer's despair was all a dream. The version with Lewis' words was first recorded in March 1936, by bandleader Hal Kemp
, featuring vocalist Bob Allen. The song was also recorded by Paul Whiteman
in 1936. Another successful early version was by Artie Shaw
, featuring singer Pauline Byrns
.
An alternative set of lyrics was written in England by Desmond Carter. His version, again using Seress's tune, was recorded by Paul Robeson
in 1936. Carter's lyrics start with the line "Sadly one Sunday I waited and waited..."
"Gloomy Sunday" was dubbed the "Hungarian suicide song" in the United States. It became closely associated in the English speaking world with Billie Holiday
. Her version of the song, using Lewis's lyrics, became a hit in 1941, and the description appeared on the label of Holiday's record.
s 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.
Press reports in the 1930s associated a number of suicides, both in Hungary and America, with "Gloomy Sunday", but most of the deaths supposedly linked to it are difficult to verify. The urban legend appears to be, for the most part, simply an embellishment of the high number of Hungarian suicides that occurred in the decade that the song was composed due to other factors such as famine
and poverty
. No studies have drawn a clear link between the song and suicide.
In January 1968, some 35 years after writing the song, its composer Rezső Seress did commit suicide. He survived jumping out of a window in Budapest
, but later in the hospital choked himself to death with a wire.
The BBC banned Billie Holiday's version of the song from being broadcast, as being detrimental to wartime morale, but allowed performances of instrumental versions. However, there is little evidence of any other radio bans; the BBC's ban was lifted by 2002.
|event= Mel Tormé
}}|event= Eila Pellinen
(in Finnish as "Surullinen sunnuntai")}}|event= Genesis (the Los Angeles psychedelic rock band, not the UK progressive rock band)}}|event= Viktor Klimenko (in Russian as "Ona pred ikonoi")}}|event= Lydia Lunch
}}|event= The Associates
(Sulk
) (Sam M. Lewis, Rezső Seress) }}|event= Elvis Costello
(Trust) (Sam M. Lewis, Rezső Seress) }}|event= Marc Almond
(Torment and Toreros
) (Sam M. Lewis, Rezső Seress) }}|event= Peter Wolf
(Lights Out
) (Sam M. Lewis, Rezső Seress) }}|event= Christian Death
(Atrocities
) (Sam M. Lewis, Rezső Seress) }}|event= Dead Milkmen
}} in English, as a bridge in their song "Blood Orgy of the Atomic Fern"|event= Serge Gainsbourg
}} French Version|event= Diamanda Galás
(The Singer) (Desmond Carter lyrics) }}|event= Sinéad O'Connor
}}|event= Sarah McLachlan
(English, using Sam Lewis lyrics. From the "Rarities, B-Sides, and Other Stuff" album)}}|event= Danny Michel
(English. From the "Clear" album)}}|event= Kronos Quartet
(Instrumental for String quartet
)}}|event= Sarah Brightman
(English, using Sam Lewis lyrics. From the La Luna album)}}|event= Heather Nova
}}|event= Venetian Snares
under the Hungarian title "Öngyilkos vasárnap" (literally meaning 'Suicidal Sunday'), which incorporates a sample of Billie Holiday's 1941 rendition.}}|event= Emilie Autumn
(Billie Holiday Lyrics - first 2 verses only.)}}|event= Pallbearer
}}
The song was performed by Björk
at an AT&T
promotional convention and at fashion designer Alexander McQueen
's funeral.
tells a fictional story about the creation of the song, depicting a love triangle during World War II. Heather Nova covers the song in the closing credits.
The song inspired the 2006 movie The Kovak Box
, in which writer is trapped on the island of Mallorca with people who are injected with a microchip that causes them to commit suicide when they hear "Gloomy Sunday". The song plays during the movie, sung by the actress Lucía Jiménez. A music video from the cover was released as part of the movie promotion. The song is also featured on the soundtrack of Wristcutters: A Love Story
, performed by Artie Shaw.
The song was listed as being one of the saddest songs of all time on Spinner
(website), coming in at 2nd over all.
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
pianist and composer Rezső Seress
Rezso Seress
Rezső Seress was a Hungarian pianist and composer. Some sources give his birth name as Rudolf Spitzer.Rezső Seress lived most of his life in poverty in Budapest, when, being Jewish, was taken to a labour camp by the Nazis during the Second World War...
and published in 1933, as "Vége a világnak" ("End of the world"). Lyrics were written by László Jávor
László Jávor
László Jávor was a Hungarian poet who wrote the poem that was the basis for the jazz standard Gloomy Sunday, composed by Rezső Seress, later also notably recorded by Billie Holliday....
, and in his version the song was retitled "Szomorú vasárnap" (ˈsomoruː ˈvɒʃaːrnɒp) ("Sad Sunday"). The song was first recorded in Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
by Pál Kalmár
Pál Kalmár
Pál Kalmár was a Hungarian singer who is noted as being the first singer to perform Gloomy Sunday...
in 1935.
"Gloomy Sunday" was first recorded in English by Hal Kemp
Hal Kemp
James Harold "Hal" Kemp was a jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, composer, and arranger. He was born in Marion, Alabama and died in Madera, California following an auto accident...
in 1936, with lyrics by Sam M. Lewis
Sam M. Lewis
Sam M. Lewis was a Jewish-American singer and lyricist, born in New York City, New York as Samuel Levine-Biography:...
, and was recorded the same year by Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
, with lyrics by Desmond Carter
Desmond Carter
Herbert Desmond Carter was a British lyricist who worked with George and Ira Gershwin, Ivor Novello, and others, and also wrote one of the first English language versions of the notorious "suicide song", "Gloomy Sunday"....
. It became well known throughout much of the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
-speaking world after the release of a version by Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
in 1941. Lewis's lyrics referred to suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
, and the record label described it as the "Hungarian Suicide Song". There is a recurring urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
that claims that many people committed suicide with this song playing.
Writing and background
The song was composed by Rezső Seress while living in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, in an attempt to become established as a songwriter in late 1932. The original musical composition was a piano melody in C-minor, with the lyrics being sung over it. Seress wrote the song at the time of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and increasing fascist influence in the writer's native Hungary, although sources differ as to the degree to which his song was motivated by personal melancholy, rather than concerns about the future of the world. The basis of Seress's lyrics is a reproach to the injustices of man, with a prayer to God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
to have mercy on the modern world and the people who perpetrate evil. There are are some suggestions that the words of "Vége a világnak" were in fact not written until World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
itself and not copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
ed until 1946.
Seress initially had difficulty finding a publisher, mainly due to the unusually melancholy nature of the song. One potential publisher stated:
The song was published as sheet music
Sheet music
Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols; like its analogs—books, pamphlets, etc.—the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens...
in late 1933, with lyrics by poet László Jávor
László Jávor
László Jávor was a Hungarian poet who wrote the poem that was the basis for the jazz standard Gloomy Sunday, composed by Rezső Seress, later also notably recorded by Billie Holliday....
, who was inspired by a recent break-up with his fiancée. According to most sources, Jávor rewrote the lyrics after the song's first publication, although he is sometimes described as the original writer of its words. His lyrics contained no political sentiments, but rather were a lament for the death of a beloved and a pledge to meet with the lover again in the afterlife
Afterlife
The afterlife is the belief that a part of, or essence of, or soul of an individual, which carries with it and confers personal identity, survives the death of the body of this world and this lifetime, by natural or supernatural means, in contrast to the belief in eternal...
. This version of the song became the best known, and most later rewritings are based around the idea of lost love.
Early translations and recordings
The song was first recorded, in HungarianHungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
and using Jávor's lyrics, by Pál Kalmár
Pál Kalmár
Pál Kalmár was a Hungarian singer who is noted as being the first singer to perform Gloomy Sunday...
in 1935. His version immediately became popular in Hungary, but became associated with a high number of suicides, reportedly including that of Jávor's ex-fiancee, and several people who jumped into the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
holding copies of the sheet music. According to some sources, the Hungarian authorities
Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)
The Kingdom of Hungary also known as the Regency, existed from 1920 to 1946 and was a de facto country under Regent Miklós Horthy. Horthy officially represented the abdicated Hungarian monarchy of Charles IV, Apostolic King of Hungary...
then banned public performances of the song in response.
After press reports about the "Hungarian suicide song" were published elsewhere in the world, it was quickly translated into other languages. It was recorded in 1935 by Pyotr Leschenko, in Russian, as "Мрачное воскресенье" ["Mrachnoe voskresen'e"]. It was recorded on February 28, 1936, by Damia
Marie-Louise Damien
Marie-Louise Damien was a French singer and actress better known by the stage name Damia.-Robert Hollard:...
as "Sombre Dimanche", with French lyrics by Jean Marèze and François-Eugène Gonda, and was recorded in Japanese in 1936 by Noriko Awaya
Noriko Awaya
was a Japanese female Soprano chanson and popular music singer. She has been dubbed the "Queen of Blues" in Japan.- Life and career :...
, as "Kurai Nichiyobi".
Several versions using English lyrics were published. In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the most successful set of words was written by Sam M. Lewis
Sam M. Lewis
Sam M. Lewis was a Jewish-American singer and lyricist, born in New York City, New York as Samuel Levine-Biography:...
, whose other lyrics included, in marked contrast, "I'm Sitting on Top of the World
I'm Sitting on Top of the World
"I'm Sitting on Top of the World" is a popular song.The music was written by Ray Henderson, the lyrics by Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young. The song was published in 1925.The song was first recorded by either Art Gillham or Al Jolson...
". Lewis' lyrics start with the line "Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumberless..." and, unlike earlier versions, refer specifically to suicide in the lines "Gloomy is Sunday, with shadows I spend it all / My heart and I have decided to end it all." However, Lewis's song ends with the realisation that the singer's despair was all a dream. The version with Lewis' words was first recorded in March 1936, by bandleader Hal Kemp
Hal Kemp
James Harold "Hal" Kemp was a jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, composer, and arranger. He was born in Marion, Alabama and died in Madera, California following an auto accident...
, featuring vocalist Bob Allen. The song was also recorded by Paul Whiteman
Paul Whiteman
Paul Samuel Whiteman was an American bandleader and orchestral director.Leader of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s, Whiteman's recordings were immensely successful, and press notices often referred to him as the "King of Jazz"...
in 1936. Another successful early version was by Artie Shaw
Artie Shaw
Arthur Jacob Arshawsky , better known as Artie Shaw, was an American jazz clarinetist, composer, and bandleader. He was also the author of both fiction and non-fiction writings....
, featuring singer Pauline Byrns
Pauline Byrns
Pauline Byrns was an American singer who recorded successfully in the swing era of the late 1930s and 1940s, notably with Artie Shaw and the vocal groups Three Hits and a Miss and The Starlighters. She was often credited as Pauline Byrne or Pauline Byrnes. Singer Mel Tormé said of her: "Oh,...
.
An alternative set of lyrics was written in England by Desmond Carter. His version, again using Seress's tune, was recorded by Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
in 1936. Carter's lyrics start with the line "Sadly one Sunday I waited and waited..."
"Gloomy Sunday" was dubbed the "Hungarian suicide song" in the United States. It became closely associated in the English speaking world with Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
. Her version of the song, using Lewis's lyrics, became a hit in 1941, and the description appeared on the label of Holiday's record.
Urban legends
There have been several urban legendUrban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
s regarding the song over the years, mostly involving it being allegedly connected with various numbers of suicides, and radio networks reacting by purportedly banning
Banning
Banning may refer to:People*Émile Banning , a Belgian civil servant*Henry B. Banning , general in the American Civil War and congressional representative from Ohio*Joanne Banning , Australian field hockey player...
the song. However, most of these claims are unsubstantiated.
Press reports in the 1930s associated a number of suicides, both in Hungary and America, with "Gloomy Sunday", but most of the deaths supposedly linked to it are difficult to verify. The urban legend appears to be, for the most part, simply an embellishment of the high number of Hungarian suicides that occurred in the decade that the song was composed due to other factors such as famine
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
and poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
. No studies have drawn a clear link between the song and suicide.
In January 1968, some 35 years after writing the song, its composer Rezső Seress did commit suicide. He survived jumping out of a window in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, but later in the hospital choked himself to death with a wire.
The BBC banned Billie Holiday's version of the song from being broadcast, as being detrimental to wartime morale, but allowed performances of instrumental versions. However, there is little evidence of any other radio bans; the BBC's ban was lifted by 2002.
Later recordings
The song's notoriety contributed towards many other notable artists later recording the song, including:|event= Mel Tormé
Mel Tormé
Melvin Howard Tormé , nicknamed The Velvet Fog, was an American musician, known for his jazz singing. He was also a jazz composer and arranger, a drummer, an actor in radio, film, and television, and the author of five books...
}}|event= Eila Pellinen
Eila Pellinen
Eila Pellinen or Eila Reima was a Finnish singer. Her song ”Onni jonka annoin pois” was a hit.-Discography:* Tuula ja Eila...
(in Finnish as "Surullinen sunnuntai")}}|event= Genesis (the Los Angeles psychedelic rock band, not the UK progressive rock band)}}|event= Viktor Klimenko (in Russian as "Ona pred ikonoi")}}|event= Lydia Lunch
Lydia Lunch
Lydia Lunch is an American singer, poet, writer, and actress whose career was spawned by the New York No Wave scene...
}}|event= The Associates
The Associates
The Associates may refer to:*Associates, a 1980s Scottish band.*The Associates , a 2001-2002 Canadian TV series about young lawyers in Toronto, Canada....
(Sulk
Sulk (album)
Sulk is the third album by Scottish New Wave band Associates. It was released in May 1982, and reissued as a CD in 2000 with extra tracks...
) (Sam M. Lewis, Rezső Seress) }}|event= Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
(Trust) (Sam M. Lewis, Rezső Seress) }}|event= Marc Almond
Marc Almond
Marc Almond is an English singer-songwriter and musician, who originally found fame as half of the seminal synthpop/New Wave duo Soft Cell...
(Torment and Toreros
Torment and Toreros
Torment and Toreros is the second album to be released by Marc and the Mambas, the album reached #28 in the UK album charts in August 1983. It also is the last album to go under the name "Marc and the Mambas"...
) (Sam M. Lewis, Rezső Seress) }}|event= Peter Wolf
Peter Wolf
Peter Wolf is an American Rhythm and Blues, Soul and Rock and Roll musician, best known as the lead vocalist for the J. Geils Band from 1967 to 1983; and for a successful musical solo career to date with writing partner Will Jennings.- Life and career :Wolf was born in the Bronx, New York...
(Lights Out
Lights Out (Peter Wolf album)
Lights Out is the debut solo album by Peter Wolf, released in 1984 .-Track listing:#"Lights Out" - 4:27#"I Need You Tonight" - 3:39...
) (Sam M. Lewis, Rezső Seress) }}|event= Christian Death
Christian Death
Christian Death is an American deathrock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1979. The band was founded and fronted by Rozz Williams. Christian Death is most notable for their first album Only Theatre of Pain....
(Atrocities
Atrocities (album)
Atrocities was Christian Death's fourth album and the first with Valor Kand taking over main duties after Rozz Williams' departure. The album's subject matter deals almost exclusively with the Holocaust including songs about Auschwitz and Josef Mengele...
) (Sam M. Lewis, Rezső Seress) }}|event= Dead Milkmen
Dead Milkmen
The Dead Milkmen is an American satirical punk rock band formed in 1983 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They consisted of vocalist and keyboardist Rodney Linderman , guitarist and vocalist Joe Genaro , bassist Dave Schulthise and drummer Dean Sabatino .Beginning within the local underground...
}} in English, as a bridge in their song "Blood Orgy of the Atomic Fern"|event= Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg, born Lucien Ginsburg was a French singer-songwriter, actor and director. Gainsbourg's extremely varied musical style and individuality make him difficult to categorize...
}} French Version|event= Diamanda Galás
Diamanda Galás
Diamanda Galás is an American avant-garde composer, vocalist, pianist, organist, performance artist and painter.Galás has been described as "capable of the most unnerving vocal terror", with her three and a half octave vocal range. She often screams, hisses and growls...
(The Singer) (Desmond Carter lyrics) }}|event= Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor is an Irish singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra and achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a cover of the song "Nothing Compares 2 U"....
}}|event= Sarah McLachlan
Sarah McLachlan
Sarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range, as of 2006, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and four...
(English, using Sam Lewis lyrics. From the "Rarities, B-Sides, and Other Stuff" album)}}|event= Danny Michel
Danny Michel
Danny Michel is a singer-songwriter from Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario.- Biography :Danny Michel was born in 1970 next to the "Smiles n' Chuckles" chocolate factory in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada...
(English. From the "Clear" album)}}|event= Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet is a string quartet founded by violinist David Harrington in 1973 in Seattle, Washington. Since 1978, the quartet has been based in San Francisco, California. The longest-running combination of performers had Harrington and John Sherba on violin, Hank Dutt on viola, and Joan...
(Instrumental for String quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
)}}|event= Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman is an English classical crossover soprano, actress, songwriter and dancer. She is famous for possessing a vocal range of over 3 octaves and singing in the whistle register...
(English, using Sam Lewis lyrics. From the La Luna album)}}|event= Heather Nova
Heather Nova
Heather Nova, is a Bermudian singer-songwriter and poet. She has released eight full-length albums and has found lasting success in Germany where two of her albums South and Storm have made their way into the Top-5 of German official album chart.-Biography:Heather Nova was born in Bermuda...
}}|event= Venetian Snares
Venetian Snares
Venetian Snares is the main performing alias of Canadian electronic musician Aaron Funk .From Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Funk is known for making electronic music often in odd numbered time signatures...
under the Hungarian title "Öngyilkos vasárnap" (literally meaning 'Suicidal Sunday'), which incorporates a sample of Billie Holiday's 1941 rendition.}}|event= Emilie Autumn
Emilie Autumn
Emilie Autumn Liddell , better known by her stage name Emilie Autumn, is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and violinist. Autumn draws influence for her music—the style of which she has alternatively labeled as "Victoriandustrial" and glam rock—from plays, novels, and history, particularly the...
(Billie Holiday Lyrics - first 2 verses only.)}}|event= Pallbearer
Pallbearer
A pall-bearer is one of several funeral participants who helps carry the casket of a deceased person from a religious or memorial service or viewing either directly to a cemetery or mausoleum, or to and from the hearse which carries the coffin....
}}
The song was performed by Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
at an AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
promotional convention and at fashion designer Alexander McQueen
Alexander McQueen
Lee Alexander McQueen, CBE was a British fashion designer and couturier best known for his in-depth knowledge of bespoke British tailoring, his tendency to juxtapose strength with fragility in his collections, as well as the emotional power and raw energy of his provocative fashion shows...
's funeral.
Legacy
The 1999 German film Ein Lied von Liebe und TodEin Lied von Liebe und Tod
Ein Lied von Liebe und Tod is a 1999 film, a German/Hungarian co-production.Although the movie centers on a romantic love triangle with tragic consequences, it has a strong history background, set in Hungary during World War II...
tells a fictional story about the creation of the song, depicting a love triangle during World War II. Heather Nova covers the song in the closing credits.
The song inspired the 2006 movie The Kovak Box
The Kovak Box
The Kovak Box is a 2006 British-Spanish thriller film, directed by Daniel Monzón and starring Timothy Hutton, Lucía Jiménez, Annette Badland and David Kelly.It is set on the island of Mallorca.-Plot:David Norton is used to being in control...
, in which writer is trapped on the island of Mallorca with people who are injected with a microchip that causes them to commit suicide when they hear "Gloomy Sunday". The song plays during the movie, sung by the actress Lucía Jiménez. A music video from the cover was released as part of the movie promotion. The song is also featured on the soundtrack of Wristcutters: A Love Story
Wristcutters: A Love Story
Wristcutters: A Love Story is a 2006 comedy-fantasy-romance film written and directed by Goran Dukić, starring Patrick Fugit, Shea Whigham, and Shannyn Sossamon. It is set in a strange afterlife way-station that has been reserved for people who have committed suicide.It is based on Etgar Keret's...
, performed by Artie Shaw.
The song was listed as being one of the saddest songs of all time on Spinner
Spinner (website)
Spinner is an AOL Music property, which bills itself as "the ultimate music blog for free MP3s, free CD listening, [and] discovering new artists."...
(website), coming in at 2nd over all.