Gloomy Sunday

On a mix that one of my friends made me a couple of weeks ago, there was a song called "Gloomy Sunday." Before looking at the artist, I thought that it would be some sort of indie-emo song that would be melancholy and pretty to listen to. Instead, I got a hit song from 1941 by Billie Holiday that is called, when not by name, "The Hungarian Suicide Song."

The song has been produced by countless artists since the 1930s. The Holiday version has a beautiful, sad orchestration behind the simplistic vocals. It flows gently from phrase to phrase but there is a definite sense of sentimentality and sadness in the tones of the instruments and with Holiday's soulful interpretation of the lyrics.

Since the song was released, there have been many urban legends regarding suicide rates. It was rumored that many radio networks banned the song from the airwaves beacuse, when played, suicide rates spiked. More legends can be found at the song's Wikipedia page.

According to Wikipedia, the Holiday version of the song has an additional stanza. Dreaming, I was only dreaming/I wake and I find you asleep/In the deep of my heart here... This gives the song a dreamlike quality and takes away some of the heartbreaking quality of the Hungarian suicide song.