sinead O'Connor Gloomy Sunday
DISCLAIMER! THIS SONG IS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN THE CAUSE OF 100 SUICIDES - Please do not listen to it if you feel you cannot handle dark lyrics, thank you.
Gloomy Sunday is an example of the urban legend phenomenon in Popular culture. Urban legends are popular stories alleged to be passed down by word of mouth, they’re mostly thought to be false information but that is always up for discussion since there are mostly multiple versions of what actually happened. These stories always highlight either the supernatural, humorous or tragic events which always peek the interest of the public, it hence becomes a mystery that the audience and the media who in this case play an important role in the transmission of these stories, set out to discover( what is the “truth” )This song was composed in 1932 by Hungarian songwriter, Rezsö Senes after going through a series of tragic events that altered his life, he poured out his emotions in his melancholic sheet music. It was his colleague, Laszlo Javor who provided the lyrics to this moody tune. Javor's lyrics really did justice to the theme of the music, they added the dark suicidal lyrics that caused a buzz even today. How can a song have such a deep impact on society to the point of causing people to take their own lives? Well, the original lyrics of Gloomy Sunday which was later nicknamed the “Hungarian Suicide Song” Portrayed a theme of suicide and after allegedly being the cause of about 18 deaths in Hungary, the song was banned, not after it had gained worldwide recognition in the UK. The song was released in English in 1936 with revised lyrics by Ray M. Lewis with the lyrics clearly referring to suicide. It was also later on banned by the BBC and the New York Times after shocker, reports of people killing themselves whilst clutching onto the sheet music of Gloomy Sunday. This song just goes to prove the deep impact music has on human beings psychologically and not only physically and also how music can relate to the masses, how one song transmits a common message highlighting the politics in music. The daunting question is did Gloomy Sunday really cause these deaths or did people just not know what mental illnesses where? What is certain is that the composer of this gloomy tune took his life(he describes it in his suicidal note) after the effects it had on people so did the writer of the lyrics after his ex-lover as legend has it, took her own life after listening to the song. As for today, I have seen comments from people online saying that either this song makes them sleep or it makes them just sad as for some, it does not phase them. Someone actually said this generation is just too depressed to be phased by this tune. Though I do not agree with it I believe it has to do with the demographic. The time and period contribute to the effects the music will have on society. This song probably resonated with the masses due to the era in which it was composed, the Great Depression and the propagation of antisemitism making it relatable to people who had lost their loved ones. To conclude, in the English version, it adds a positive light to the suicidal song; “I was only dreaming” How this lightened the song, I do not know, all I know is, this song still remains a mystery till today even after all these decades and yes, Sundays are indeed gloomy for Monday awaits us all.