Song lyrics and meanings

[Ashtoreth]

I tend to prefer songs with dark, depressing, melancholic lyrics, and Gloomy Sunday is definitely one of my favourites of all time.

This song was originally written in 1933 by a Hungarian composer named Rezso Seress. It became known as "The Suicide Song", because allegedly (might be just an urban legend) many people committed suicide after listening to it, and some even left the lyrics written in their suicide letters.

So of course, because of this, the song came to public attention abroad, and some lyricists wrote English versions based on the translation of the Hungarian lyrics. The first popular version of this song was interpreted by Billie Holiday, however, the tone of the lyrics was so hopeless and depressing that the recording company demanded that a third stanza was added to the end of the song, to make it seem like what is being described in the first two stanzas was only just a dream, not reality. This, in my opinion, ruined the meaning of the song completely, for that wasn't the intention of the original composer at all. I tend to skip the last part of the song when I listen to it.

The meaning of the lyrics in short: Death takes away your beloved one, and the pain is just so unbearable that you decide to follow.

Here are the lyrics without the third stanza.


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


Below you can listen to the interpretation by Billie Holiday, although I prefer some of the covers made later by other artists (like Björk and Sinead O'Connor, for example).

Spoiler below!

But my favourite vocal interpretation of "Gloomy Sunday" is definitely the one by Diamanda Galás. The way she sings is not for everyone's taste I guess, but you can really feel the torment and pain, not only in her voice but also in the way she plays the piano... It really touches my soul and always makes me feel a knot in my throat.

The lyrics for this version and its meaning are different, but equally beautiful (see below).

Spoiler below!

Sadly one Sunday I waited and waited
With flowers in my arms for the dream I'd created
I waited 'til dreams, like my heart, were all broken
The flowers were all dead and the words were unspoken
The grief that I knew was beyond all consoling
The beat of my heart was a bell that was tolling

Saddest of Sundays

Then came a Sunday when you came to find me
They bore me to church and I left you behind me
My eyes could not see one I wanted to love me
The earth and the flowers are forever above me
The bell tolled for me and the wind whispered, "Never!"
But you I have loved and I bless you forever

Last of all Sundays

Enjoy the songs on this gloomy Sunday.