The Hungarian Suicide Song

'Gloomy Sunday' originally written by a Hungarian composer Rezső Seress after he broke up with his girlfriend in the 1930's.; a.k.a The Hungarian Suicide Song.

 

At least 100 suicides have been linked to the song in various countries, including both the composer and the composer's ex-girlfriend who poisoned herself after hearing it leaving a note simply saying, "Gloomy Sunday".

 

It was banned by the BBC up until 2002; who deemed the song "too upsetting" for the public

 

Stories of its notoriety include a man who heard a beggar singing it and immediately gave all his possessions away before jumping from a bridge to his death. In Budapest, a shopkeeper killed himself and left a note that quoted from the lyrics of the same song. In Berlin, a young shopkeeper hung herself. Beneath her feet, they found a copy of "Gloomy Sunday". In New York, a pretty secretary gassed herself, leaving behind her a request that “Gloomy Sunday” be played at her funeral. In London, a woman overdosed while listening to a record of the song over and over.

 

Is it the musical equivalent of M. Night Shyamalan's film The Happening, or simply myth?

 

Listen at your peril...

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