Music has the power to dominate our neurons and control our emotions. A good song can brighten our day while a sad one can leave us in tears. But it’s hard to imagine a song can push us over the edge in a way legend says “Gloomy Sunday” has done to many.
Content Warning: Suicide
For context, “Gloomy Sunday” is also known as the “Hungarian Suicide Song,” due to its original country of release and the number of people colloquially believed to commit suicide after listening to it. Different artists have rereleased the song numerous times over the years. As time progressed, so did the tune’s legend. Today, the myth is so powerful that few people would risk listening to the melody and becoming the song’s next victim.
But are the rumors about “Gloomy Sunday” founded? Or is this another ignorable urban myth? In short, “Gloomy Sunday’s” reputation is a myth. For a longer explanation: Many of the sad and disturbing details surrounding this song contain a grain of truth. Let’s take a look…
Suicide Hotline: If you or someone you know has thoughts of suicide, please call 988 to contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
History of Gloomy Sunday
The dark mystique around “Gloomy Sunday” started early. Composer Rezső Seress first released the song as “The World is Ending” in 1933. The original melody had nothing to do with suicide. Rather, it highlighted the hopelessness of war. The suicide theme didn’t come until Hungarian Poet László Jávor wrote the lyrics after Seress had published the instrumental.
Jávor’s version of the song started to shape “Gloomy Sunday” as we know it today under the title “Sad Sunday.” Two different artists recorded the song in English with two different sets of lyrics in 1936. Even so, the tune didn’t gain popularity in the United States or Britain until Buddy Holiday released his version in 1941. That was the beginning of the modern “Gloomy Sunday.”
Holiday’s lyrics were clear as day. Artists had removed “Gloomy Sunday” far from its original theme of wartime despair. This version of the song is a blatant tale of suicide. The artist writes of a man joining his deceased lover in death and doing so in tragic fashion. It’s unclear if the protagonist’s love interest had also died of suicide, but the line “not where the black coach of sorrow has taken you” alludes to it.
Holiday’s version of the song is different than others in that the protagonist cleanses himself of his suicidal thoughts. The idea of ending his life was nothing but a bad dream, according to the additional lines the artist added to the lyrics.
Gloomy Sunday’s Reputation is an Urban Myth
The myth surrounding “Gloomy Sunday” began with its original 1933 release. The song was a monument to despair in a world where Hitler had just taken power in Germany. This probably wasn’t a coincidence as the composer behind it was Jewish, and the outlook for his people was dim.
As the song spread, so did the rumors. It’s said that authorities found sheet music of “The World is Ending” on the remains of those who died by suicide. This, of course, led to unfounded news runs backing these rumors, which led to even more rumors. It was a vicious cycle.
The rumor mill kicked into overdrive, spreading legends and tales as far as the eye can see. “’Gloomy Sunday’ banned in X countries,” “Don’t listen to this song or you’ll kill yourself,” “that song has the devil in it!” That sort of thing.
Subcultures embraced “Gloomy Sunday” as the suicide song of the era. The emo and goth versions of each age held it dearly, adding to the song’s mystique and likely furthering its myth. The thing about myth, though, is that it tends to hold a grain of truth.
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The Gloomy Sunday Myth Holds a Grain of Truth
Suicide does have links to “Gloomy Sunday,” but the song isn’t poisoned music. It won’t cause you to end your life just because you put the record on. If this were the case, only the original version would exist. Everyone who listened to it would’ve died before creating new releases. Instead, those planning to die by suicide are more likely to search out a song like this one. Not the other way around.
Media in the 1930s claimed that at least 100 deaths by suicide were linked to “Gloomy Sunday,” but nobody has verified these claims. Researchers, however, do believe 17 suicides were committed immediately after listening to “Gloomy Sunday,” following its lyrical release, in 1936. A paper in OMEGA – Journal of Death and Dying says that number is up to 200 people worldwide. In the scheme of things, that still isn’t a lot.
It makes sense that those wanting to end their lives would listen to a song that sums up their feelings before they follow through. There’s no evidence, however, that this song was a tipping point for those individuals. Even in its home country.
As far as “Gloomy Sunday” impacting suicide rates in Hungary goes, it probably didn’t. The country had some of the highest rates of suicide and depression through the entire 20th century. All the song did was give the media something to latch onto. We see this all the time. Humans play the blame game when something negative isn’t easily explained. In this case, they were pointing fingers at “Gloomy Sunday.”
Gloomy Sunday’s Composer Died by Suicide
Rezső Seress’s life ending by suicide in 1968 partially fed the “Gloomy Sunday” urban legend. Since he was the original composer, it seemed to many that he was destined for this fate. Which is a sad thing to say, honestly. The circumstances surrounding his death aren’t that simple.
Seress was depressed by the time he ended his life. He’d lost his fame, he’d lost his passion, and he’d lost his mother. The composer likely suffered from PTSD since he’d survived a Nazi concentration camp through WWII as well. These factors didn’t leave him with much of a bright outlook.
After his death, his obituaries were horrible. Instead of celebrating the man, they linked him to “Gloomy Sunday” and its rumored effect. They devalued his life and used his death as another topic for sensationalism. Of course, this is no different than what the urban legend does either. It washes away the artists’ pain and the beauty of their work, and it becomes a subject used to spook children in the night.
The BBC Banned Gloomy Sunday
Part of the legend around “Gloomy Sunday” is that radio stations around the world banned the song because of its ability to raise suicide rates. This isn’t quite true, but it’s not entirely false, either.
Reports state that only two places banned the song. Hungary banned it after a small wave of suicides in 1936. Then, the BBC followed. The BBC didn’t ban “Gloomy Sunday” because they thought it would cause more suicides, though. They banned the song because they believed it was harmful to morale in wartime. Even then, they only banned the lyrical version. They still aired the instrumental on their stations.
Researchers are Still Studying the Links Between Music and Suicide
No one knows the true number of suicides linked to “Gloomy Sunday,” but it certainly doesn’t drive everyone who hears it to a tragic end. It’s not unrealistic, however, to believe that people have died by suicide after listening to the song. There’s always a final straw. It’s possible that “Gloomy Sunday” is that straw for some but, even so, the root cause isn’t the chosen tune.
Research on the links between music and depression or suicide is lacking. A handful of researchers, however, are calling for that to change. In 2007, researchers published a joint paper in OMEGA – Journal of Death and Dying, looking at the data surrounding “Gloomy Sunday” and raising questions about music’s influence on suicide rates.
Where most scholars and scientists don’t think “Gloomy Sunday” causes suicide, it’s important to investigate these links. We want to lessen the grip of depression on society, and research is the first step. Even if that means taking a closer look at the hauntingly beautiful melodies of times past.
