Gloomy Sunday

This "is a song composed by Hungarian pianist and composer Rezső Seress in 1933 to a Hungarian poem written by László Jávor (original Hungarian title of both song and poem "Szomorú vasárnap" (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈsomoruː ˈvɒʃaːrnɒp]), in which the singer mourns the untimely death of a lover and contemplates suicide." from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloomy_Sunday

There are many notable singers who have recorded this song. The definitive version is generally considered the one recorded by Billy Holiday in 1941.

I absolutely love the Portishead version so I posted the lyrics. The original Hungarian song lacks the final verse where the singer realizes she is only dreaming and awakes to find her lover by her side. Personally I think the song is more powerful in the original without the happy ending.

Here are a couple additional links: http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/gloomy.asp http://classical-iconoclast.blogspot.com/2009/03/gloomy-sunday-song-with-curse.html

And here is the song in Hungarian: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOqiolytFw4&feature=related