Art, including music, has always been an important aspect of human spiritual life. Music can elevate human emotions, making people feel joy or sadness in tune with the melody and lyrics. Some musical pieces have profoundly impacted listeners’ psychology, such as “Gloomy Sunday” by Hungarian pianist Reszõ Seress. Unfortunately, its influence has been negative, leading many to suicide due to overwhelming sadness.
The “Cursed Song”
Gloomy Sunday was composed in 1933 and released in 1935. The first singer to record this song was Pál Kalmár. Upon its release, the song quickly gained fame not only in Hungary but also globally. Many famous artists have recorded this hit, with the most notable version by Billie Holiday.
However, perhaps Reszõ Seress himself did not anticipate that the commercial success of his song would lead to a massive tragedy. With its mournful melody and sorrowful lyrics, it became an anthem for those experiencing negative emotions.
Portrait of the song’s creator – Reszõ Seress
The author composed this song on a gloomy Sunday afternoon, true to its title, after he had just ended a deeply felt romantic relationship. From a song about heartbreak, the pessimistic words of Gloomy Sunday resonate with anyone who is suffering or in despair. At that time, Hungary was also experiencing the Great Depression, making life challenging for its citizens. The number of people who empathized with and found solace in the song grew even larger.
Thus, Gloomy Sunday began to appear frequently in the stories of those who chose to end their lives: a shoemaker quoted the song in his suicide note, a girl in Vienna jumped into the river while holding a sheet of the music, a man shot himself in the head after telling his family that he was haunted by the song’s lyrics, and a woman in London overdosed while listening to Gloomy Sunday… Dozens of people have taken their lives due to the negative influence of this song.
In response to the terrifying impact of the hit, the Hungarian government and several other countries had to issue warnings to the public and restrict the promotion of the song. In the UK and the US, the song was even completely banned.
Musician Seress shared his thoughts about his most famous work: “I stand amidst this deadly success as a man accused. This fame causes me pain. I have cried with all the disappointments of my heart, and it seems many others have found their own suffering within this song.“
In 1968, Reszõ Seress jumped from a building to his death. It is believed that he was tormented by having created the “suicide song”, which indirectly took many lives, leading him to make this choice.
Billie Holiday’s recording – the American singer who made the song globally famous
Is it really “just a song”?
Although the media has assigned many names to it, such as “the cursed song,” “the strange curse”, everyone understands that Gloomy Sunday does not carry any curse or mysterious secret. The song causes listeners to feel sadness, suffering, and even a desire to die simply because music has a powerful impact on human psychology.
No one who is happy and joyful commits suicide because they listened to Gloomy Sunday. All those who were “killed” by the song were in unstable psychological states and were burdened with many gloomy, negative thoughts. Listening to a song that seems to express their innermost feelings, with pessimistic lyrics that urge them to let go, has pushed them toward truly negative actions.
Gloomy Sunday or any sad song is never a direct cause of suicide for those suffering from depression, but it can still be an indirect factor that “urges” people to sink deeper into their sadness and darkness.
The negative energy from cultural and artistic products can have dangerous effects, as seen with Gloomy Sunday
After a century, Gloomy Sunday is no longer banned and there are no tragic stories surrounding it anymore. However, this classic piece, famous in the most unwanted way, will always serve as an example of the influence of cultural products on human psychology. This is something that should never be taken lightly.
