Can you imagine that one song can lead to dozens of suicides?
So it will surprise you to know that one song, Gloomy Sunday, has been linked to more than a hundred suicides, one of which was by the person who composed the song.
Now whether or not this song has forced dozens of people to commit suicide is unknown, but one thing is for sure that the composer of the song, Rezso Seress, ended his own life and his most successful song possibly Played a role in it.
A very, very tragic song
Rezso Seress was born in the European country of Hungary and in 1933 (when he was 34 years old) was a failed songwriter.
According to some traditions, he was living in Paris at that time, while according to others, he was a resident of Budapest.
Legend has it that his girlfriend left him around this time, which led to his depression and he wrote the lyrics to a song called Gloomy Sunday, nicknamed the Hungarian Suicide Song.
The very sad lyrics of this song were written by Laszlo Javor, a friend of Rezso Seress.
Some reports claim that Laszlo Javor’s girlfriend left him and as a result he wrote a poem inspired by the lyrics.
Some say that Rizso Seress himself wrote the song about war and apocalypse, which was later turned into a heartbreaking song by Laszlo Javor.
Whatever the truth, the song didn’t attract much attention at first, but two years later, a recorded version by singer Paul Kalmar was linked to a number of suicides in Hungary.
The song was reportedly banned after that.
It should be noted that the number of newspapers in Hungary in the 1930s was negligible, so it is not possible to verify the legends or traditions related to this song.
However, Hungary has the highest suicide rate in the world.
According to an estimate, 46 out of every 100,000 people in this European country commit suicide.
But there is no denying that a song being the cause of suicides was a story that became the center of attention and later the English translation of the song also came out.
Sam Lewis sang it in English and kept the song’s depressing lyrics closer to the actual words.
In 1941 Billie Holiday recorded the final version of Gloomy Sunday in which the featured woman gave new life to the traditions associated with the song.
By the way, it is claimed that the song was banned in the US, but it never happened, but in the UK, only the lyrics were allowed to be played, or at least such a claim has been made.
In 1999, a German film told the story of a song that led to a series of suicides, bringing Gloomy Sunday back into the spotlight.
But why did Rezso Seress commit suicide?
During World War II, Rezso Seress was thrown into a German labor camp where he managed to survive.
He then worked in the theater and circus where he performed gymnastic tricks.
Later he started writing lyrics again but could never write a hit song like Gloomy Sunday.
It is said that when the song became a hit, Trapeze tried to reconnect with his girlfriend, only to find out that the girl had committed suicide by poisoning herself with the song’s lyrics sheet nearby.
According to another version of the story, the girl committed suicide and left a letter that simply read Gloomy Sunday.
Now whether it is true or not, Rezso Seress must have committed suicide by jumping from an apartment building in 1968, the reason for which is unknown.
