Gloomy Sunday (Cover)

This is my piano and vocal tribute to one of my favourite songs ever, "Gloomy Sunday" by the Hungarian composer Rezső Seress (1933), with lyrics from poet László Jávor.

Sometimes referred as the "Suicide Song", it's been banned from airplay by major radio networks such the BBC due to its pessimistic and extreme melancholic mood, as back then radio programmers agreed that people needed uplifting and comforting music after the 2nd World War conflict, and this song was classified too detrimental to wartime morale. The ban has been lifted in 2002.

The version I propose here takes inspiration from the iconic and amazing Diamanda Galas, a true visionary artist who raised the bar and set new standards in terms of vocal experimentation.

Filmed and edited by Ricardo Marques - www.ricardocinema.com

LYRICS

Sadly, one Sunday
I waited and waited
With flowers in my arms
All the dreams have created
I waited 'til dreams,
Like my heart, were all broken
The flowers were all dead
And the words were unspoken

The grief that I knew
Was beyond all consoling
And the beat of my heart
Was a bell that was tolling
Saddest of all Sundays.

Then came a Sunday
When you came to find me
They brought me to church
And I left you behind me
My eyes could not see
What I wanted to love me
The earth and the flowers
Are forever above me.

The bell then tolled for me
And the wind whispered, "Never!"
But you I have loved
And I'll love you forever
Last of all Sundays.