First Aid Kit Cover of "Gloomy Sunday"

"Gloomy Sunday" is a song composed by Hungarian pianist and composer Rezső Seress and published in 1933.

The first lyrics were written in 1932 by László Jávor, in his melancholy love poem "Szomorú vasárnap" after his beloved had left him. The song was first recorded in Hungarian by Pál Kalmár in 1935. During World War II Seress wrote alternate lyrics to the song, "Vége a világnak" ("End of the world"), published in 1946, which lamented the horrors of the war and the loss to all humanity.

"Gloomy Sunday" was first recorded in English by Hal Kemp in 1936, with lyrics by Sam M. Lewis, and was recorded the same year by Paul Robeson, with lyrics by Desmond Carter. It became well-known throughout much of the English-speaking world after the release of a version by Billie Holiday in 1941. Here the Swedish duo First Aid Kit offer a lovely version of the song.

First Aid Kit - Gloomy Sunday 2011

And here’s Billie Holiday : Gloomy Sunday