Rezső Seress and the Suicide Song

Rezső Seress and the Suicide Song
Address: Akácfa street 38 – Budapest
GPS: 47.499829, 19.065865

Rezső Seress lived most of his life in poverty in Budapest.

Being Jewish, he was taken to a labor camp by the Nazis during the Second World War. He survived the camp, and became a trapeze artist. After a debilitating injury, he concentrated on songwriting and singing.

Seress taught himself to play the piano with only one hand. As a piano bar entertainer, he wrote songs revolved around that lifestyle. Kispipa piano bar was a favorite of prostitutes, musicians, bohemian spirits and the Jewish working class.

But his most famous composition was titled Szomorú Vasárnap (“Gloomy Sunday“), written in 1933. This song achieved infamy as it was blamed for touching off a wave of suicides during the depression, and people referred to it as ‘the suicide song.’

Hungarian officials finally prohibited it.

It became a big hit in America, where Paul Robeson introduced an English version. One reason Rezső Seress remained in poverty, in spite of having a world-famous song, was that he never wanted to go to the USA to collect his royalties.

The tiny statue of Rezső Seress on the wall outside of the Kispipa restaurant. A touching memorial to a man who was able to interpret the pain of the Great Depression, maybe a little too well.

To donate by Venmo, scan the code below with you Venmo app.
Or this link to our account @SizzleMap

To donate by PayPal, scan the below QR code.

---

---

Buda, Baths, and Beyond (BBB) – Through an extensive series of short, entertaining, and informational videos, BBB attempts to lure travelers to the streets of Budapest and to explore this vast, amazing city on foot. The streets will come alive as Hungarian history, legends, culture, and hidden secrets are illuminated and celebrated, making even a brief stop in Budapest a unique and memorable experience.

Forrest Mallard (@forrestmallard) – HOST/PRODUCER – the host of Buda, Baths, and Beyond is an avid world-traveler and has been on the road, non-stop, since early 2005. Along the way he has picked up an insatiable desire for walking long-distance trails and he hopes to one day have completed at least one major trek in every country in the world. BBB is an attempt to help travelers to Budapest embrace the joy of walking through a bit of urban exploring.

Budapest Party Hostels (www.budapestpartyhostels.com) – Budapest is the birthplace of the party hostels as we know it. A beautiful jewel of culture and history of Europe, it is also famous for its thriving party scene, with Spa parties, ruin bars and plenty of nightclubs to go wild. On top of that, one of the biggest festivals in Europe, Sziget Festival, known as the European Burning Man and that is held every year in one of the islands of the Danube. Traveling solo or in a group, if you are looking for hostels where you can meet like-minded people looking to have fun in Budapest these hostels are the place to go! Friendly staff, fun atmosphere and plenty of organized activities to encourage guest socializing.

Tramposaurus Treks (www.tramposaurus.com) – The ultimate guide to taking a nice walk. Around the block or across the continent, Tramposaurus Treks wants you to get off your ass, put on your walking shoes, get outside, and have yourself an adventure. With city maps of famous cities to do a bit of urban exploring, as well as an extensive catalog of long-distance treks all over the world, Tramposaurus Treks has all of the resources you need.