What’s On The Shelf | Games, Music & Culture

If you want an interesting backstory, be sure to check out the history of Gloomy Sunday, initially composed by Rezső Seress with its best-known Hungarian lyrics later written by László Jávor. There’s an entire mythology that has grown around the song in the decades since, and it’s worth checking out just to get into the mindset this song puts you in. However, I’ll be looking at a more modern take on what may be one of the most depressing songs I’ve ever heard, covered in this instance by Ricky Nelson.

The artist is depressed, and I mean REALLY depressed.

He is speaking to a lost love, someone who has since left this mortal coil. The one left behind exists in a constant fog of black imagery and grey attitude. So much so that he longs for reconnection with this person at the expense of his own life. There is no silver lining here. No moment where Ricky picks himself up, dusts himself off, and realizes that maybe tomorrow will be better. Tomorrow, frankly, seems to be the problem.

There isn’t much instrumentation in this cover, merely Ricky’s vocals and the occasional chord of an acoustic guitar. This creates an incredible sense of intimacy around an already deeply intimate topic. There’s nowhere for the sadness to hide. No swelling orchestra or dramatic production to tell you how you’re supposed to feel. It’s just Nelson, his guitar, and an absolutely miserable Sunday.

The result is a song that rings in your ears and shades over you like the numberless shadows depicted in the lyrics. It feels less like listening to someone perform and more like accidentally stumbling across someone’s grief when you probably weren’t supposed to hear it.

A Chiller that chills you to the very bone.