Heather Nova is the Bermudian Songwriter who grew up on a boat in the Caribbean and went on to sell over 2 million albums in her 15 year career to date. She has released seven albums and has opened for artists like Van Morrison and Neil Young as well as performed with artists like Sarah McLachlan. She has also had hit records with co-writes featuring artists like ATB (Renegade), and Eskobar (Someone New).Her brother is the Reggae singer Mishka.
By the end of the 1980s, after leaving RISD, Heather moved briefly to New York City (where she unsuccessfully tried to interest some major labels in a demo including Columbia , who rejected her, only to sign her five years later ), before moving to London, England. She has British citizenship due to her Bermudan origin. In 1990, she released her first recording, an EP called 'Heather Frith' — she had not yet changed her name by then. The name change came a year or so later after several gigs in the Netherlands, where, after finding out that the Dutch have trouble pronouncing "Frith," she chose a name that would be easily pronounceable in every European language, "Nova," her Canadian mother's maiden name.
The new name debuted in 1993 with her second EP 'Spirit in You' and her first full album, 'Glow Stars'. The success of the album led her to record and release her first live album, 'Blow', the same year, which she supported by a tour of Europe. A year later in 1994 she released what many consider to be her finest work to date, the emotional yet jagged album 'Oyster', for which she toured for almost two years. Another live album, 'Live from the Milky Way', was released in 1995, and after its release she toured for nearly three years straight, twice joining Sarah McLachlan and others on the North American Lilith Fair, which is a music festival with only female performers. Heather is also a frequent performer at European music festivals such as Roskilde.
In 1998, the long-awaited follow up to 'Oyster' was released. After the release of 'Siren', Heather took a break while various television show and film soundtracks licensed some of her songs and her record company (Sony Records/The WORK Group) released various singles from the album, which received only moderate play on America's MTV2, Europe's MTV and Canada's MuchMusic and on mainstream radio, although she was popular on college radio. Also during this time, she recorded a version of the often covered Billie Holiday song, 'Gloomy Sunday', for the German WWII drama Ein Lied von Liebe und Tod. In 2000, she released yet another live album, called 'Wonderlust'.
Over the years, Heather has written and recorded over a hundred songs, so that her albums are selected from work that has often already been performed live, rather than being conceived during rushed songwriting sessions. Half the songs on 'Siren' had been written during the 'Oyster' sessions and were frequently played live prior to being committed to a studio session, and most of the songs for 2001's 'South' were written between 1999 and 2000 while she was on hiatus from touring. With the release of 'South', she returned to the international spotlight with an appearance on the soundtrack of the John Cusack movie "Serendipity", a couple of music videos, and a collaboration with Swedish band Eskobar, for a song called "Someone New", also released as a video, which proved so popular that it was played primarily on America's MTV, not just MTV2 (which is normally reserved for less-popular songs). 'Storm', Heather's fifth studio album, was released in late 2003 on Big Cat Records, as was 'Redbird', released in 2005.
In 2002, she self-published 'the sorrowjoy', a 72-page book of her poetry and drawings. An album of the same name was released in March 2006, which featured Nova reading the poems from her book set to ambient music. The album has only been available for purchase at concerts beginning with the Intimate Evening tour, from the fan-run websites, HeatherNova.Net and HeatherNova.De, and from the official website, www.heathernova.com.
The album Storm was released in 2003. It was a more refined album, using Mercury Rev as Heather's backing band. The album was Top 5 in Germany and Top 10 across Europe. It was an album of dark ballads, marking a step away from the polished sound of South. It was also Heather's first release on her own record label, Saltwater Records. Despite being pregnant, she toured hard with a new line up and band, before returning home to Bermuda. (A live DVD was made of these concerts (live at the Union Chapel)
Gloomy Sunday
Heather Nova Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sunday is gloomy
My hours are slumberless
Dearest the shadows
I live with are numberless
Little white flowers
Will never awaken you
Not where the black coach
Angels have no thoughts
Of ever returning you
Would they be angry
If I thought of joining you?
Gloomy Sunday
Gloomy is Sunday
With shadows I spend it all
My heart and I
Have decided to end it all
Soon there'll be candles
And prayers that are said I know
But let them not weep
Let them know that I'm glad to go
Death is no dream
For in death I'm caressing you
With the last breath of my soul
I'll be blessing you
Gloomy Sunday
Dreaming, I was only dreaming
I wake and I find you asleep
In the deep of my heart here
Darling I hope
That my dream never haunted you
My heart is telling you
How much I wanted you
Gloomy Sunday
Heather Nova's song "Gloomy Sunday" paints a vivid picture of a sorrowful and desolate place as the singer recounts her longing for a lost love. The first verse begins with the stark and mournful line "Sunday is gloomy," setting the tone for the rest of the song. The singer is unable to sleep and is consumed by the countless shadows that surround her. She describes the futility of hope, represented by the little white flowers that will never awaken the one she has lost. She then expresses her desire to join her lover in death, understanding that the angels, who have taken her lover away, will be indifferent to her fate.
The second verse is equally heartbreaking, as the singer describes feeling consumed by shadows, choosing to end her life. She acknowledges that there will be mourning, but asks that those left behind do not weep for her. Her longing for her lost love persists even in death, as she imagines herself caressing and blessing them with her final breath. The final lines suggest that the singer may have been dreaming the whole time, but her heart remains full of longing for the one she has lost.
Line by Line Meaning
Sunday is gloomy
The singer is feeling sad and hopeless about their life.
My hours are slumberless
The singer cannot sleep because of their anxiety and distress.
Dearest the shadows
The singer is addressing their lover, who has passed away.
I live with are numberless
The artist is surrounded by innumerable dark memories and thoughts.
Little white flowers
The artist is expressing the futility of hope and beauty in the face of death.
Will never awaken you
The singer is acknowledging that their lover is forever gone.
Not where the black coach
The singer is referring to the funeral procession, which is taking the body away.
Of sorrow has taken you
The artist is expressing their grief and sadness at the loss.
Angels have no thoughts
The artist is implying that the angels do not care about the artist's sorrow or pain.
Of ever returning you
The artist is expressing their longing to be reunited with their lover in the afterlife.
Would they be angry
The singer is wondering if the angels would disapprove of their wish to die to be with their lover.
If I thought of joining you?
The artist is considering suicide to end their pain and be with their lover.
Gloomy Sunday
The singer is referring to their state of mind, which is characterized by despair and sadness.
With shadows I spend it all
The singer is consumed by their darkness, and it is all they can see and feel.
My heart and I
The singer is referring to their innermost self, which is in deep pain and wanting to die.
Have decided to end it all
The artist has made the choice to take their own life.
Soon there'll be candles
The artist is referring to the funeral, which will soon take place in their honor.
And prayers that are said I know
The singer is aware that people will pray for them after they are gone.
But let them not weep
The singer does not want others to grieve for them, but instead to be happy because they are finally at peace.
Let them know that I'm glad to go
The artist is expressing their relief and joy at finally being free from their pain and suffering.
Death is no dream
The artist is asserting that death is a real, permanent state of being.
For in death I'm caressing you
The artist is expressing their hope to be reunited with their lover in the afterlife and to be able to hold them once again.
With the last breath of my soul
The singer is saying that they will die with the last of their life force.
I'll be blessing you
The artist is saying they will pray for their lover even in death.
Dreaming, I was only dreaming
The singer is reflecting on past memories with their lover and realizes it was only a fleeting dream.
I wake and I find you asleep
The singer is reflecting on their lover's death and how they wish it was only a dream.
In the deep of my heart here
The singer still feels the pain and grief of their lover's passing in their heart.
Darling I hope
The artist is expressing their love and affection for their lover, even though they are gone.
That my dream never haunted you
The artist is hoping that their lover is at peace and that their dreams will not disturb them.
My heart is telling you
The singer wishes to express their true feelings even though their lover cannot hear them.
How much I wanted you
The singer is saying the deep longing they feel for their lover, even though they have passed away.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Songtrust Ave
Written by: Laszlo Javor, Rezso Seress, Sam M. Lewis
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Diệu My Nguyễn Kim
Sunday is gloomy
My hours are slumberless
Dearest the shadows
I live with are numberless
Little white flowers
Will never awaken you
Not where the black coach
Of sorrow has taken you
Angels have no thoughts
Of ever returning you
Would they be angry
If I thought of joining you?
Gloomy Sunday
Gloomy is Sunday
And shadows I spend it all
My heart and I
Have decided to end it all
Soon there'll be candles
And prayers that are said I know
But let them not weep
Let them know that I'm glad to go
Death is no dream
For in death I'm caressing you
With the last breath of my soul
I'll be blessing you
Gloomy Sunday
Dreaming, I was only dreaming
I wake and I find you asleep
In the deep of my heart here
Darling, I hope that my dream
Never haunted you
My heart is telling you
How much I wanted you
Gloomy Sunday
Gloomy Sunday
Gloomy Sunday
Sunday
Sunday
Sunday
CurvyAries
I love this version, her voice is amazing.
Abrar Abrar
laura
noellabella05
AGREED. Ditto
Enryke Martinez
Su voz es como una navaja en el corazón excelente interpretación 😮😮😮quiero cuando cierre los ojos suene esta canción ❤❤❤
Alejandra Rebolledo
Me encanta esta versión. Tiene una hermosa voz.
Nanci Moll
Just watched the movie "Gloomy Sunday" and love this rendition of it. Beautiful voice and arrangment
Jacques Mattheij
Underrated song, incredible atmosphere and vocals and the lyrics are pure poetry.
Reasonable Forseeability
I like the musical arrangement (too).
Jacques Mattheij
@Reasonable Forseeability yes, that goes without saying :)
krishiway200911
This version is awesome 👌 lovely.. with all violin guitar drums & the beat fusions.. hearing it multiple times and its not ending..!! On and on.... especially when watched with this video..!