Herbert Desmond Carter (15 June 1895 – 3 February 1939) was a British lyricist who worked with

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

and Ira Gershwin, Ivor Novello, and others, and also wrote one of the first

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

versions of the notorious "suicide song", "

Gloomy Sunday "Gloomy Sunday" ( Hungarian: ''Szomorú vasárnap''), also known as the "Hungarian Suicide Song", is a popular song composed by Hungarian pianist and composer Rezső Seress and published in 1933. The original lyrics were titled "Vége a vilá ...

". He was born in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. In 1924 he wrote most of the lyrics for the

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

musical '' Primrose'', for which Gershwin wrote the music, his first commission outside the US. The musical was revived in 2003, when one reviewer wrote:

"...by far the most outstanding contribution to ''Primrose'' is the comedy lyrics of Desmond Carter, who penned the words to seventeen of the score's twenty-two songs and collaborated with Ira Gershwin on four of the remaining five. Two among them, "Isn't It Horrible What They Did to Mary, Queen of Scots" and "That New Fangled Mother of Mine," shine with humor and wordplay worthy of Noel Coward."

In 1936, Carter wrote English lyrics for the song "Gloomy Sunday" (''"Szomorú vasárnap"''), which had been written by Hungarian composer

Rezső Seress Rezső Seress (Hungarian: ''Seress Rezső,'' ; 3 November 1889 – 12 January 1968) was a Hungarian pianist and composer. Some sources give his birth name as Rudolf ("Rudi") Spitzer. Biography Rezső Seress lived most of his life in povert ...

with lyrics by László Jávor. Carter's lyrics were performed and recorded by

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplish ...

, whose recording was successful although most later versions of the song used alternative lyrics by American writer Sam M. Lewis."Gloomy Sunday" - lyrics by Desmond Carter
Accessed 7 November 2011 Carter also collaborated with leading English popular composers of the period, including Ivor Novello and

Noel Gay Noel or Noël may refer to: Christmas * , French for Christmas * Noel is another name for a Christmas carol Places * Noel, Missouri, United States, a city * Noel, Nova Scotia, Canada, a community * 1563 Noël, an asteroid *Mount Noel, Briti ...

. He died in

at the age of 43.

References

External links

1895 births 1939 deaths English lyricists English musical theatre lyricists {{songwriter-stub