"Gyöngyhajú lány" ("''The girl with pearly hair''") is a song by Hungarian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Omega Omega (; capital: Ω, lowercase: ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and final letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numeric system/isopsephy (gematria), it has a value of 800. The wo ...

. It was written in 1968, composed in 1969, and released on their album '' 10 000 lépés''. "Gyöngyhajú lány" was very popular in many countries, including

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

and

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

. The lyrics were written by

Anna Adamis Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) ...

, the music was composed by

Gábor Presser Gábor Presser (born 27 May 1948) is a Kossuth Prize winning Hungarian musician, composer, singer. He was a band member in Locomotiv GT and Omega, and has been a prominent personality in Hungarian pop and rock music. Biography Childhood Born ...

and the song was sung by János Kóbor. In 1969, the

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

"Petróleumlámpa / Gyöngyhajú lány" was released and the song gained popularity. Omega also recorded other versions of this song in foreign languages:

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

("Pearls in Her Hair") and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

("Perlen im Haar").

Other versions

"Gyöngyhajú lány" was covered in Poland (as "Dziewczyna o perłowych włosach"),

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

(as "Paleta" by Markýz John and "Dívka s perlami ve vlasech" by

Aleš Brichta Aleš Brichta (born 9 August 1959 in Prague, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech heavy metal music, heavy metal singer, songwriter, and artist. He is a founding member of the band Arakain, which he left in 2002. He now plays with Aleš Brichta Project. ...

), Yugoslavia (as "Devojka biserne kose" by

Griva Griva (Serbian Cyrillic: Грива; trans. '' Mane'') was a Serbian and former Yugoslav hard rock band from Novi Sad. Band history 1982—1992 The band was formed in 1982 by former Ibn Tup members, Zlatko Karavla (drums) and Josip Sabo (guitar ...

), Bulgaria (as "Батальонът се строява / Batalyonat se stroyava" by Дует "Южен Вятър" / duet "Juzhen Vyatar") and Lithuania (as "Meilės Nėra" by Keistuolių Teatras). It was also covered by

Frank Schöbel Frank Schöbel (born 11 December 1942, Leipzig, Saxony, Germany) is a German musician. He was one of the most successful pop singers in socialist East Germany (GDR), and has continued to perform even after German reunification. Career As the se ...

(as "Schreib es mir in den Sand"). The song was also

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

ed (e.g. by Kozmix).

Scorpions version

German rock band

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

covered the song titled as "White Dove", from the album ''

Live Bites ''Live Bites'' is a live album by the German hard rock band Scorpions, released in 1995. It was recorded between 1988 and 1994 in Leningrad (Russia), San Francisco (US), Mexico City (Mexico), Berlin (Germany) and Munich (Germany). Track listin ...

''. Released as a single in 1994, it was a top 20 hit in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, peaking at numbers 18 and 20, respectively.

Charts

Sampling

In 2013, hip-hop artist

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

sampled the song in the outro of "

New Slaves "New Slaves" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Kanye West, from his sixth studio album ''Yeezus'' (2013). It was produced primarily by West, with additional production by Ben Bronfman, Mike Dean, Travis Scott, Noah Goldstein, Sham ...

", having

Frank Ocean Christopher Francis "Frank" Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987), is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. His works are noted by music critics for featuring avant-garde styles and introspective, elliptical lyrics. Ocean ...

sing over it, without personally asking the band for permission, although the sample was cleared for use in the album by their label, Hungaroton Records. However, in May 2016 songwriter Gábor Presser filed a lawsuit seeking $2.5 million in damages for copyright infringement for the use of the sample, which was later settled out of court.

Other uses

In March 2014, the song was used for the reveal trailer of the video game ''

This War of Mine ''This War of Mine'' is a war survival video game developed and published by the Polish game development company 11 Bit Studios. The game differs from most war-themed video games by focusing on the civilian experience of war rather than front l ...

''. In August 2012, the song was used in the official trailer of the film ''This Ain't California''. In 2016, the melody of the song was used in a German rap-song ''″FLOUZ KOMMT FLOUZ GEHT″'' by Nimo. In July 2018, the song was used in the official trailer and in a scene of the film ''

Mid90s ''Mid90s'' (stylized as ''mid90s'') is a 2018 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Jonah Hill, in his feature directorial debut, inspired by Hill's own childhood in the mid-1990s. It stars Sunny Suljic, Lucas Hedges ...

''. In 2021, Australian bank "

Westpac Westpac Banking Corporation, known simply as Westpac, is an Australian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered at Westpac Place in Sydney, New South Wales. Established in 1817 as the Bank of New South Wales, it ...

" used the song in their "Life is Everything" campaign. In 2021, the Second Captains podcast sampled the original version of the song on an audiobed which empathised with the plight of Frank Lampard being expected work with this group of players whilst manager of Chelsea F.C. In 2022, the French car company Citroën used the song in a TV commercial for their C5 Aircross hybride.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gyongyhaju Lany 1969 songs 1960s ballads 1970 singles 1973 singles 1994 singles Rock ballads Griva songs Hungarian songs Scorpions (band) songs Song recordings produced by Keith Olsen Songs written by Klaus Meine Songs written by Rudolf Schenker PolyGram singles Mercury Records singles Bellaphon Records singles