"Samson" is a song written and recorded by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

singer-songwriter

Regina Spektor Regina Ilyinichna Spektor (russian: Регинa Ильинична Спектор, ; born February 18, 1980) is a Russian–born American singer, songwriter, and pianist. After self-releasing her first three records and gaining popularity in ...

, from her albums ''

Songs A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...

'' and ''

Begin to Hope ''Begin to Hope'' is the fourth album by Soviet-born American singer-songwriter Regina Spektor. It was released June 13, 2006. The album debuted at number 70 on the ''Billboard'' 200, but due to the popularity of the single "Fidelity", it pea ...

''. Despite having never been officially released as a

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 ...

, it has charted in several countries, and is often considered one of Spektor's greatest songs. As of 2009 it has sold 143,000 copies in United States.

Background and composition

"Samson" was initially recorded as the first track for Spektor's second album ''

'', which she recorded in one take on Christmas Day 2001. In 2006, Spektor re-recorded the song for her album ''

'', which, unlike ''Songs'', had a major label backing. Lyrically, "Samson" references the biblical episode of

Samson Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...

and

Delilah Delilah ( ; , meaning "delicate";Gesenius's ''Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon'' ar, دليلة, Dalīlah; grc, label=Greek, Δαλιδά, Dalidá) is a woman mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. She is loved b ...

, found in

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16. Samson was granted extraordinary physical strength by God, though his strength was held in his hair, without which he was powerless. He fell in love with Delilah, who, because of his lust for women, discovered his vulnerability, and used it against him. The song is composed in the key of

B major B major (or the key of B) is a major scale based on B. The pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A are all part of the B major scale. Its key signature has five sharps. Its relative minor is G-sharp minor, its parallel minor is B minor, and its ...

. The earlier recording from ''Songs'' has a tempo of 76

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, whereas the ''

'' version was recorded at a significantly faster tempo of 90 beats per minute. The song alters between bars of 6/4 and bars of 4/4. Spektor's voice ranges from the low note of B3 to the high notes of D♯5.

Music video

"Samson" had an accompanying music video, despite not having been released as a single. The video was shot in almost black and white, and revolved around Spektor performing the song on a piano whilst paper designs pan over the camera.

Charts

Despite not being released as a single, the ''

'' version of "Samson" charted in four countries, being Spektor's most charted single to date (along with "

Fidelity Fidelity is the quality of faithfulness or loyalty. Its original meaning regarded duty in a broader sense than the related concept of ''fealty''. Both derive from the Latin word ''fidēlis'', meaning "faithful or loyal". In the City of London f ...

").

Covers

"Samson" has been performed by the following contestants on reality singing competitions: * Alice Hagenbrant on

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of ''

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'' (Sweden), 2010 * Casey Withoos on

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of ''

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'' (Australia), 2012 * Stephanie Müller on

season 4 Season 4 may refer to: * "Season 4" (''30 Rock'' episode), an episode of ''30 Rock'' See also * * Season One (disambiguation) Season One may refer to: Albums * ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004 * ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughte ...

of ''

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'', 2014 * Korin Bukowski and Chase Kerby on

season 9 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

of ''

'' (U.S.), 2015 * Brianna Holm on

season 5 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

of ''

'' (Australia), 2016 * Karlee Metzger on season 11 of ''

'' (U.S.), 2016

References

{{Samson Songs based on the Bible Regina Spektor songs 2000s ballads 2001 songs Pop ballads Samson Cultural depictions of Samson