"Samson" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter

Regina Spektor Regina Ilyinichna Spektor (, ; born February 18, 1980) is a Russian Americans, Russian-born American singer, songwriter, and pianist. After self-releasing her first three records and gaining popularity in New York City's Indie music scene, in ...

, from her albums ''

Songs A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usuall ...

'' (2002) and ''

Begin to Hope ''Begin to Hope'' is the fourth album by Russian-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 pe ...

'' (2006). Despite having never been officially released as a single, 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 and was certified gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

on May 15, 2025.

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 (Software for Adaptive Modeling and Simulation Of Nanosystems) is a computer software platform for molecular design being developed bOneAngstromand previously by the NANO-D group at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science an ...

and

Delilah Delilah ( ; , meaning "delicate";Gesenius's ''Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon'' ; ) is a woman mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. She is loved by Samson, a Nazirite who possesses great strength and serves as t ...

, found in

Judges A judge is an official who presides over a court. Judge or Judges may also refer to: Roles *Judge, an alternative name for an adjudicator in a competition in theatre, music, sport, etc. *Judge, an alternative name/aviator call sign for a membe ...

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 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 enharmonic equi ...

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

beats per minute Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...

, 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 , meaning "faithful or loyal". In the City of London financial m ...

").

Certifications

Covers

"Samson" has been performed by the following contestants on reality singing competitions: * Alice Hagenbrant on season 7 of '' Idol'' (Sweden), 2010 * Casey Withoos on season 1 of '' The Voice'' (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 2 (disambiguation) Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album), 2014 * ''2econd Season'', an album ...

of ''

The Voice of Germany ''The Voice of Germany'' is a German reality television, reality talent show created by John de Mol, based on the concept ''The Voice of Holland'' and its The Voice (franchise), international series. It began airing on ProSieben and Sat.1 on 24 ...

'', 2014 * Korin Bukowski and Chase Kerby on season 9 of '' The Voice'' (U.S.), 2015 * Brianna Holm on season 5 of '' The Voice'' (Australia), 2016 * Karlee Metzger on season 11 of '' The Voice'' (U.S.), 2016 * Joshua Ray Walker on his album What Is It Even?, 2023

References

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