"So Sad" is the debut single recorded by German band Gregorian. It was written and produced by

Frank Peterson Frank Peterson (born 29 December 1963) is a German music producer known for his work with Enigma and artists such as Sarah Brightman, Ofra Haza, Gregorian, Princessa, and Andrea Bocelli on his first international album, ''Romanza''. Peters ...

, and is from the album '' Sadisfaction'' (1991), on which it appears as the third track. The song is composed of

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe dur ...

s using

biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

verses while in the chorus a woman is asking

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

why she is so sad. In the music video, she first enters a church, then becomes a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is ...

. The song was included on Gregorian's

best of A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

compilation titled '' Best of 1990–2010'', released in 2011, on which it appears as the first track. It became a hit in France and Portugal.

Cricial reception

According to Elia Habib, an expert of the French chart, "So Sad" is a more

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

-oriented song than

Enigma Enigma may refer to: *Riddle, someone or something that is mysterious or puzzling Biology *ENIGMA, a class of gene in the LIM domain Computing and technology * Enigma (company), a New York-based data-technology startup * Enigma machine, a family ...

's ones, on which Peterson also worked, as the chorus is sung in English in a very contemporary phrasing. When reviewing the new singles releases, ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' stated: "It's hard to tell the difference ith Enigma although this time there is the choice of a Monastery Sex Mix".

Chart performance

In Switzerland, "So Sad" charted for four weeks on the top 30, peaking for two weeks at number 17. In France, it debuted at number 48 on the chart edition of 16 March 1991, reached a peak of number nine in its eleventh week and fell off the top 50 after 15 weeks. It was a number one hit in Portugal, reaching this position on 8 June 1991. On the

European Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by ''Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately f ...

, it debuted at number 54 on 6 April 1991, peaked at number 35 in its tenth week, and dropped from the chart after 13 weeks of presence.

Track listings

* CD single # "So Sad" — 3:32 # "Depressions" — 2:57 * CD maxi # "So Sad" (Extended Sacrifice) — 4:49 # "So Sad" (Radio Version) — 3:32 # "So Sad" (Monastery Sex Mix) — 5:18 # "Depressions" — 2:57 * 12" maxi # "So Sad" (Extended Sacrifice) — 4:49 # "So Sad" (Radio Version) — 3:32 # "So Sad" (Monastery Sex Mix) — 5:18 # "Depressions" — 2:57

Charts

References

{{reflist 1991 songs 1991 debut singles Gregorian (band) songs Song recordings produced by Frank Peterson Metronome Records singles Number-one singles in Portugal