Halfway Between the Gutter & the Stars

Beethoven died, had a great funeral with lots of music played, and was buried at his local church.

A couple of days later, a man was walking through the churchyard and heard a strange musical sound coming from the place where Beethoven was buried. Terrified, the man ran to fetch the priest, who bent close to the grave and heard some faint, unrecognizable music coming from beneath the ground.

Frightened himself, the priest ran to fetch the judge. When the judge arrived, he laid his ear to the grave, listened for a minute, and said, “Ah, yes, that’s Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, but it’s being played backwards.” He listened again, and said, “That’s the Eighth Symphony, and it’s backwards, too. Most puzzling.” He kept on listening, saying “There’s the Seventh… and the Sixth… and the Fifth…”

Suddenly the judge realised what was happening. He stood up and addressed the crowd that had gathered around him. “My dear people, there’s nothing to worry about. It’s just Beethoven decomposing.”