貝多芬去世後不久，鎮上的居民在他墓地附近散步時，開始聽到從墳墓裡傳來奇怪的、悶悶的聲音........Legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman often shares classic, lighthearted jokes and backstage quips with his audiences. While Perlman himself has occasionally told musical puns, the classic "Beethoven decomposing" line comes from a famous shaggy dog joke.

 傳奇小提琴家伊扎克帕爾曼經常與觀眾分享經典的、輕鬆幽默的笑話和後台趣聞。雖然帕爾曼本人偶爾也會講一些音樂相關的雙關語，但經典的「貝多芬腐爛」梗卻源自於一個著名的無厘頭笑話。這個經典笑話是這樣的：路德維希·範·貝多芬去世後不久，鎮上的居民在他墓地附近散步時，開始聽到從墳墓裡傳來奇怪的、悶悶的聲音。鎮上的醉漢嚇壞了，去找了當地的牧師，牧師聽到了一些難以辨認的、微弱的音樂。他們又把這件事告訴了鎮上的行政長官。行政長官百思不得其解，便把耳朵貼在地上，這才意識到貝多芬的交響曲竟然在倒放。他聽到第九、第八、第七和第六號交響曲都在倒放。突然，他恍然大悟。他站起身來，向聚集的人群宣布：“我的同胞們，不必擔心。那隻是貝多芬的遺物在腐爛而已。”

Legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman often shares classic, lighthearted jokes and backstage quips with his audiences. While Perlman himself has occasionally told musical puns, the classic "Beethoven decomposing" line comes from a famous shaggy dog joke. [1, 2, 3, 4]

The classic joke goes like this:
Shortly after Ludwig van Beethoven passed away, townsfolk walking near his cemetery began hearing strange, muffled noises coming from the grave. The town drunk, terrified, fetched the local priest, who heard unrecognizable, faint music. [1]

They escalated it to the town magistrate. Baffled, the magistrate bent his ear to the ground and realized that Beethoven's symphonies were playing backward. He listened as the Ninth, Eighth, Seventh, and Sixth played in reverse. Suddenly, the truth dawned on him. He stood up and announced to the gathered crowd: "My fellow citizens, there's nothing to worry about. It's just Beethoven decomposing." [1]