Für Elise in popular culture
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"Für Elise" (German: "For Elise") is the popular name of the "Bagatelle in A minor", WoO 59, a work for solo piano written by Ludwig van Beethoven in about 1810. The work is widely familiar and has been frequently adapted for use in works of popular culture. This article is a listing of such uses.
For information about the work itself, see the article Für Elise.
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[edit] Music
- Nas sampled Für Elise on his 2002 inspirational rap song "I Can."
- Für Elise was also used as a sample in the song "Same Script, Different Cast" by Whitney Houston and Deborah Cox which appeared on Whitney's Greatest Hits album.
- It also makes an appearance in John Zorn's arrangement of Ennio Morricone's "The Big Gundown" on the album of the same title.
- The melody (albeit faster tempo) also forms the basis of Eason Chan's song "給愛麗斯", which is a direct translation of Für Elise in Chinese.
- The melody is used by Heavy Metal band Accept on their track Metal Heart.
- Pianist Bradley Joseph introduced his arrangement of "Für Elise" on the 2005 album, For the Love of It.
- The melody is used by Visual kei band MALICE MIZER on their track Baroque, from the EP memoire DX.
- Tenacious D used the melody for the song Classico off the album "The Pick of Destiny".
- In 2006, Smooth Jazz artist Gerry Aire released a modified arrangement of it (in 4/4 time) entitled "The Fur Elise Jam".
- The Uruguayan band El Cuarteto de Nos said in their song "Ya no sé que hacer conmigo" (I don´t know what to do with me), "I've already played on the piano Für Elise", among a lot of other things considered must-do in the song.
- Guitar player Eddie Van Halen would sometimes play it during his solos
- Humorous music writer Josefa Heifetz included the piece in From Bach to Verse with these lyrics:
Why did Ludwig write this awful piece?
It wasn't free.
That was for süre.
The money (all in cash) came from Elise.
Thus it was she
He wrote it für.
[edit] Film
- Für Elise is played both in the trailer for Elephant and is played by Alex Frost's character during the film. He plays most of the piece well but makes a mistake towards the end, causing him much frustration.
- Für Elise is also played on the movie IT, based on the novel with the same title by Stephen King.
- In Are You Afraid of the Dark?, episode "Watcher's Woods," Silvy can be heard playing the piece horribly.
- This haunting melody was played at strategic points during the movie Rosemarys' Baby
- The tune is used as a significant plot device in the film "Grand Tour: Disaster in Time" (1992) with Jeff Daniels and Ariana Richards.
- In the 1990 film Patch Adams Larry is playing the song on his piano (at a slower than normal tempo) when Corrine visits him at home.
[edit] Television
- Schroeder played Für Elise intermittently in A Charlie Brown Christmas (despite being badgered by Lucy Van Pelt in the process); he intended the piece to be the incidental music for the Christmas play.
- Arthur Read usually played this piece on the piano on his show of the same name, including the episode Arthur Vs. The Piano.
- A jazzy 4/4 arrangement of Für Elise was played frequently on The Benny Hill Show throughout the 1970s and 1982 in silent sketches, usually as part of an instrumental medley which also included Mah Nà Mah Nà and Gimme Dat Ding.
- The character of Jessica Harrison (played by Sigrid Thornton) in the movie "The Man from Snowy River" plays "Fur Elise".
- Also in "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" Will Smith plays it at the end of the first show of the first season
[edit] On vehicles
- In some countries, including parts of Taiwan and Iran, the tune is played by garbage trucks to notify people to bring their trash out to be picked up.
- In Brazil and Turkey the tune is played on trucks that sell gas cylinders to notify people that the truck is nearby[citation needed].
- In some parts of the world it is also played by ice cream vans.
