Whenever I Hear Beethoven's "Hymn to Joy" from the 9th Sym­pho­ny

[arwalden]

... in my head I'm always singing the STARZ! lyrics:

Movies, movies, movies, movies, movies, movies, mooo-vies
Movies, movies, movies, movies, movies, movies, mooo-vies,
STARZ! is movies
only movies
Mooo-oo-vies, movies, movies, movies, movies
when I want movies, I want to see STARZ!


http://www.cyberhymnal.org/mid/j/joyful.mid

Damn... that jingle is over three years old and it's still rattling around in my head. How sad is that?
-- Allen

[Loonman]

1. I think of Clockwork Orange

n/t

[Jonte_1979]

2. I think of "Dead Poet's Society"

Oh Captain, my Captain!

[beawr]

3. Ugggh, you have been abused

I am fortunate enough to have had toddlers that enjoyed a video of the ninth with an actual orchestra and chorus.

[Loonman]

4. At least it's not the "Suddenly Susan" theme song

Drove me crazy.

[Bill McBlueState]

5. happens to me, too

A beautiful piece of music is ruined by corporate spew. :mad:

Same goes for the intro to Beethoven's Fifth
"Nobody's home....
Nobody's home!"
used in some ad for prerecorded answering machine messages probably ten years ago.

[terrya]

6. They used a snatch of "Hymn to Joy" during the opening credits of...

"Everyone Loves Raymond" at one point.

That's REALLY sad. Everyone does NOT love Raymond.

[arwalden]

8. The "Jungle Love" Song Ain't All That Great Either

[Loonman]

7. (psssst....it's called "Ode To Joy")

Pass it on.

[arwalden]

9. Or some folks call it "Joyful, Joyful"

(The Sister Act II version is definitely a foot-tapper.)

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/j/o/joyful.htm

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!

All Thy works with joy surround Thee, earth and heaven reflect Thy rays,
Stars and angels sing around Thee, center of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain, flowery meadow, flashing sea,
Singing bird and flowing fountain call us to rejoice in Thee.

Thou art giving and forgiving, ever blessing, ever blessed,
Wellspring of the joy of living, ocean depth of happy rest!
Thou our Father, Christ our Brother, all who live in love are Thine;
Teach us how to love each other, lift us to the joy divine.

Mortals, join the happy chorus, which the morning stars began;
Father love is reigning o’er us, brother love binds man to man.
Ever singing, march we onward, victors in the midst of strife,
Joyful music leads us Sunward in the triumph song of life.

[stopbush]

10. Of course, the trick is to embed the original piece in your mind FIRST,

then all of the subsequent rip offs sort of glance off your mind's ear...and your memory.

BTW - I think it's actually "Ode to Joy," but I could be mistaken.

[wryter2000]

14. Listen to the whole thing

Listen to the whole symphony several times, and you'll regain that beautiful piece of music as your own.

P.S. A professor of mine insisted that Beethoven heard that symphony better than people with hearing. I think it was the soprano who turned him around so he could see the ovation at the premier.

[beawr]

11. The lyrics

I was fortunate enough to perform this at St. John the Divine last year for Holocaust Rememberance Day. So, join a chorus and sing it, yo won't be the same afterwards.


Here's the lyrics:

Text and translation of Symphony No. 9's Finale, by Friedrich Schiller, with a little intro by Beethoven.

BARITONE
O Freunde, nicht diese To"ne! Oh friends, not these tones!
Sondern lasst uns angenehmere Let us raise our voices in more
anstimmen, und freudenvollere! pleasing and more joyful sounds!

ODE TO JOY (Friedrich Schiller)

BARITONE, QUARTET, AND CHORUS
Freude, Scho"ner Go"tterfunken, Joy, fair spark of the gods,
Tochter aus Elysium, Daughter of Elysium,
Wir betreten feuer-trunken, Drunk with fiery rapture, Goddess,
Himmlische, dein Heiligtum! We approach thy shrine!

Deine Zauber binden wieder, Thy magic reunites those
Was die Mode streng geteilt; Whom stern custom has parted;
Alle Menschen werden Bru"der, All men will become brothers
Wo dein sanfter Flu"gel weilt. Under thy gentle wing.

Wem der grosse Wurf gelungen, May he who has had the fortune
Eines Freundes Freund zu sein, To gain a true friend
Wer ein holdes Weib errungen, And he who has won a noble wife
Mische seinen Jubel ein! Join in our jubilation!

Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele Yes, even if he calls but one soul
Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund! His own in all the world.
Und wer's nie gekonnt, der stehle But he who has failed in this
Weinend sich aus diesem Bund! Must steal away alone and in tears.

Freude trinken alle Wesen All the world's creatures
An den Bru"sten der Natur; Draw joy from nature's breast;
Alle Guten, alle Bo"sen Both the good and the evil
Folgen ihrer Rosenspur. Follow her rose-strewn path.

Ku"sse gab sie uns und Reben, She gave us kisses and wine
Einen Freund, gepru"ft im Tod; And a friend loyal unto death;
Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben, She gave lust for life to the lowliest,
Und der Cherub steht vor Gott. And the Cherub stands before God.

TENOR SOLO AND CHORUS
Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen Joyously, as his suns speed
Durch des Himmels Pra"cht'gen Plan, Through Heaven's glorious order,
Laufet, Bru"der, eure Bahn, Hasten, Brothers, on your way,
Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen. Exulting as a knight in victory.

CHORUS
Freude, scho"ner Go"tterfunken, Joy, fair spark of the gods,
... ...

Seid umschlungen, Millionen! Be embraced, Millions!
Diesen Kuss der ganzen Welt! Take this kiss for all the world!
Bru"der u"ber'm Sternenzelt Brothers, surely a loving Father
Muss ein lieber Vater wohnen. Dwells above the canopy of stars.

Ihr stu"rzt nieder, Millionen? Do you sink before him, Millions?
Ahnest du den Scho"pfer, Welt? World, do you sense your Creator?
Such'ihn u"ber'm Sternenzelt! Seek him then beyond the stars!
U"ber Sternen muss er wohnen. He must dwell beyond the stars.

[wryter2000]

15. We could use some of Beethoven here at DU

Oh, Freunde, nicht diese To"ne
Sondern, lasst uns eine andere Anstimmung

(Oh, friends, not this tone
Instead, let us have a different voice)

[liberalhistorian]

12. I think you need to

get out more, lol!

BTW, did you know Beethoven was totally deaf when he wrote that? He was conducting the premier performance, and at the end he was rewarded with a rousing standing ovation. He didn't see it, though, because he had his back to the audience, like most conductors, and he couldn't hear the cheers and stamping of feet. So one of the orchestra members ran up, tapped him on the shoulder, and turned him around the face the audience so he could see what was happening. He started crying, then!

[Zuni]

13. ode to joy, btw

it is the greatest symphony of all time, written when Beethoven was stone deaf. it played when the berlin wall came down

[Paschall]

16. It played when the wall came down, btw, ...

...because it's the anthem of the European Union.

[smirkymonkey]

17. It sends chills down my spine whenever

I hear it. I think it's pure genius.

[Snow]

18. I love the 9th, too - another commercialization that really irritated me

was the use of "Simple Gifts" as background music for an SUV commercial. In retrospect the irony is funny, but when I first saw I was pissed as hell.