Beatles – Because : Moonlight Sonata Reversed

Beatles – Because : Moonlight Sonata Reversed

There have been many rumours that playing rock music backwards reveals satanic messages.  I’ve always found that to be an odd rumour because were it true, the only equipment required to commune with the devil, one would be a broken phonograph (that’s a record player for the young’ens). 

It turns out however that the Beatle’s Song “Because” off the Abbey Road Album was indeed composed based on the reversed chord progression of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata”.

John Lennon in a 1980 interview remarked:

I was lying on the sofa in our house, listening to Yoko play Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight Sonata’ on the piano. Suddenly, I said ‘Can you play those chords backward?’ She did, and I wrote ‘Because’ around them. The song sounds like ‘Moonlight Sonata,’ too. The lyrics are clear, no bullshit, no imagery, no obscure references.

The next clips show “Because” forward and reversed as well as “Moonlight Sonata” forward and reversed.  Note that it is the chord progression which is reversed between “Because” and “Moonlight Sonata” but the forward and reversed versions give you a feel for the similarities between the two pieces. 

“Because”

Forward:

Reverse:

“Moonlight Sonata”

Forward:

Reverse:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Back To Top