# Smoke on the Water is Beethoven 5th in reverse

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-on-the-water-is-beethoven-5th-in-reverse/782561>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [March 19, 2017, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-on-the-water-is-beethoven-5th-in-reverse/782561 "2017-03-19T19:38:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![yesanything](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@yesanything](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yesanything)\
**Post date:** [March 19, 2017, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-on-the-water-is-beethoven-5th-in-reverse/782561/1 "2017-03-19T19:38:07Z")

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Deep Purple’s RITCHIE BLACKMORES stole BEETHOVEN 5 Th symphony , SMOKE ON THE WATER

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Cn1sUIs5yeE/hqdefault.jpg "DEEP PURPLE , RITCHIE BLACKMORES stole BEETHOVEN 5 Th symphony , SMOKE ON THE WATER") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn1sUIs5yeE)

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**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\
**Post date:** [March 19, 2017, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-on-the-water-is-beethoven-5th-in-reverse/782561/2 "2017-03-19T23:55:52Z")

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I assume he’s just taking the piss.

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**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-on-the-water-is-beethoven-5th-in-reverse/782561/3 "2017-03-20T00:11:46Z")

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> [@pulykamell](#):
>
> I assume he’s just taking the piss.

Yeah, that really sounds nothing like the 5th in either direction.

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**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-on-the-water-is-beethoven-5th-in-reverse/782561/4 "2017-03-20T02:25:10Z")

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Clearly taking the piss. He was probably totally fed up with being asked questions about the song. As he goes on the say - never gets fed up with it, and goes to bed with it in his head…

At home I have a DVD of the documentary of the making of Machine Head, n it Richie and the others discuss the riff and the building of the song. Richie’s first love (and current beau) was baroque. I think those influences are much clearer in his music than anything from the romantic era.

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**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoke-on-the-water-is-beethoven-5th-in-reverse/782561/5 "2017-03-20T08:28:59Z")

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Yeah, that little segment almost has a Spinal Tap kind of feel to it. Also, I thought Blackmore might be referencing that famous (well, to me anyway) story of the Beatles’ “Because” being inspired by reversing the Moonlight Sonata chord progression.

And is that interviewer Richard Quest, the pumped-up business guy who used to be on BBC and moved on to CNN?