Yesterday, I heard “Für Elise” and wanted to cry—but for a different reason.

The first classical piece I learned to play on the piano—or at least most of its parts, as the agitated shift in the middle gets hellishly complicated for my modest playing skills—was Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Für Elise.” It’s one of the most famous classical pieces ever; it’s so well-known that even people who don’t have any interest whatsoever in classical music have heard this tune at least once in their lifetimes, but they simply don’t know it’s a Beethoven tune. One of its main characteristics is its relative ease despite the difficulty of writing a piece with such powerful impacts upon the listener: it oozes effervescent emotions, captivates the feelings, and mates with the soul.

But in my opinion, the most poignant thing about this bagatelle (a short piano piece with a soft melody) is the story behind it. My Egyptian music teacher, who taught me the basics of piano playing before I proceeded on my own, once told me, “Look, kid—every piece of music was composed for a reason. There’s always a story behind the notes; they’re not a product of randomness. And the more beautiful the melody, the more saddening the story.” As time went by, I realized he was absolutely right.

In German, the word “für” means “for.” So, the title in English means “For Elise”—yes, it’s obviously a girl with whom Beethoven fell in love. There’s no certainty about the identity of “Elise;” however, all historical evidence and most of those who had known Beethoven closely supported the fact that Elise was actually Therese Malfatti, a noble woman he loved and even proposed to in 1810, but she said no. There are two main things that support this theory: first, although the piece was discovered 40 years after Beethoven’s death, as he probably thought it was too personal to be published, the original manuscript was dated 1810—the same year in which he proposed to Therese; and second, the name “Elise” in the title could have been actually “Therese” and was simply misread, especially that Beethoven had an incredibly messy handwriting that even led to some misinterpretations of his musical compositions.

Therese was one of Beethoven’s students. It’s believed that he developed feelings for her while he was giving her piano lessons; but sadly, she rejected his proposal and married a wealthy nobleman who belonged to the same aristocratic class of hers.

Today, in a fancy neighborhood in Amman, I heard the tune of Fur Elise coming from a gas truck (a truck that serves as a mobile retail outlet for cylinders of cooking gas) and I really wanted to cry.