Moaning Lisa
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"Moaning Lisa"
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Episode Information
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- ""I'm too sad"
"
Lisa develops the blues, which is noticable to the people around her. She has a note sent home by school, but her parents cannot cheer her up. That night, she hears jazz music in the distance and sneaks out to follow it, to discover that it is being played by Bleeding Gums Murphy. He teaches her how to express her sadness on the saxophone, and she is happier again.
Contents
Plot
Lisa awakens one morning with a potent case of the blues. In school, her musical stylings are stifled by the music teacher Mr. Largo, and she refuses to play dodgeball, claiming to be too sad. Her teacher notices her sadness and sends a note home to her parents. Homer and Bart, meanwhile, are playing a video boxing game. Undefeated with forty-eight wins, Bart takes only one round to knock off the head of Homer's boxer. While Homer is down for the count, Marge gives him the note from Lisa's teacher. Nothing her parents say can bring Lisa out of her depression. Marge tells Bart to be good with Lisa, so he tries to make her laugh with a prank call to Moe, but it doesn't work.
At night, hearing distant music, Lisa sneaks out of her room to follow it. She finds a soulful saxophone player, Bleeding Gums Murphy, playing some hard blues. They play their saxophones and sing on a bridge. Murphy teaches Lisa how to express her sadness on the sax, but Marge comes and takes Lisa back home.
The day after, Marge drops off Lisa at school and tells her to smile no matter what she feels inside, just like Marge's mother used to tell her. She later sees Lisa hiding her true feelings and classmates taking advantage of her and tells Lisa that it is best to be herself. When Lisa hears this, she feels happy again.
Meanwhile, Homer takes lessons at Noiseland Video Arcade from a video game wizard for a rematch with his son. When Homer and the kid finish playing, Homer goes back to his house to play with Bart. Just as Homer starts to win, Marge unplugs the TV to announce Lisa's recovery. Seizing the opportunity to maintain his undefeated status as boxing champ, Bart gleefully announces retirement from the ring. Afterwards, the Simpsons visit The Jazz Hole, a jazz club where they hear Bleeding Gums Murphy sing a blues number written by Lisa.
Production
The idea for the episode was suggested by James L. Brooks. He wanted to do an episode where Lisa was sad but she did not know why. The writers also felt that they had done a lot of joke episodes on the show and wanted to try something new that was "really emotional and sweet". Lisa's song she sings at the bridge is later expanded to appear in The Simpsons Sing the Blues CD.
The designs of the boxers in the video game Homer and Bart play were very loosely based on them, and the referee in the game was based on a character from Matt Groening's Life in Hell comic strip.[1] Bleeding Gums Murphy was barely based on the blues musician Blind Lemon Jefferson.
References
- ↑ Groening, Matt. (2001). The Simpsons The Complete First Season DVD commentary for the episode "Moaning Lisa". [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
