Plot
Lisa wakes up one morning feeling blue. At school, she gets in trouble with her music teacher for improvising, and her gym teacher sends home a note to her parents saying she refused to play dodgeball because she was sad. At home, Homer and Bart pummel each other at video boxing, but try as he might, Homer is unable to defeat Bart.
Homer and Marge try to cheer Lisa up, but she is consumed with worry over all the suffering in the world. In her room, Lisa hears music coming from outside her window. She follows the music through town and meets Bleeding Gums Murphy, a soulful saxophonist playing the blues. Lisa learns about expressing herself through her music from the jazzman, only to be discovered and whisked away by Marge.
Homer goes to the arcade and enlists the help of a local video game wizard, while Marge takes Lisa to band practice. She tells Lisa to smile no matter how she feels inside, to suppress her emotions in order to be popular, and that happiness will follow. But when she sees Lisa hiding her true feelings and being taken advantage of by her classmates, Marge changes her tune and tells Lisa to be herself. When Lisa hears this, she cheers up. At home, Homer is about to defeat Bart in a rematch when Marge unplugs the TV to announce Lisa's recovery. Bart quickly declares his retirement as undefeated video boxing champ. Later, the Simpsons visit a jazz club to hear Bleeding Gums Murphy sing a blues number written by Lisa.
Read more about this topic: Moaning Lisa
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“Ends in themselves, my letters plot no change;
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—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)
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“Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)