Ross and Rachel just broke up. Rachel invites guys to a free event she has tickets to. They reject the invitation, because Ross had them reserved for that same night earlier. Rachel says that it's not a big deal and leaves. Everyone is upset especially Chandler. He lights up a cigarette even though he wasn't smoking for a year already. Someone knocks on a door and Chandler says:
Chandler: That's great. With my luck, that's him.
Phoebe: Him? Ross?
Chandler: No, Hymn 253: "His Eyes are on the Sparrow."
And here audience again laughs the laugh I don't get. What is that with this hymn?
What I do know it is that this hymn is a popular Gospel Song. And it was written in 1905. I doesn't help in me getting the joke any better. Matbe it is just a simple similarity of words "him" and "hymn" Chandler is playing with?
ReplyDeleteyes it is the similarity, see the next sentence he says may explain why he had to do that even though it may sound meaningless ..
DeleteChandler: Nope, hymn 253, His Eyes Are On The Sparrow! When my parents got divorced is when I started using humor as a defense mechanism.
So since the whole explanation is in similarity of the words, would you say that the Hymn 253 is something every American knows? Even the ones who have never been to a "gospel church"?
DeleteThe number is supposed to be the number of the hymn in the church.
Deletecheck this out: https://www.lds.org/music/index/hymns/number?lang=eng#d
Although the number he gave is not correct, but that's not the point anyway.
So all of the hymns have a number. And people acustomed to say both the number and a name of a hymn, so it would be easier to find them quickly for a sing along in a special gospel book.
DeleteI think he just tossed out a random number and a name of a hymn that HE knew regardless of whether anyone else did.
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Yes, it's the similarity of the words that's the joke. Chandler could just as easily have said "Hymn 471, Love Lifted Me" and the joke would be the same.
ReplyDeleteThank's Marko! Here is one for not overthinking jokes)
DeleteAll day with this line from chandler in my head... Great joke, though ahahah
ReplyDeleteIt's unfortunate the subtitles say him not hymn.
ReplyDeleteHaha they do i noticed this
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIt's hymn number 253 (plus the name of the hymn) in a popular hymnal in the north east United States. (A hymnal is a book of hymns.)
ReplyDeleteThis reference is like all references and allusions: it's not meant for everyone who hears it. It's only meant for those who know what it means. If you know the meaning, then the joke is significant to you and has the richness of recognition behind it. If you don't know the meaning, then the joke means nothing to you, but in this instance, with this type of reference, it doesn't ruin your enjoyment of the episode.
(I deleted my original comment. There was an obvious mistake in punctuation.)
I'm an American, English my first language. I'm also a huge reader and FRIENDS superfan. This line is simply NOT funny, it isn't a reference almost anyone would know in the US. And that makes a terrible line/joke. It's not anything to think too hard on, the joke was just a hard to understand bad joke. I'm a writer too btw. FRIENDS often makes references that are from too long ago also. That's because the creators are older (my guess), and i consider it a huge flaw in the show. but they waste a lot of joke opportunities by referencing older things that the characters (and the main viewing audience) wouldn't have likely said or even known about. It's a real waste of joke opportunities. This one is a good example.
ReplyDeleteThe joke here isn't really about the specific hymn. The joke is making fun of Phoebe for asking the question. Of course "him" means Ross in this context. Chandler is basically proposing the most ridiculous and incorrect interpretation of "him" as if to say "is this how lost you are Phoebe? That you'd believe that "him" could mean almost anything?"
ReplyDelete