"Laugh and cry" vs. "F-in' cry"

My main problem with people saying it's *clearly* "laugh and cry" is this:

The published sheet music may be "laugh and cry", Seth may have recorded it as "laugh and cry", but guess what? Listening is subjective. If I, and many others, do not hear the word 'laugh' (or 'and', for that matter) enunciated clearly then it doesn't really matter what was supposed to be sung.

Additionally, if it was so obviously "laugh and cry" to begin with, why was that phrase re-recorded for Season 3 episodes? Because it wasn't obvious, and because it sounded like "f-in' cry". Sure, it might not have been intended to sound like that, but that doesn't mean it doesn't.

Ultimately, I am not questioning what the line was *supposed* to be, I am questioning what it actually sounds like; and there is no possible clear "correct" answer to what it actually sounds like since listening is not an objective activity.

UsualNoise wrote:

"Scuse me, while I kiss this guy." Misheard by: Just about every living human being I've convinced others that this version is the real one: Yes I take interesting medication: ?

I was waiting for someone to bring up kissthisguy.com

"UsualNoise" wrote in message news:0c31fe51908be32da927abbcfd341465@TeraNews...

Case in point:

Tonight's episode-subjectively?? I heard "Leffin cry" The L is very weak, but there-the 'a' however really sounds like the short 'e' sound. The 'f' is VERY strong, and the word 'and' is not seperated off 'laugh' as well as having no discenable 'd' sound....

It's like that duck and rabbit picture-it changes back and forth by itself...or your mind-set at the time...

Viper

Oh please. It is "laugh and cry". It always was. It's so completely obvious that I'm amazed so much time has been wasted debating it.

"I would rather have a German division in front of me than a French one behind me" - General George S. Patton.

[email] (Chris�) wrote in news:25940-3EAFEC68-42@storefull- 2237.public.lawson.webtv.net:

OK, so why was that line re-recorded for season three?

On Wed, 30 Apr 2003 16:31:14 GMT, UsualNoise wrote:

I'm with you Noise, sounds clearly like F'in cry to me when I first heard it, and when it was re-recorded sounds like laugh and cry.

I agree that it sounds like that. But it isn't. Simple logic. "F'in cry" simply isn't that funny given the context and the tone of the theme song. Stewie is not known for using profanity. In fact, his character eschews slang for proper English most of the time. "Fucking cry" also makes no sense given that the song is upbeat, sarcastically upbeat.

I wonder if the writers did this on purpose. Given that they re-recorded the song for the final season indicates that they didn't, and that they were simply trying to eliminate a misconception. "F'in cry" would be a more appropriate line for Peter, not Stewie.

"I would rather have a German division in front of me than a French one behind me" - General George S. Patton.

On Thu, 1 May 2003 07:52:44 -0400 (EDT), [email] (Chris�) wrote:

They did have Stewie mouth the works to f*ck you in one ep but covered it up by having him say he meant vacuum.. hehe

To make it even more obvious to those who believe it's "f'n cry", and shut them up once and for all? (and even that, obviously, wasn't enough...proof that some peole don't know when to give up)

"Homer J. Simpson" wrote in news:[email]:

Uh, I wasn't arguing that it was supposed to be "laugh and cry", I was arguing that it didn't *sound* like "laugh and cry". Based on the fact that they changed it, it obviously didn't.

"UsualNoise" wrote in message news:f128d31b432034af0d11a6df34c0f701@TeraNews...

Specifically in a failed attempt to clear up any doubts...but if you listen closely to that "rehearsal" version on some FG fan sites, you can tell it was clearly always "laugh and cry".

Chuck

Maybe, like some Simpsons writers occasionally do, the writers for FG check this sort of stuff out, either here or on webpages and said "Eh, lets settle this once and for all."

[email] (otherwise known as HippiChk79) wrote in news:[email]:

Eh, eh?

Jim

[email] (otherwise known as HippiChk79) wrote in news:[email]:

Well, that's my assessment as well. And of course, they wouldn't have changed it unless it sounded like "f-in' cry".

To me, it NEVER sounded like "effin' cry" until someone suggested it.

Its like that line in Aladdin. If you were never told to look for it, you'd probably not hear it.

OK... What line in Aladdin? :o)

"Jason Saslow" wrote in message news:[email]...

"C'mon good tiger, take off and go," which was somehow misinterpreted as "C'mon good teenagers, take off your clothes", creating an urban legend and providing fuel to the fire for Radical Right fundamentalists who are somehow convinced that all Disney products contain hidden obscene material.

Chuck

"Chuckie Griffin" wrote in message news:Hqbta.110849$[email]...

and

somehow

Oh... I thougth you were refering to the "slut your throats" line that got edited out of the "Arabian Nights" song.

[email] (otherwise known as HippiChk79) wrote in news:[email]:

That's fine - I never said everybody heard it. But my wife and I *always* thought it was f-in' cry until I read this newsgroup; it certainly wasn't suggested to us.

UsualNoise wrote in message news:...

YOu guys are all idiots!!!!! In the First season, the line was F'n Cry. Then in the middle of the second season, specifically Brian Goes to Hollywood, the line was changed to Laugh and Cry

CLOSEDOWN8? ....is that you?

• CMiB

I am with you two. My wife and I are broadcasters. Now, that matters not in the least except that we have a nack for listening very distinctly to the details when producing commercials and stuff. We always laughed about the "f'in cry" thing until one time, I recall it well, when it had changed to "laugh and cry" and we both snapped our heads to see if the other had heard the new "laugh and cry" or if we both had imagined it....

It was obvious that Fox made them re-cut that part.

And why wouldn't they say "f'in cry" originally, it wasn't out of character for Stewie...besides that has nothing to do with it. It could have been any character doing that line, but they decided Stewie was best. It just showed brand new viewers that this show was beyond edgy despite the faux up-with-people song and dance at the beginning...and look the baby talks...and has an attitude.....ahhh adorable................

I think the root of the matter is that Stewie is the accent. I believe it was intended to be "laugh and cry", however the "L" consonant is very faint and the vowel sound actually made is borderline between short a and short e. And the "and" sounds more like 'n' (as in "wash 'n' wear", etc).

Thus, depending on how much you unconsciously are allowing for Stewie's accent, you feel you 'definitely' hear "laugh and cry" or "effin' cry". Plus, once you have heard one and believe it is that, it makes it harder to hear the other.

Also, I think it would be more in character for Stewie if he were going to use the phrase to say "effing" rather than effin' - droppin' the g from verbs endin' in g would be rather crude, and more like the English spoken by the little girl whose English he was trying to correct.

Finally, if it had been "effin' cry" originally, what would have been the point in changing it to "laugh and cry"? Censorship is unlikely, as there is worse profanity in the show. And if Fox had censored this, they would most likely dubbed the "cleaner" version over the re-runs of the early shows. "Laugh and cry" isn't any funnier than "effin' cry" would be. The only reason that makes sense for the change is that it wasn't meant to be "effin' cry", and that the creators were annoyed that some people thought it was.

Hear, hear! Quite agree, quite agree! All these arguments make perfect sense.

And on top of that: it does NOT make SENSE that Stewie would say "effin' cry". For two reasons:

First of all it isn't in Stewies character to utter such obscene language. He speaks a very formal form of English and he never curses in one of the "holy words" (sh*t, p*ss, f*ck, c*nt, c*cks*ck*r, m*th*rf*ck*r, t*ts). Stewie is quite a hothead, but never does he lose his ability to swear in quite a neat form of English.

And secondly, the leader is meant as a representation of the Griffin family as a very "model American"-type of family with traditional morals and values; not some foul-languaged bunch of trailer-park white trash. That the episodes itself reflect a complete opposite of that "model-American"-feel is part of the clue/joke; the Griffin's are a bunch of weirdo's (cool weirdo's; don't get me wrong). Why name the show Family Guy in the first place? To mislead people in thinking that this show is a nice form of family entertainment in which children can learn some "good old fashion values (on which we used to rely)". Therefor it does not make sense that Stewie would say "effin' cry". There is no deaper meaning or hidden obscenity to it. It just is "laugh and cry" and that's final!

I rest my case.

____________________

Lunarum

"Adopt, adapt and improve."
____________________

What about the time Stewie said "fuck" during the show and it was bleeped out?

"Lunarum" wrote in news:ba2vci$10o$[email]:

Which is why

"What are you looking at? You infantile, stupid, that's right, damn you and such. You can go (yawns) burn in hell..."

is so funny.

I think my personal favorite (and most commonly used in my day to day life) is found in "Road to Rhode Island" where Stewie burns his hand on the radiator after clambering out of bed to answer the phone in the motel; "DAMN IT TO BLOOD-GUTTED, PUS-SPEWING HELL!!!"

On Mon, 14 Jul 2003 23:23:33 -0400, "Neal" wrote:

They sound different, but not like the one is actually "f'n cry."

It sounds more like they made the second one more obviously "laugh and cry", because people were thinking it sounded like "f'n cry."

dstephenatcoxdotnet ( using the @ and . for email )

In article , dstep wrote:

Kind of like when the changed the opening to "All in the Family" so you could understand that Jean Stapleton was singing "Gee, our old La Salle ran great" because nobody knew what she was saying.

Um, for you people under the age of 35 or so, All in the Family was a very popular TV show a long time ago. I think it plays on Nick at Nite these days.

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night, and party every day. Then it was every other day. . . ." -Homer J. Simpson

[snip]

Someone else posted before about this topic...something to the effect of:

I always thought the line was "Gee, our effin' La Salle ran great."

One of the funniest posts I've ever read!

In article , "Bao H. Lammy" wrote:

I missed that one, but when you see stuff like that you should submit it to "alt.humor-best-of-usenet". Great group (it's moderated, which keeps the humor quality high).

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night, and party every day. Then it was every other day. . . ." -Homer J. Simpson

On Tue, 22 Jul 2003 01:14:15 -0500, "Bao H. Lammy" wrote:

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH'

That is damn funny. I always watched all in the family with my parents when a kid. I had no idea what they were saying in parts of the song.

dstephenatcoxdotnet ( using the @ and . for email )

I watched the show as a kid and I turn 35 in less than two months. "Oh my hell" Tex Murphy "Is that another chicken joke?" Joanne Worley

Just read the tail-end of this thread. I know that, when the show is on Teletoon here in Canada, and I have the closed-captioning on, it's listed as "F-in' cry"...Is it captrioned that way on the DVD?

Neal wrote:

In the first season on FOX, the close captioning read "effin cry" but was changed to "laugh and cry" for the second season.

"Nathan Elke" wrote in message news:[email]...

as

recorded

I,

why

doesn't.

On Sun, 27 Jul 2003 05:25:58 GMT, "Erich Wise" wrote:

Snip.

Some third party group close captions stuff, right? Or not the people who make the show, anyway?

dstephenatcoxdotnet ( using the @ and . for email )

"dstep" wrote in message news:[email]...

listed

I think FOX captions the DVD...the actual broadcasts are third party, I think...

Err, I think any network has their own people captioning any broadcast, while the production team (Seth MacFarlane, etc.) is responsible for captioning their own DVDs.

"JPM III" wrote in message news:bhouie$1lge1$[email]...

Actually, I think you're right...

I

I would hope so. Any other arrangement wouldn't make much sense. :-)

"JPM III" wrote in message news:bhp158$1opdn$[email]...

party,

broadcast,

Which is why I think you're right :)

Regardless, there can be and often are CC errors no matter who made them. Trust me, I have CC on all the time, just about. There are non-CC subtitling errors on DVDs as well.

I just played back the opening credits from a first-season episode and a last-season episode, and the sound at that point in the song was clearly different. In the first season, Stewie definitely said "F'in' cry", and in the last season, he definitely said "Laugh and cry". The lyric was adjusted.

"JPM III" wrote in message news:bhrmp9$2fsch$[email]...

broadcast,

adjusted.

You must be new here...

in

I'm responding to this thread, where there seemed to be no conclusive answer. I had never bothered to actually check episodes before... so I did.

[snip]

Take that back. Now. Of course, what you meant to write was: "In the first season, Stewie definitely said something that sounded like 'F'in cry,' and in the last season, he definitely said "Laugh and cry." The way the lyric sounded was adjusted.

in

adjusted.

Say it how you want... the meaning is the same.

On Tue, 19 Aug 2003 10:41:35 -0400, "JPM III" wrote:

Actually it's not. "Sounds like" is different than "he says."

Also Seth mentioned in an article he did not produce the DVDs himself. Another company did.

http://www.familyguyfiles.com/main.php

An interview off that main page has the details. Unless I read it too quick, another company produced the DVDs and it was FOX's idea to cut out those missing 3 scenes.

It most certainly is not. Seriously, is English your first language?

and a

clearly

and in

adjusted.

Seventh.

Well, maybe that explains why you didn't immediately perceive the rather distinct difference in meaning. It's not my first language, either, but I learned it quickly as a second language starting when I was four years old. (I'm 32 now.) I know English far better than my first language, in fact.

episode and a

clearly

cry", and in

was adjusted.

sounded

and

Practice makes better.

On Tue, 19 Aug 2003 20:07:41 -0500, "Bao H. Lammy" wrote:

<snip>

Out of curiosity, what is your first language?

Vietnamese.