The Simpsons: Marge’s lost joke uncovered by fan who re-edited Spinal-Tap scene

Marge Simpson's quip to her husband could have been lost forever. Photo / The Simpsons

The Simpsons has delivered plenty of laughs in 34 seasons. But there’s one joke that until now has never been heard.

According to the New York Post, by re-editing a scene in which Homer prepares to head to a Spinal Tap concert, a die-hard Simpsons fan has uncovered a long-lost joke, uttered by family matriarch Marge.

The joke from the season three episode was originally drowned out by a ringing sound to emulate Homer’s claimed tinnitus as he told his wife his hearing had not been affected by heavy metal concerts.

Twitter user and video editor Ewzzy Rayburn took to the social media platform to post the edited and unedited versions of the scene.

I used my audio editing skills to recover a buried @TheSimpsons joke. #Simpsons pic.twitter.com/H0gD1qO7vF

— Ewzzy Rayburn (@ewzzy) April 19, 2023

By removing sound effects and boosting Marge’s voice, Rayburn was able to reveal just what Marge actually said:

“Well, all right, but make sure [Bart and Lisa] don’t pick up any of the band’s attitudes toward liquor, religion, politics … really, anything,” she says in referring to the show’s headliners — mockumentary rock band Spinal Tap.

The video, which has garnered over 1.1 million views, includes producer commentary that reveals the lost joke took “a long time to write it”- only to then be drowned out during the episode’s final edits.

After some 30 years, Marge’s warning to Homer has been revealed, and to the delight of fellow The Simpsons fans.

“Amazing!” tweeted one fan. “This is so cool”, commented another of the audio revelation, achieved by using Adobe Audition to “find/erase the tones then boost what was left”, Ray shared in a follow-up tweet.

The Simpsons, now in its 34th season, has also become an uncanny predictor of future events including 9/11, former US President Donald Trump being elected and more recently the upcoming movie Barbie.

Showrunner Al Jean previously told Australian music news outlet NME: “One of our writers, the guy whose episode predicted Donald Trump as president, said it best: ‘If you write 700 episodes, and you don’t predict anything, then you’re pretty bad. If you throw enough darts, you’re going to get some bullseyes.’”