Moaning Lisa

Ron Taylor as Bleeding Gums Murphy

"Moaning Lisa" is the sixth episode of The Simpsons' first season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 11, 1990. The episode was written by Al Jean and Mike Reiss, and was directed by Wes Archer.Ron Taylor guest stars in the episode as Bleeding Gums Murphy. The episode deals with Lisa's depression and her attempts to sublimate it by playing her saxophone. It received positive reviews from television critics.

Lisa wakes up one morning saddened. At school, she gets in trouble with her music teacher for improvising, and becomes reluctant to play dodgeball in gym. At home, Homer and Bart pummel each other at video boxing, but despite Homer's attempts, he 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 him, only to be discovered and whisked away by Marge.

Homer goes to the arcade and enlists the help of a local video gamer, 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 and her support helps Lisa to feel genuinely happy. When Homer returns home, he is about to defeat Bart in a rematch but Marge unplugs the game console to announce Lisa's recovery, while Bart 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.