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This strip references a song from 1918, I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles.
It has depressing lyrics about crushed hopes and missed opportunities. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/I'm_Forever_Blowing_Bubbles#Lyrics
1919 recording of the song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mvpvbla3rWg
https://inv.nadeko.net/watch?v=Mvpvbla3rWg
edit: Today, it's best known as the team anthem of English football team West Ham United FC.
It’s also the team anthem of Emglish football team West Ham United FC.
And a well-chosen anthem it is!
Makes me wonder of Gary Larson was a secret WHU supporter, or at least a Premier League fan.
I doubt that many people today, or in the 80s, would know of this song otherwise.
Thats pretty neat. Upon seeing this post i was just trying to figure out how to insert the clown named bubbles joke. Thanks for pointing me at music instead.
Does it? The whole joke is about annoying, repetitive sounds being created near the fella who is being tormented. It seems like a coincidence far more than a reference. I would have expected a tell to draw attention to the reference, like maybe a castle, a butterfly, or a dawn to link back to the lyrics... you know, something besides just four words that happen to be in a song somewhere.
Blowing bubbles doesn’t seem like much of a punishment.
But the symbolism in the song of bubbles representing doomed hopes is torture.
It all depends on how much the symbolism mattered to the person blowing bubbles in the comic.
If you’ve never heard of the song, or it doesn’t mean much to you personally, then the devils would probably find something else for you.
You... really don't get it, do you? The person being tormented is the one who isn't doing anything. That's the joke. Look around him. You've got bubbles being blown, which creates the sound of a person blowing right near your ear and the sound of the bubbles popping. Then you've got the hand organ down the bench, and across from him you have the paddle ball on string, and someone knitting. All are repetitive, eventually-going-to-drive-you-crazy sounds, much like the slow dripping of water is not terrible in anyway, but comprises the chinese water torture.
They might all be little demons in disguise, or merely figments created by the devil, but who cares? We know they're not persons being punished, because they could stop at any time if the action was a torment.