Echo

And now for another installment of the popular Basement feature “Gee, Where Have I Heard That Before?” The trigger this time was Strangers With Candy—specifically, the episodes where Jerri Blank joins a cult. The members sing a song repeatedly—relentlessly, one might even say. (After her ride in the van to Safe Trap House, Jerri says, “Boy, you people sure are fond of that ditty.” And that night: “Seriously, you people really need to learn a new song.”) It’s an old spiritual called “Welcome Table” and it goes like this (in the TV show):

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Repeat fifty times and go slowly insane. And what did it trigger? This:

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It’s the horn call from the overture to Oberon by some guy named Weber.

Okay, that’s all. Oh, wait: here’s another version of “Welcome Table,” from a Smithsonian collection:

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The melodic line is a bit more nuanced. I don’t know which version is more common.

Okay, now we’re really done. I’m gonna sit at the welcome table …