James L. Brooks wanted to do an episode where Lisa was sad but she did not know why, which inspired him to write this story. The writers also felt that they had done several funny episodes for show and wanted to try something new that was "really emotional and sweet".
The original idea for this episode came from James L. Brooks who wanted to do this episode clear back in the days of Taxi (1978). The idea was that Alex would be sad for some unknown reason, but the script never came to be.
Bleeding Gums Murphy and Lisa are playing their saxophones on the same bridge that Homer tried to kill himself on in Homer's Odyssey (1990).
Bart's sentence: I will not instigate revolution.
First appearances of: Jacqueline Bouvier (Marge's Mother) and Bleeding Gums Murphy.