World of Blue - Archived Forum 2007-2022

i've always liked the idea of the line being "one chance out between two worlds" but i see a lot of people saying it's "chants." is that definitely confirmed to be the line via a screenplay?

also, is there a 'general' thread i can post in for little thoughts like this?

e: this can now be the twin peaks general talk / questions thread

According to http://twinpeaks.org/faqeps.htm#e25, as follows...

E25. What are the words to Mike (the one-armed man)'s poem?

According to the shooting script of episode 2, it is:

Through the darkness of future past
the magician longs to see
one chance out between two worlds
'Fire walk with me.'

However, the closed caption subtitles for the episode use
the word "chants" instead of "chance", igniting a
long-standing, never-resolved debate:

- "chance" implies there is only one way or method to escape
from "between two worlds".

- 'chants' is supported by both the Convenience Store scene
and Laura's dream/vision in FWWM, where recital of the
phrase is followed by passage to the Red Room.

Brad Smith (a07850@giant.rsoft.bc.ca) attended the '93 Fan
Festival (see question P8 for the address for Fan Festival
info) and had the opportunity to ask Al Strobel (actor who
played Mike) about this:
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

When I was at the TPFF 93, I asked Al Strobel about
chants/chance. He said that he got the poem from David
Lynch's handwritten notes and it was chants. This would
seem to indicate that DL's intention was chants.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This is further supported by an appearance of the poem,
using "chants", in David Lynch's photography book, "Images"
(see question P1).

However, because of the conflicting written versions, and
because both words help support peoples' different
interpretations of Lodge events, it is unlikely this will
ever be resolved to everyone's satisfaction.


--

There was also an old thread on Twin Peaks Gazette Forum discussing this. http://www.twinpeaksgazette.com/communi ... 0.cfm.html (where poster jylon1515 on there pointed out the FAQ link, which is good advice, as that old FAQ link is still very valid and helpful!)

I prefer "chance" - but I like "chants" too.

Hope this helps.

p.s. We could use this thread for asking questions - maybe just retitle your post to change thread title to "Random Twin Peaks Questions" or something like that!

huh interesting! thanks for the response. good idea about the title, will change it

It is "Chants". This has been confirmed very specifically by Al Strobel.

German Translation was: Einen Weg hinaus zwischen zweierlei Welten, what means:
One Way out between to Worlds. This is closer to one chance.

But I prefer chants, too

When in 1991 TP was in polish TV there were 2 versions of this line. In episode 2 it was translated with "one chance out between two worlds" (jedyna szansa ucieczki spomiedzy dwoch swiatow), and in episode 13 it was "one chants out between two worlds" (ktos spiewa miedzy dwoma swiatami). So probably "chance" was in episode 2's subtitles for translators.

Also Artisan's Season 1 DVD have "chance" in episode's subtitles.

I thought the story was that it was originally written as "chance," but a transcription accident had it as "chants," and Lynch decided he liked that better. I have no idea where I heard it, but I always thought it was the agreed upon lore.

In the spanish dub version the translation was "Una oportunidad para salir entre dos mundos" ("One chance to get out between two worlds"). Fortunately, spanish TP fans have been aware of this kind of translation mistakes since the internet era.

Another remarkable translation was the famous line "That gum you like is going to come back in style". In spanish was "Ese tipo que te gusta va a volver al lujo" (more or less, "That guy you like is going to come back in style")

new random thought:

"fell a victim" = "fellow victim"?

the boy points [at bob?], as if to say 'look, he is also a victim'

sorry if this has been pointed out before

dud wrote:new random thought:

"fell a victim" = "fellow victim"?

the boy points [at bob?], as if to say 'look, he is also a victim'

sorry if this has been pointed out before

I have to admit that, for me, this makes no sense whatsoever.

which doesn't make sense, getting fellow out of 'fell a' or what that might mean?

dud wrote:which doesn't make sense, getting fellow out of 'fell a' or what that might mean?

Both. It's very clearly meant to be read as "fell a," as nothing in the delivery, script, or subtitles makes it out to be anything but. What's BOB a victim of; who's the other victim in the scenario? I guess it makes the same amount of sense as reading MIKE's poem as saying "chance" instead of "chants," which is to say... Why would you refuse a simpler and more logical explanation?

it makes more sense as advice (or a command, depending on the grandson's relative standing) to BOB to deal with "the fury of [his] own momentum." BOB's getting impatient, time to let him work out his urges

i'm not sure what you'd call it but i'd bet there's a word for it, it's not exactly a homonym, but there's a band that i'm really into that uses this device a lot in their song titles and lyrics, some of their song titles are 'seal eyeing' 'for reverend green' and 'lion in a coma'. now say those three things out loud and you'll notice phonetically you're pretty much saying 'sea lion' 'forever in green' and 'lying in a coma'. if you say 'fell a victim', to me, it sounds like fellow victim. that, coupled with the pointing (and the fact that he says it right after the 'fury of my own momentum line', i thought maybe he was saying that bob falls victim to the fury of his own momentum, along with his own victims (laura, maddy, teresa). it's definitely a bit of a stretch but i'm not pulling it completely out of thin air just a thought

edit: knew there was a name for this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondegreen

dud wrote:i'm not sure what you'd call it but i'd bet there's a word for it, it's not exactly a homonym, but there's a band that i'm really into that uses this device a lot in their song titles and lyrics, some of their song titles are 'seal eyeing' 'for reverend green' and 'lion in a coma'. now say those three things out loud and you'll notice phonetically you're pretty much saying 'sea lion' 'forever in green' and 'lying in a coma'. if you say 'fell a victim', to me, it sounds like fellow victim. that, coupled with the pointing (and the fact that he says it right after the 'fury of my own momentum line', i thought maybe he was saying that bob falls victim to the fury of his own momentum, along with his own victims (laura, maddy, teresa). it's definitely a bit of a stretch but i'm not pulling it completely out of thin air just a thought

edit: knew there was a name for this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondegreen

I thought you were saying it was one or the other; the idea that it could be both I am more amenable to. While I still do not know if there is any textual support for it, I see your reasoning.