There is a grief that can’t be spoken, a pain goes on and on … Those are the words that Marius sings while he is grieving the death of his friends in the Victor Hugo-inspired musical Les Misérables that has shown us time and time again how much people love watching sad students sacrifice their life for what they believe in. While we love the musical and love to see Eponine give her life and her love remain unrequited towards Marius, or Fantine die after trying to provide a better life for Cosette, we also like to poke a little fun at it.
Whether it is singing “The Confrontation” and mimicking Jean Valjean’s run or making fun of Russell Crowe as Javert, Les Misérables is a staple. You know what else is a staple in our cultural zeitgist? The Muppets. And in true TikTok fashion, there is now a mash-up between the two that makes zero sense but has taken over my “For You” page.
When using TikTok, you basically create your own FYP based on what videos you like and interact with or stop and watch. So, I don’t know what I was doing that ended me on “Berries and Cream” followed up by Les Mis/Muppets tok. The video that started it all (which surprisingly did not have that many videos behind it? So really, what’s wrong with me??) has the theme song to The Muppet Show playing without the lyrics because, instead, the lyrics are replaced by the lyrics to “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables.”
@jamesbpartridgeFull props to @frizfrizzle for this cursed mashup 👹 ##emptychairsatemptytables ##lesmiserables ##muppets ##mashup ##musictheatre♬ original sound – James B Partridge
Oh but don’t worry, it wasn’t one-sided. If you thought to yourself “but I love the lyrics of The Muppet Show theme” or “wow I miss the score to ‘Empty Chairs at Empty Tables,'” you are in luck because the reverse exists and has even less videos and has someone ending up on my FYP multiple times!
@alexhitt1Muppets Les Mis… But reverse! ##muppets ##Mashup ##lesmis♬ We are a bunch of depressed puppets by Alex Hitt – Alex Hitt
Again, I don’t know what this says about me and my taste because this is something I thought that everyone was seeing. And then I asked my friends on TikTok if they saw it and felt like I had grown a second head based on the looks I was getting. So … not everyone is on Muppet/Les Mis tok. I guess it’s just me and my one friend who keep singing the wrong lyrics to The Muppet Show theme song or “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables.“
So … are you on Muppet/Les Mis tok or is it just me? Are any of you on here? Can we talk about this because something is clearly going on with us if this is what our FYP page thinks we need …
(image: Disney)
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