# What the...? It's Groundhog Day again! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [February 2, 2010, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-its-groundhog-day-again/527350 "2010-02-02T06:37:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2018, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-its-groundhog-day-again/527350/281 "2018-02-02T18:56:19Z")
In a YouTube of Rachmaninoff’s _Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini_ I recently watched, they had an introduction that mention the most famous variation – the one Phil learns to play – is an inversion. That is, the Rach took the original theme, flipped it upside down around some line in the staff so low notes went high and high notes went low, and then transposed it from minor to major I think. The result sounds amazing and really nothing at all like the original. Even cooler, as I researched it further, I found an article that connected the music to the movie. Phil gets the idea to learn the piano when he hears a Mozart Sonata over a speaker somewhere, but the piece we see him learning is a theme and variations, where the theme is repeated over and over, but each time is slightly different, and the changes are punctuated by _Dies irae_, and old Latin hymn. The variation he focuses on, and what he plays at the ball right before he escapes the time loop, is the one that turns the theme on its head. There’s a lot going on below the surface in that movie! ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2018, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-its-groundhog-day-again/527350/282 "2018-02-02T19:27:50Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > One of my favorite parts that I didn’t really think about until after seeing it multiple times. By the last day, he knows everything about everyone. He knows the entire sequence of events that’s going to happen down to the second. He’s mastered countless skills. > > But he has no idea if Larry has kids or not. Yeah, this was mentioned in the “Things you never noticed” thread or whatever the title is. I’ve seen GD many times, and never noticed that until I read it in that thread. Now I laugh every time I see that scene. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2018, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-its-groundhog-day-again/527350/283 "2018-02-02T19:41:34Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > … the theme is repeated over and over, but each time is slightly different, and the changes are punctuated by _Dies irae_, and old Latin hymn. The variation he focuses on, and what he plays at the ball right before he escapes the time loop, is the one that turns the theme on its head. > > There’s a lot going on below the surface in that movie! VERY cool - thanks! ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2018, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-its-groundhog-day-again/527350/284 "2018-02-02T20:41:57Z")
[Funny meta-joke here](http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/groundhog-day-2018-25-years-anniversary-date-film-bill-murray-andie-mcdowell-harold-ramis-days-time-a8191111.html) ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2018, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-its-groundhog-day-again/527350/285 "2018-02-02T23:27:01Z")
> [@K364](#): > > [Funny meta-joke here](http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/groundhog-day-2018-25-years-anniversary-date-film-bill-murray-andie-mcdowell-harold-ramis-days-time-a8191111.html) 😛 I think the best way to understand just how long he was trapped is to consider the potential for learning to be the amazing pianist he turns into in the course of one hour a day, every day. And that’s something he doesn’t even start until he’s already been trapped for a goodly long while. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2018, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-its-groundhog-day-again/527350/286 "2018-02-02T23:51:11Z")
Don’t drive angry! ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2018, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-its-groundhog-day-again/527350/287 "2018-02-03T00:55:45Z")
I bought you. I own you. ( Oh, and Happy Birthday **snfaulkner**!) ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2018, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-its-groundhog-day-again/527350/288 "2018-02-03T02:12:26Z")
Did you know he could ice sculpt? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2018, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-its-groundhog-day-again/527350/289 "2018-02-03T22:32:58Z")
\*Rita: \*Believe it or not, I studied 19th-century French poetry. \*Phil: \*(laughs) What a waste of time! …I mean, for someone else that would be an incredible waste of time. It’s so bold of you to choose that. It’s incredible; you must have been a very very strong person. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2018, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-its-groundhog-day-again/527350/290 "2018-02-04T04:13:24Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > \*Rita: \*Believe it or not, I studied 19th-century French poetry. > \*Phil: \*(laughs) What a waste of time! …I mean, for someone else that would be an incredible waste of time. It’s so bold of you to choose that. It’s incredible; you must have been a very very strong person. The “poem” he comes up with the next time we see him was actually written for the movie, though based on a Jacques Brel lyric: The girl I will love is like a fine wine that gets a little better every morning. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2018, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-its-groundhog-day-again/527350/291 "2018-02-04T05:19:12Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > The “poem” he comes up with the next time we see him was actually written for the movie, though based on a Jacques Brel lyric… See post 247. When Chekhov saw the long winter, he saw a winter bleak and dark and bereft of hope. Yet we know that winter is just another step in the cycle of life. But standing here among the people of Punxsutawney and basking in the warmth of their hearths and hearts, I couldn’t imagine a better fate than a long and lustrous winter. ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2018, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-its-groundhog-day-again/527350/292 "2018-02-04T13:21:54Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > When Chekhov saw the long winter, he saw a winter bleak and dark and bereft of hope. Yet we know that winter is just another step in the cycle of life. But standing here among the people of Punxsutawney and basking in the warmth of their hearths and hearts, I couldn’t imagine a better fate than a long and lustrous winter. Hey man, you touched me… ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2018, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-its-groundhog-day-again/527350/293 "2018-02-04T19:15:09Z")
I’d like to visit Woodstock IL: [about-those-famous-groundhog-days-filming-locations](http://www.locationshub.com/blog/2013/10/26/about-those-famous-groundhog-days-filming-locations) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2018, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-its-groundhog-day-again/527350/294 "2018-02-04T21:35:22Z")
Today is (the day after) tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2018, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-its-groundhog-day-again/527350/295 "2018-02-05T03:07:53Z")
_Gosh_, you’re an upbeat lady! ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2018, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-its-groundhog-day-again/527350/296 "2018-02-05T16:47:17Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > 😛 > > I think the best way to understand just how long he was trapped is to consider the potential for learning to be the amazing pianist he turns into in the course of one hour a day, every day. And that’s something he doesn’t even start until he’s already been trapped for a goodly long while. :eek: I think the piano lessons is one thing that gets glossed over for the sake of a funny line. There’s no way Phil has been telling the instructor that it is his first lesson every time. At some point along the line he has to have progressed past traditional beginning lessons. I assume he can play Chopsticks and Heart and Soul after not too long. Then what does he start telling her? “I need an emergency second /third/fourth piano lesson”? “I’m an excellent amateur pianist but I need immediate advanced lessons?” Plus at some point he’s just going to need to practice all day. He needs to learn the piece. Does “muscle memory” reside actually in the muscles, or is it just memory? Because every day he has the same spread in his fingers, the same muscles he had the day it started. Are his hands even capable of complex playing without “piano tone”? By the end of the film, he wouldn’t need to go to the teacher, unless there isn’t a single other piano in the entire town. With saving everyone else all day, he’d have little time for extended practice. At least it wasn’t guitar he tried to pick up. That would be unrealistic! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2018, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-its-groundhog-day-again/527350/297 "2018-02-05T17:37:24Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Today is (the day after) tomorrow. But what if there _is_ no tomorrow? There wasn’t one today! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2018, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-its-groundhog-day-again/527350/298 "2018-02-05T18:44:20Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I think the piano lessons is one thing that gets glossed over for the sake of a funny line. > > There’s no way Phil has been telling the instructor that it is his first lesson every time… Well, my dad was a piano _mover_, so… ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2018, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-its-groundhog-day-again/527350/299 "2018-02-05T21:27:50Z")
Dr. Jeff Masters on Groundhog Day [prognostication](https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/groundhog-says-6-more-weeks-winter-noaa-says-not-so-southern-us). Takeaways: 1. Trust NOAA, not a large squirrel predicting the weather. 2. The drift towards more sunny Groundhog Days and therefore more, supposedly, longer winters is noticeable in the data. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-its-groundhog-day-again/527350/300 "2018-02-06T06:02:04Z")
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