Re: [I want to be in that number] <-- i've not heard this idiom elsewhere

On 3/11/2024 6:18 a.m., LionelEdwards wrote:

On Sat, 2 Nov 2024 17:09:42 +0000, HenHanna wrote:
 

[Yes, I want to be in that number] <-- i've never heard this idiom
anywhere else

 <snip>
 It is a direct quote from the best known song by the
most recognisable singer ever. Sit back and enjoy:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyLjbMBpGDA

Without looking, I can guess the song and the singer.
Just sticking to that theme, I looked at the uses of "number" in the old Bible concordance I keep in a cupboard. There is a lot of numbering of groups of people in the Bible -- tribes, armies, the elect... (There's even a whole book in the OT called Numbers.) You can easily see the extension from the number (the figure) to the list or roll of names of people in the group. "When the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there" -- from another old song -- refers to the same situation.