Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
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| "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" | ||||
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| Single by Monty Python | ||||
| from the album Monty Python Sings | ||||
| Released | 1991 | |||
| Format | CD Single | |||
| Recorded | 1979 | |||
| Genre | Comedy | |||
| Length | 3:33 | |||
| Label | Virgin Records | |||
| Writer(s) | Eric Idle | |||
| Monty Python singles chronology | ||||
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"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" is a popular song written by Eric Idle that originally featured in the 1979 film Monty Python's Life of Brian and has gone on to become a common singalong at public events such as football matches as well as funerals.
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[edit] History
Whilst trying to come up with a way of ending the film Monty Python's Life of Brian, Eric Idle wrote an original version of the song which was sung in a more straight fashion, which the other Python members agreed would be good enough for the end of the film. Whilst practising the song, during a break in filming, Idle found that the song worked better if sung in a more cheeky manner. This new version was used in the film and became one of the Python's most famous songs.
Brian Cohen (played by Graham Chapman) has been sentenced to death by crucifixion for his part in a kidnap plot. After a succession of apparent rescue opportunities all come to nothing, a character on a nearby cross (played by Eric Idle) attempts to cheer him up by singing "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" to him. As the song progresses, many of the other crucifixion victims (140 in all, according to the script, though fewer than that are actually seen on screen) begin to dance in a very limited way and join in with the song's whistled hook. The song continues as the scene changes to a long-shot of the crosses and the credits begin to roll. An instrumental version plays over the second half of the credits.
"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" was conceived as a parody of the style of song often featured in Disney films. It may be considered an answer song to the entire genre, but particularly to songs such as "Give a Little Whistle" from Pinocchio. Its appearance at the end of the film, when the central character seems certain to die, is deliberately ironic.
The song opens with an introductory verse (half-sung with an acoustic guitar backing on the soundtrack album and most subsequent versions, though simply spoken unaccompanied in the film itself):
Some things in life are bad,
They can really make you mad.
Other things just make you swear and curse.
When you're chewing on life's gristle,
Don't grumble, give a whistle,
And this'll help things turn out for the best, and...
This deviation from the standard rhyme scheme (with 'best' replacing the expected 'worse' to rhyme with 'curse') leads into the first appearance of the chorus, which consists of the title and a whistled tune. A second verse continues in a similar vein, and the third and fourth verses move on to discuss the situation (namely, imminent death) in which Brian now finds himself, and alludes to the Shakespearean cliché that 'all the world's a stage':
Life's a piece of shit,
When you look at it.
Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true.
You'll see it's all a show,
Keep 'em laughing as you go.
Just remember that the last laugh is on you.
The whistled hook is an uncredited contribution from Idle's frequent collaborator Neil Innes. One occurrence in the final chorus was omitted at the insistence of the film's executive producer George Harrison, so as not to obscure a pet phrase in John Altman's orchestral arrangement.
The song appeared on the film soundtrack album, listed as "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life (All Things Dull and Ugly)". The subtitle does not appear in the actual song, and is only used on the soundtrack album. Confusingly, "All Things Dull and Ugly" was also the title of an unrelated track on Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album (released only a few months later), which is a parody of the popular hymn "All Things Bright and Beautiful".
The song was also released on the B-side of the single "Brian Song", the film's opening theme (performed by Sonia Jones). It is likely that the claim made by Idle in the spoken fade-out that "this record is available in the foyer" was actually true in some cinemas.
The song touched a chord with the British trait of stoicism and the 'stiff upper lip' in the face of disaster, and became immensely popular. When the destroyer HMS Sheffield was struck by an Exocet cruise missile on May 4, 1982 in the Falklands War, her crew sang it while waiting to be rescued from their sinking ship, as did the crew of HMS Coventry.
When Chapman died on October 4, 1989, the five remaining Python members, as well as Chapman's close relations, came together at his private funeral to sing "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" as part of Idle's eulogy. In 2005, a survey by Music Choice showed that it was the third most popular song Britons would like played at their funerals.[1]
[edit] The single
"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" became particularly popular in the early 1990s. The film had retained a cult status in the intervening years. Around 1990, the title refrain and hook (either whistled as in the original, or vocalised as 'da-dum, da-da da-da da-dum') began to gain currency as a football chant. This came to the attention of BBC Radio 1 DJ Simon Mayo, whose breakfast show had a track record of reviving old novelty songs. Mayo began playing the original version on his show, which led to EMI re-issuing the track as a single in September 1991.
The single (which was backed with two tracks from Contractual Obligation, "I Bet You They Won't Play This Song on the Radio" and "I'm So Worried") also doubled up as promotion for the recently-released compilation Monty Python Sings. (The original pressing also featured a German language version of "The Lumberjack Song", though this was quickly withdrawn and is now a collector's item.) The single reached the top ten in October and prompted a deliberately chaotic performance by Idle on Top of the Pops. Despite some perhaps over-enthusiastic predictions, it did not manage to bring an end to Bryan Adams' unprecedented run at the top of the UK Singles Chart with "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You", instead peaking at number 3. Following this attention, the song became more popular than ever. Two cover versions, by Tenor Fly (incorporating the piano riff from Nina Simone's "My Baby Just Cares for Me"), and the cast of Coronation Street, both reached the charts in 1995.
[edit] Track listing
- "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life"
- "I Bet You They Won't Play This Song on the Radio"
- "I'm So Worried"
[edit] Covers
Harry Nilsson performed the song as the closing track on his 1980 album, Flash Harry.
In 1997, the song was recorded by Art Garfunkel and included in the soundtrack of James L. Brooks' film As Good as It Gets. Jack Nicholson sings the song fleetingly in the film itself with the minor addition of "your" in "brighter side of [your] life". Garfunkel's version replaced the risqué phrase "Life's a piece of shit" with the more family-friendly "Life's a counterfeit" ("Life is hit or miss" has also replaced the lyric as with wedding bands and live radio).
It was also performed by Bruce Cockburn and released on his 1990 Live CD.
The Brobdingnagian Bards recorded it for the CD A Faire to Remember.
American musician Emilie Autumn performed a harpsichord cover of the song for her compilation album A Bit o' This & That.
Heaven's Gate recorded a metal cover of Always Look on the Bright Side of Life for the album Hell For Sale!.
on 08/31/08 moe. played this song as a second encore after a fireworks display to close off their moe.down festival at snow ridge ski area in Turin (town), New York
[edit] Other uses
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Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (July 2009) |
Pittsburgh TV station WQEX used the song as part of its sign-off every night during the 1990's, showing sketches of barflies trying to get home after last call. The song would play in the background. WQEX stopped airing the sign-off (and signing off altogether) in 1997 when PBS station WQED, which owned WQEX, began simulcasting its own signal on WQEX due to funding issues. WQEX now airs ShopNBC programming.
Isabell Werth of Germany used the song as part of her winning routine with her horse Gigolo at the individual dressage equestrian event at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta (though the events were held east of Atlanta in Conyers) to win the event gold over Anky van Grunsven of the Netherlands.[2]
Preston North End Football Club sing an adaptation to Burnley Football Club, with the words "Always look on the Turf Moor", while fans of Cardiff City Football Club sing "Always shit on the English side of the Bridge" to visiting English supporters. The lyrics "Always look on the runway for ice" are sometimes sung by supporters of teams playing against Manchester United; these words refer to the Munich air disaster of 1958, in which a plane carrying the United team skidded on an ice-covered runway and crashed on takeoff, killing 23 people in all, including eight United players and three United staff.
The band Iron Maiden often have a recording of the "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" song played right after they end their performance, as the lights come up and the fans begin to leave.
Billie Joe Armstrong sings "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" during Green Day's song "King for a Day/Shout" on the 2005 CD/DVD Bullet in a Bible.
The song appears twice in the Broadway musical "Spamalot", based on "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" – once in Act II and again during the curtain call. It is the only Monty Python song in the musical not taken from the original movie, with the exception of the "Finland" song; other songs were either from Holy Grail or were new creations.
The Spamalot rendition of the song was also performed by the Broadway cast in the 2006 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The song is used as a background to John Williams' "The Bright Side" segment on WGN (AM) Fridays at 6:20PM. During the segment listeners call in with a "bright side" from the previous week.
The song is also used to close out John DeBella's morning radio show on WMGK in Philadelphia.
The song is used at the end of Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy), the comedic oratorio written by Eric Idle and collaborator John Du Prez.
In April 2007 over 4,000 people gathered in Trafalgar Square in London in a successful attempt to create a new official Guinness world record for the largest number of people playing simultaneously in a coconut orchestra (i.e. banging coconut shells together in time to the music). The song used for the record attempt was "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life". A video of the event can be seen on YouTube.
On 13 November 2008 Idle performed the song as the finale of "We Are Most Amused", a comedy show at the New Wimbledon Theatre to celebrate Prince Charles's 60th birthday, changing the third verse in tribute to the Prince:
- When you're sixty years of age,
- and your Mum won't leave the stage,
- it's good to know you're still the Prince of Wales!
The song was used in a Norwegian left-wing demonstration (arranged by the Blitz House) when being blocked by the Oslo Police (May 1990). The entire demonstration tuned in on the refrain, humouring their opponents in the shielded police squad.
[edit] References
- ^ "Angels 'favourite funeral song'". BBC News. 2005-03-10. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4336113.stm.
- ^ Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Equestrian: Dressage, Individual". In The Complete Book of the Olympics:2008 Edition. London: Aurum Press, Limited. p. 589.
[edit] External links
- Clip of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from Monty Python's Life of Brian at YouTube (requires Adobe Flash)
- Clip of the Spanish version of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" with Eric Idle (todoMUSICALES.com)
