The group includes Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle (the trio from Cambridge, who are all taller than all the other members of the group, and known as the more "aggressive" half of the group), Terry Jones (from Wales), Michael Palin (from Oxford) and Terry Gilliam (Minnesota in the United States). Chapman wrote the sketches with Cleese, Jones wrote with Palin, Idle wrote alone and Gilliam did the animations. Neil Innes and Carol Cleveland have both on occasion been mentioned as the "7th Python".
Graham Chapman, widely known as "The Dead One", died of cancer on October 4, 1989, the day before Python's 20th anniversary (thus being called "the greatest party pooper of all time" by Terry Jones), is tagged as the greatest actor among the group by his fellow Pythons. He had problems with alcohol and was a dedicated smoker of the pipe (he appears with a pipe in his hand in most of the Python sketches). He was known for his outstanding and abstract sense of humour; Cleese states that during their sketch-writing partnership Chapman did not say much, but when he said something it was often brilliant. The term "pepperpot" which is used to describe middle-aged ladies was found by Chapman.
John Cleese, probably the most famous Python on the other side of the Atlantic, is most widely known for his silly walk - the famous walk that he invented for Monty Python's Flying Circus, and repeated in one episode of Fawlty Towers, where he tries very hard not to remind his German visitors of the World War II by doing impersonations of Hitler. He lives in the USA. He played the lead as Basil Fawlty in "Fawlty Towers". He has been reported to be the first man to say "shit" on British TV and the first man to say "fuck" at a British memorial service.
Eric Idle is the composer of most Python songs (along with Neil Innes) such as the Python anthem "Always Look on the Bright Side Of Life" (which is also played after Iron Maiden's shows). His outstanding linguistic abilities have earned him the name "Master of the One-Liner". He created the Beatles parody "The Rutles" along with Neil Innes, and recently adapted the Python movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" as a Broadway musical called "Monty Python's Spamalot". His most famous Python role is the character he plays in the "Nudge Nudge" sketch. He is the self-acclaimed third tallest and sixth nicest Python.
Terry Gilliam was the only American in the group and has one of the most successful post-Python careers among the six, as he is the director of hugely popular movies like Brazil, 12 Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and The Fisher King. His part was instrumental in helping Python gain their reputation as a unique comedy group, his animations helping them link sketches (which, of course, don't have punch lines) in an unprecedented manner. He has become a British citizen in early 2006 and renounced his American citizenship shortly afterwards. He acknowledges The Goon Show, a radio show aired in the 1950s on BBC radio, written by Spike Milligan and performed by Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe and Peter Sellers, as the main reason he chose Britain as his homeland.
Terry Jones is the most successful actor of the woman role (as demonstrated in the Spam sketch, which is only one of numerous occasions in which he has voiced the trademark of a high-pitched female impersonation). He is the director (or co-director) of all Python movies. He has also written, directed and appeared in a few more movies which featured some of his Python mates; despite the fact that these movies aren't quite a match for his work in the Flying Circus, they include some hilarious scenes, such as the singing scene in Erik the Viking. He is the writer of such excellent songs as "I'm So Worried" and "Traffic Lights". He has done a few historical documentaries, and in one of them he briefly acts the part of King Richard III (called "Ring Kichard the Thrid" by the Eric Idle character "the man who speaks entirely in anagrams", which prompts Michael Palin the interviewer to suggest that "Ring Kichard is surely a spoonerism and not an anagram", which results in Eric Idle's character leaving the studio, saying "If you are going to split hairs, I'm going to piss off" (which can serve as a pointer to the Eric Idle-John Cleese movie "Splitting Heirs")).
Michael Palin, known as the nicest python, and the favorite Python to work with for John Cleese, has done numerous travel documentaries during his post-Python career. His amazing sense of humour has inevitably permeated into what would otherwise be just ordinary documentaries (occasions like the Polushka Pole incident and thanking the goddess for her "nice mountain", to name a couple). This nice man, who finds it very difficult to say "no", is the only one who said "no" to a reunion in their 30th year. He is the inventor of the threat "If you don't cooperate, I will get nasty and start using some Dutch words".
As admitted on several occasions, the group likes to dress up as women.
Having said all that, Terry Jones is actually Welsh.
Decomposing Composers
Monty Python Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And Mozart don't go shopping no more.
You'll never meet Liszt or Brahms again,
And Elgar doesn't answer the door.
Schubert and Chopin used to chuckle and laugh,
Whilst composing a long symphony,
But one hundred and fifty years later,
There's very little of them left to see.
They're decomposing composers.
There's nothing much anyone can do.
You can still hear Beethoven,
But Beethoven cannot hear you.
Handel and Haydn and Rachmaninov
Enjoyed a nice drink with their meal,
But nowadays, no one will serve them,
And their gravy is left to congeal.
Verdi and Wagner delighted the crowds
With their highly original sound.
The pianos they played are still working,
But they're both six feet underground.
They're decomposing composers.
There's less of them every year.
You can say what you like to Debussy,
But there's not much of him left to hear.
Claude Achille Debussy, Died, 1918.
Christophe Willebald Gluck, Died, 1787.
Carl Maria von Weber, Not at all well, 1825. Died, 1826.
Giacomo Meyerbeer, Still alive, 1863. Not still alive, 1864.
Modeste Mussorgsky, 1880, going to parties. No fun anymore, 1881.
Johan Nepomuk Hummel, Chatting away nineteen to the dozen with his mates down the pub every evening, 1836. 1837, nothing.
The song "Decomposing Composers" by Monty Python is a humorous and satirical look at classical music and the composers who have passed away. The lyrics mention some of the most famous composers in music history, such as Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, and Schubert, and how they have all passed away, but their music still lives on. The lyrics also mention how the composers used to enjoy things like drinking and socializing, but now they are decomposing in their graves, and there's not much of them left to see or hear. The line "You can still hear Beethoven, but Beethoven cannot hear you" is particularly poignant, as it highlights how the music lives on even though the composer is gone.
The song is a parody of the way we often hold classical music and composers in such high regard and treat them as untouchable figures. The lyrics poke fun at the idea of these composers being revered to the point of immortality, as they decompose in their graves just like anyone else. The song also comments on the fleeting nature of fame and how even the most famous and respected composers will eventually be forgotten over time.
Overall, "Decomposing Composers" is a humorous and lighthearted take on the often stuffy and serious world of classical music and the composers who shaped it.
Line by Line Meaning
Beethoven's gone, but his music lives on,
Beethoven has passed away, but his music still exists and is played today.
And Mozart don't go shopping no more.
Mozart does not shop because he is no longer alive.
You'll never meet Liszt or Brahms again,
Liszt and Brahms have both died, so no one will ever meet them again.
And Elgar doesn't answer the door.
Elgar has passed away, so he cannot answer the door even if someone knocks.
Schubert and Chopin used to chuckle and laugh,
Schubert and Chopin enjoyed composing and would laugh while they did it.
Whilst composing a long symphony,
They composed long symphonies while they were alive.
But one hundred and fifty years later,
Now, 150 years later from their time, very little of them is left.
There's very little of them left to see.
Their remains are decomposing, and there's not much left to see.
They're decomposing composers.
The composers are decomposing, and their remains are decaying over time.
There's nothing much anyone can do.
No one has any control over the process of decomposition.
You can still hear Beethoven,
Even though Beethoven is gone, his music is still being played and heard today.
But Beethoven cannot hear you.
Since Beethoven has passed away, he cannot hear anything.
Handel and Haydn and Rachmaninov
Handel, Haydn, and Rachmaninov are all well-known composers who have passed away.
Enjoyed a nice drink with their meal,
The composers would enjoy a drink with their meal while they were alive.
But nowadays, no one will serve them,
Nowadays, they cannot have drinks because they are deceased, and no one is there to serve them.
And their gravy is left to congeal.
Their food is left untouched, and it is not consumed, causing it to congeal.
Verdi and Wagner delighted the crowds
Verdi and Wagner were both famous composers who created original, well-known music.
With their highly original sound.
They were famous for their unique sound and style of music.
The pianos they played are still working,
Their pianos are still able to be played, and they still create sounds even though the composers have died.
But they're both six feet underground.
Even though their pianos still play, the composers are underground in their graves.
There's less of them every year.
As time passes, more of the composers' remains decompose, leaving even less of them each year.
You can say what you like to Debussy,
Even though Debussy is gone, people can still talk about him and his music.
But there's not much of him left to hear.
Most of Debussy's remains have decomposed, so there is not much left of him physically.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MICHAEL PALIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind