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.
Traffic Lights
Monty Python Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I Like traffic lights.
I Like traffic lights,
No matter where they've been.
I Like traffic lights.
I Like traffic lights.
I Like traffic lights.
I Like traffic lights.
But only when they're green.
He likes traffic lights.
He likes traffic lights.
He likes traffic lights,
No matter where they've been.
He likes traffic lights.
He likes traffic lights.
He likes traffic lights,
But only when they're green.
I Like traffic lights.
I Like traffic lights.
I Like traffic lights.
That is what I said.
I Like traffic lights.
I Like traffic lights.
I Like traffic lights,
But not when they are red.
He likes traffic lights.
He likes traffic lights.
That is what he said.
He likes traffic lights.
He likes traffic lights.
He likes traffic lights.
He likes traffic lights.
He likes traffic lights,
But not when they are red.
I Like traffic lights.
I Like traffic lights.
I Like traffic lights,
Although my name's not Bamber.
I Like traffic lights.
I Like traffic lights.
I Like traffic lights.
I-- Oh, God!
The lyrics of the song "Traffic Lights" by Monty Python express a strange fascination with traffic lights by a nameless protagonist. The first and most repeated line "I like traffic lights" presents a seemingly unremarkable statement, but as the song progresses, the absurdity of the statement becomes more apparent. The singer likes traffic lights, "no matter where they've been," suggesting that they might have some kind of history or significance beyond being mere traffic control devices. The repetition of the line emphasizes the strange obsession and suggests the singer is trying to convince themselves of their fondness for these inanimate objects.
The singer's love for traffic lights is conditional, as they only like them "when they're green." This potentially reveals the singer's impatience and lack of regard for safety when driving. The singer's awareness of the potential danger of red lights is apparent in the line "I like traffic lights, but not when they are red," but it is unclear why they dislike them.
The final line of the song, "I—Oh, God!" is abrupt and jarring, with no context provided for the singer's exclamation. It could suggest the haunting and nightmarish qualities of the singer's fixation on traffic lights or could simply represent an out-of-nowhere realization of the absurdity of the situation.
Line by Line Meaning
I Like traffic lights.
The singer enjoys traffic lights.
I Like traffic lights, No matter where they've been.
The singer enjoys traffic lights in any location.
But only when they're green.
Despite the singer's enjoyment of traffic lights, they only like them when they are green and not causing any delay.
That is what I said.
The artist reiterates their enjoyment of traffic lights.
But not when they are red.
The artist does not like traffic lights that are red and causing a stoppage in traffic.
That is what he said.
The singer is referring to someone else who also likes traffic lights.
Although my name's not Bamber.
The singer is clarifying that their name is not Bamber, but they still enjoy traffic lights.
I-- Oh, God!
The artist is interrupted, possibly by a traffic light turning red, causing frustration.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: TERRY JONES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Snaut
Magnificent work of art. This is a masterpiece that will surely last for MILLENNIA to come.
BootisFM
7 years on, And ive just googled this to listen to as i eat my cereal... Whats the world come to
C. Reese
Funniest part about this is that while eight years later this still carries weight considering I listened to this on cassette tape almost three decades ago.
Monty Python WILL live forever!
mirivi
Been 10 years.. that's crazy
STOP HERE! Productions
First time hearing this after a little over a decade, and yet I STILL LOVE THIS!!!
Mark Huse
I like singing this when I'm by myself at a red light. The looks you get from the next car over, priceless
TesCypBih
My dad used to sing this to me when I was a kid. Sitting at the lights then I thinking of it and googled it.
I always thought he wrote it lol
extragumyum
@Darokahn ah so is mine! he showed me this one years ago and i was watching the parrot sketch, and had to come back here
lemon lemon
my art teacher showed me and a few of my friends this song once... I started singing it in another class and my friends got really mad lmao
Rx Hx
This plays in my head everytime Captcha asks me to recognize photos with traffic lights.