Monty Python’s Life of Brian
Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979)
Monty Python Barely Show Up should be the sub-title for this one. Outside of some very weak, nearly ad-libbed incidental wrap-arounds by Idle and Chapman there’s very little original material, not even worth transcribing, really. Other than that it’s just the broad outline of the movie, and not even the movie version of “Bright Side”, instead another, cleaner studio version was used, and for some inscrutable reason the theme song was bisected.
Monty Python’s Life of Brian is the second soundtrack album by Monty Python, released in 1979 alongside the film of the same name. It contains scenes from the film interrupted by linking sections performed by Eric Idle and Graham Chapman, who also acted as producers following an aborted attempt at a soundtrack album by Michael Palin.The album opens with a brief rendition of “Hava Nagila” on Scottish bagpipes, which had earlier been considered for use in a scene later cut from the film.
SIDE ONE
- 01 Introduction :44 Intro
- 02 Brian
- 03 Wise Men at the Manger 1:29 Wise
- 04 Brian Song 2:32 Brian
- 05 Sermon on the Mount 1:58 Sermon
- 06 Stone Salesman :18 Stone
- 07 Stoning 1:58 Stoning
- 08 Ex-Leper 1:16 ExLeper
- 09 Raped
- 10 Revolutionaries3:16 Revolution
- 11 Romans Go Home 1:47 Romans
- 12 What Have the Romans Ever Done 1:49 What
- 13 Ben 1:40 Ben
- 14 Brian Before Pilate2:45 Pilate
SIDE TWO
- 15 Prophets 1:12 Prophets
- 16 Beard Salesman 2:08 Beard
- 17 Brian’s Prophecy 1:21 Prophecy
- 18 Hermit 1:08 Hermit
- 19 Messiah 3;33 Messiah
- 20 He’s a Very Naughty Boy 4:06 Naughty
- 21 Pilate Sentences Brian :53 Sentence
- 22 Nisus Wettus :29 Nisus
- 23 Pilate with the Crowd 2:24 Crowd
- 24 Gaolers :49 Gaolers
- 25 Release Brian :49 Release
- 26 Not So Bad Once You’re Up :29 Crucifix
- 27 Revs Salute Brian 1:19 Revolutoin
- 28 Cheeky Is Released :43 Cheeky
- 29 Mandy to Her Son :31 Mandy
- 30 Always Look on the Bright Side of Life 3:58 Bright
BONUS
- 31 Otto Sketch 3:40 Otto
- 32 Otto Song 1:45 Otto Song
- 33 Otto Song demo 1:05 Otto Song 2
- 34 Brian’s Song 2 3:04 Brian
CREDITS
Producers – Eric Idle, Graham Chapman
Incidental Music by [Brian] – Geoffrey Burgon
“Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”
Music and Lyrics – Eric Idle
Mixed – George Harrison, Phil MacDonald*
Arranged – John Altman
“Brian”
Vocals – Sonia Jones
Arranged – Trevor Jones
Music – Andre Jacquemin, David Howman
Lyrics – Michael Palin
Conductor – Marcus Dods
Album Engineered, Mixed and Edited By – Andre Jacquemin*
Film Dubbing Mixer – Hugh Strain, Trevor Pyke
Film Soundtrack Sound Mixer – Garth Marshall
SIDE ONE
01 Introduction :44 Intro
(bagpipes playing Hava Negila)
Eric Idle Good evening! Tonight’s motion picture is the …. Monty Python’s Life of Brian. Set in North PC, it tells the story of the life of Brian, and also seventy camels, forty-eight goats, sixteen chickens, twelve pigs, two dromedaries and of course the wacky Monty Python boys. And so, without any more do, let’s sit back and enjoy highlights from Monty Python’s Life of er… Brian.
02 Brian Song :19 Brian
First part of theme song from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
03 Wise Men at the Manger 1:29 Wise
Scene 01 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
04 Brian Song 2:32 Brian
Second part of theme song from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
05 Sermon on the Mount 1:58 Sermon
Scene 2 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
06 Stone Salesman :18 Stone
Scene 3 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
07 Stoning 1:58 Stoning
Scene 4 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
08 Ex-Leper 1:16 ExLeper
Scene 5 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
09 You Mean You Were Raped 3:20 Raped
Scene 6 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
Link
Graham Chapman Link. It just says link here, but er… it doesn’t say anything else.
Eric Idle I’m sorry, yes. I’ll deal with this.
Graham Chapman Can you?
Eric Idle Yes. He just wants to know what’s going on.
Graham Chapman Leak. Link, link.
Eric Idle Yes. This is a…
Graham Chapman It might be leak.
Eric Idle No. It’s link. We just wanted you to link all the bits together. You see, what we got is a… film…
Graham Chapman Yes, I see.
Eric Idle …and it doesn’t make much sense, er… well, just on a record.
Graham Chapman ….
Eric Idle Well, yes, luckily it’s just a sort of nonsense… type comedy group who are doing this…
Graham Chapman Oh, I see.
Eric Idle …so it doesn’t really matter, you know. Kids tend to like this sort of thing. But er.. what we really need to do is link a few of the odd Scenes together.
Graham Chapman Right. Right. Can do.
Eric Idle And we want you to.. to do it. Okay?
Graham Chapman Fine. Fine. But I will need a few of the words, to sort of …
Eric Idle Ah, yes. Kevin’s got the words.
Graham Chapman Normally they do that sort of thing.
Eric Idle He’s got the words.
Graham Chapman Has he?
Eric Idle Yes.
Graham Chapman ….
Eric Idle He’ll bring them in right away.
Graham Chapman Ahem. Link. Really, I can’t read this.
Eric Idle Yes, I’m sorry, it’s in handwriting. We did it in the pub.
Graham Chapman Here there way day, pots nan…
Eric Idle Hmhm.
Graham Chapman …arsinliustords, lingsbored. Master master!
Eric Idle Well, unfortunately, none of the other brothers are here tonight, so we can’t really ask them… Maybe, if you just say it as… as written?
Graham Chapman Oh. Very well. Don’t pass ordiad prug, lack good bits. Uber renées came. Hey! Is the posnd arsin asli stamps, using bee curd. Pethendy killed the merkley. Meanwhile… link. Was that…?
Eric Idle I think that’s the sort of thing they want, yes.
Graham Chapman Is it really?
10 Revolutionaries3:16 Revolution
Scene 7 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
11 Romans Go Home 1:47 Romans
Scene 8 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
Do I Talk Here?
Graham Chapman Do I talk here?
Eric Idle No, not here, because we’ve got all this dramatic music, and, you see, we shouldn’t have any voice-over here.
Graham Chapman Right. Well, I’ll er… I’ll just nip around the corner, right?
Eric Idle Ehh, no no, if you could actually please just stay in the building. We’ll need you in a minute or two.
Graham Chapman Alright. Er…
Eric Idle Ssh ssh ssh, here he is now.
12 What Have the Romans Ever Done 1:49 What
Scene 9 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
Where Is He?
Eric Idle Where is he!
Kevin He’s just nipped out to the pub.
Eric Idle Oh, God! We need him for this link! All right. Meanwhile, on the other side of the town, a group of fanatic revolutionairies plot the overthrow of the entire Roman Empire. That’ll do, they’ll never notice it wasn’t him.
Graham Chapman Err… Sorry, sorry. Ehmm… I was just, er…
Eric Idle It doesn’t matter, we’ve done it now.
Graham Chapman Ah.
13 Ben 1:40 Ben
Scene 11 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
Very Good Indeed
Graham Chapman The raid backfires. Brian is captured and all the rest are killed. Brian, beaten, bruised, and bleeding, is thrown into Pilate’s darkest, stinking dungeon.
Eric Idle Very good indeed.
14 Brian Before Pilate 2:45 Pilate
Scene 12 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
In the Meantime
Graham Chapman In the meantime…
Eric Idle No, er…
Graham Chapman During? During? ?
Eric Idle Yes. Try during.
Graham Chapman During the meanwhile…
Eric Idle No, that’s not right. That’s not good English. Can you try “during the meantime”?
Graham Chapman During the meantime…
Eric Idle No. That’s not right either.
Graham Chapman Meantime, meanwhile, mean during the…
Eric Idle While.
Graham Chapman During the while…
Eric Idle No, that won’t work at all.
Graham Chapman Well, it sounded quite good to me.
Eric Idle No, I don’t think it’s very good English, I’m sorry.
Graham Chapman Wouldn’t it?
Eric Idle No.
Graham Chapman Oh. During… What did I say?
Eric Idle During the meanwhilst.
Graham Chapman During the meanwhilst… No, I don’t like that at all.
Eric Idle No.
Graham Chapman During… Well, what sh.. what should I try?
Eric Idle We’ll just cut this.
Graham Chapman What?
Eric Idle We’ll just cut this link.
Graham Chapman Well, you don’t need it at all?
Eric Idle I don’t think so.
Graham Chapman Well, that’s all right then…
SIDE TWO
15 Prophets 1:12 Prophets
Scene 13 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
16 Beard Salesman 2:08 Beard
Scene 14 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
Lobster
Graham Chapman Brian is on the run from the Romans, and, to avoid capture, pretends to be a lobster.
Eric Idle Eh… No, I’m sorry, that’s my handwriting. It should be preacher.
Graham Chapman Oh, yeah, I’m sorry. Preacher.
Eric Idle Actually, I quite like lobster.
Graham Chapman Brian is on the run from the Romans, and, to avoid lobster, captures…
Eric Idle No, no. There’s no lobster. Instead of lobster…
Graham Chapman But it says here…
Eric Idle Yes. No, that’s my handwriting. That’s capture, see, that’s a t.
Graham Chapman Oh, on to the lobster.
Eric Idle Just one more.
Graham Chapman Brian is on the run from the lobster, and, to avoid capture…
Eric Idle No, no, I’m sorry. I’m going to have to stop you there.
Graham Chapman Again!
Eric Idle It’s actually on the run from the Romans. You see, that’s clearly not lobster.
Graham Chapman And that…
Eric Idle I grant… I grant you that looks a bit like lobster…
Graham Chapman ….
Eric Idle One more time please. And… come on.
Graham Chapman Brian is on the run from the lob… from the… from… I’m sorry. Can we do it again?
Eric Idle Yes.
Graham Chapman Brian is on the run from the Romans, and, to avoid capture, pretends to lob… pretends…
Eric Idle Look, we’ll just cut this whole link.
Graham Chapman Lobster is rather intrusive, isn’t it?
Eric Idle We’ll cut this, this will be an edit.
Graham Chapman Oh well.
17 Brian’s Prophecy 1:21 Prophecy
Scene 16 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
18 Hermit 1:08 Hermit
Scene 18 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
Hole
Graham Chapman Convinced by a lobster that Brian is the Messiah, a large crowd pursues him outside the city where in the hole of a lone hermit… Oh.
Eric Idle What?
Graham Chapman I missed a bit out there.
Eric Idle No, no. TO the hole of a lone hermit…
Graham Chapman To the hole of… of a lone… hermit.
Eric Idle I think that’s fine, isn’t it rather?
19 Messiah 3;33 Messiah
Scene 18 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
This Bit’s All Cut
Graham Chapman Brian seizes the opportunity to escape from the crowd and goes home with Judith. Alone together at last, the two rush naked at each other, and meet in a frenzy of darting tongues, grabbing…
Eric Idle Er… sorry! This… this bit’s all cut, all these pages are out.
Graham Chapman Is it?
Eric Idle Yes. Just go from here, from “Early next morning”.
Graham Chapman Early next morning… Well.. even this bit here?
Eric Idle Yes. No, all this is out.
Graham Chapman Is it?
Eric Idle Yeah. Early next morning…
Graham Chapman Early next morning… What?
Eric Idle Brian is interrupted by…
Graham Chapman Brian is interrupted by…
Eric Idle Mandy, his mother…
Graham Chapman Brian is interrupted by Mandy, his mother…
Eric Idle Knocking at the door.
Graham Chapman Knocking at the door.
Eric Idle Yes. Could you just do that without me saying it..?
Graham Chapman Oh, I see!
Eric Idle Yes.
Graham Chapman Early next morning, Brian is interrupted by Mandy, his mother, knocking at the door.
Eric Idle I think we can use that.
20 He’s a Very Naughty Boy 4:06 Naughty
Scene 19 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
A Bit Lighter
Graham Chapman Brian is arrested and taken before Pilate, where he is sentenced to be crucified.
Eric Idle Yes. Could… could you that one… just once more? Make it a bit lighter, please.
Graham Chapman What?
Eric Idle A little bit lighter.
Graham Chapman Lighter?
Eric Idle Yes.
Graham Chapman Silly, sort of?
Eric Idle Er.. no. No. Just lighter, would you?
Graham Chapman Right. Hm. Brian is arrested and taken befohohore Pilate, whehehere he is sentenced to be… to be crucified? Eheh?
Eric Idle Yes, I think that had many things going but… Do you think…? Ehmm… Heavier.
Graham Chapman Right.
Eric Idle Is the key note.
Graham Chapman You’d rather, go back to heavy.
Eric Idle Yes. I… I…
Graham Chapman Thank you. Brian is arrested and taken before Pilate, where he is sentenced to be crucified.
Eric Idle Very good. Lunch everybody!
21 Pilate Sentences Brian :53 Sentence
Scene 20 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
22 Nisus Wettus :29 Nisus
Scene 22 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
23 Pilate with the Crowd 2:24 Crowd
Scene 25 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
24 Gaolers 1:18 Gaolers
Scene 24 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
25 Release Brian :49 Release
Scene 27 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
26 Not So Bad Once You’re Up :29 Crucifix
Scene 31 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
27 Revs Salute Brian 1:19 Revolution
Scene 31 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
28 Cheeky Is Released :43 Cheeky
Scene 31 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
29 Mandy to Her Son :31 Mandy
Scene 31 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
30 Always Look on the Bright Side of Life 3:58 Bright
Scene 31 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
30 Pounds
Graham Chapman [hums along]
Eric Idle Thank you very much for coming along.
Graham Chapman Mm?
Eric Idle Thank you very much for coming along. I think the voice-over has helped the record enormously.
Graham Chapman That’s it, is it? I mean, that really is it?
Eric Idle Er. Yes. Thanks. That’s all we need, yes.
Graham Chapman Ah. Okay.
Eric Idle Er…
Graham Chapman How about this song?…
Eric Idle No. This song is a bit tro… I think. We have plenty of songs on the album anyway. Is er…
Graham Chapman What?
Eric Idle Thirty pounds er… alright?
BONUS
31 Otto Sketch 3:40 Otto
Scene 19 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
32 Otto Song 1:45 Otto Song
Scene 19 from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
JPF There’s a man we call our Leader.
He’s fine and strong and brave,
And we’ll follow him unquestioning
Towards an early grave.
He-e gives us hope of sacrifice
And a chance to die in vain,
And if we’re one of the lucky ones,
We’ll live to die again.
We’ll die and die and die and die
And die and die and die
No need for explanations, ours not to reason why
So we march behind our leader
And we shout our battle cry:
Why drink and sleep and eat good food
When there’s half a chance to die?
HAIL CAESAR!
33 Otto Song demo 1:05 Otto Song 2
JPF An Otto is our Leader.
1He’s fine and strong and brave,
And we’ll follow him unquestioning
Towards an early grave.
He-e gives us hope of sacrifice
And a chance to die in vain,
And if we’re one of the lucky ones,
We’ll live to die again.
We’ll die and die and die and die
And die and die and die
No need for explanations, ours not to reason why
So we march behind our leader
And we shout our battle cry:
Why love and sleep and eat good food
When there’s half a chance to die?
34 Brian’s Song 2 3:04 Brian
Vocals Sonia Jones
Brian. The babe they called ‘Brian’,
He grew,… grew, grew, and grew–
Grew up to be– grew up to be
A boy called ‘Brian’–
B-R-I-A-N ‘Brian’.
He had arms… and legs… and hands… and feet,
This boy… whose name was ‘Brian’,
And hair grew on top of his head
He grew up to be–
Yes, he grew up to be
A teenager called ‘Brian’–
B-R-I-A-N ‘Brian’.
And his face became spotty.
Yes, his face became spotty,
And his voice dropped down low
And things started to grow
On young Brian and show
He was certainly no–
No girl named ‘Brian’,
Not a girl named ‘Brian’.
And he started to shave
And have one off the wrist
And think about girls
And go out and get pissed,
This man called ‘Brian’–
The man they called ‘Brian’–
B-R-I-A-N ‘Brian’.
NOT B-R-A-I-N, ‘Brain’
BUT B-R-I-A-N ‘Brian’
NOT ‘Brain’ but ‘Brian’ (B-R-I-A-N, ‘Brian’)
NOT B-R-A-N-I, ‘Brani’
NOT R-A-B-I-N, ‘Rabin’
NOT I-B-R-A-N, ‘Ibran’
NOT A-R-N-I-B, ‘Arnib’
NOT N-I-B-R-A, ‘Nibra’
NOT I-R-B-A-N, ‘Irban’
BUT B-R-I-A-N, ‘Brian’
(big finish)