"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" is a

comedy song Comedy music or musical comedy is a genre of music that is comic or humorous in nature. Its history can be traced back to the first century in ancient Greece and Rome, moving forward in time to the Medieval Period, Classical and Romantic er ...

written by

Monty Python Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over fou ...

member

Eric Idle Eric Idle (born 29 March 1943) is an English actor, comedian, musician and writer. Idle was a member of the British surreal comedy group Monty Python and the parody rock band The Rutles, and is the writer of the music and lyrics for the Broad ...

that was first featured in the Python film '' Life of Brian'' and has gone on to become a common

singalong Sing-along, also called community singing or group singing, is an event of singing together at gatherings or parties, less formally than choir singing. One can use a songbook. Common genres are folk songs, patriotic songs, kids' songs, spirituals ...

at public events such as

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

matches as well as

funerals A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

. Written in the British

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Br ...

tradition, the song touches on

stoicism Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BCE. It is a philosophy of personal virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, asserting tha ...

and the "

stiff upper lip A person who is said to have a stiff upper lip displays fortitude and stoicism in the face of adversity, or exercises great self-restraint in the expression of emotion.British people British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs m ...

. It became immensely popular, reaching No. 3 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in 1991. Idle performed the song live to a global audience at the

2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony The closing ceremony of the London 2012 Summer Olympics, also known as A Symphony of British Music, was held on 12 August 2012 in the Olympic Stadium, London. The chief guest was Prince Harry of Wales representing Queen Elizabeth II. The closi ...

during the one-hour symphony of British Music segment.

History

Whilst trying to come up with a way of ending the film '' Monty Python's Life of Brian'',

wrote an original version of the song on a Gibson J-50 guitar using only jazz chords he learnt from a course by

Mickey Baker MacHouston "Mickey" Baker (October 15, 1925 – November 27, 2012) was an American guitarist, best known for his work as a studio musician and as part of the recording duo Mickey & Sylvia. Early life Baker was born in Louisville, Kentucky. His ...

. Originally the song was sung in a more straight fashion, which the other Python members eventually agreed would be good enough for the end of the film. However,

Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, television presenter, and public speaker. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. Since 1980, he has made a number of travel documentaries. Palin w ...

noted in his diary for 16 June 1978 that during a script meeting, "Eric's two songs—'Otto' and the 'Look on the Bright Side' crucifixion song—are rather coolly received before lunch." Despite being initially underwhelmed, the group warmed to Idle's efforts and the song was retained. While practising during a break in filming, Idle found that it worked better if sung in a more cheeky manner by a character of his called "Mr Cheeky", which in turn was based on the film's

Cockney Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or ...

lighting crew. This new version was used in the film and became one of

's most famous compositions. The song appears at the end of the film. The film's lead character Brian Cohen (played by

Graham Chapman Graham Chapman (8 January 1941 – 4 October 1989) was a British actor, comedian and writer. He was one of the six members of the surreal comedy group Monty Python. He portrayed authority figures such as The Colonel and the lead role in two P ...

) has been crucified 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". As the song progresses, many of the other crucifixion victims (140 in all, according to the script, though twenty-three crosses are actually seen on screen) begin to dance in a very restricted way and join in with the song's whistled

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

. 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. Its appearance at the end of the film, when the central character seems certain to die, is deliberately

ironic Irony (), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique. Irony can be categorized into d ...

. "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" was arranged and conducted by John Altman and recorded at Chappell's Studio with a full orchestra and the Fred Tomlinson Singers. The whistling was performed by

Neil Innes Neil James Innes (; 9 December 1944 – 29 December 2019) was an English writer, comedian and musician. He first came to prominence in the pioneering comedy rock group Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and later became a frequent collaborator with the M ...

. The song appeared on the film soundtrack album, listed as "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. "All Things Dull and Ugly" was also the title of an unrelated track on ''

Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album ''Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album'' is the final studio album by Monty Python, released in 1980. As the title suggests, the album was put together to complete a contract with Charisma Records. Besides newly written songs and sketches ...

'' (released the following year) which is a parody of the popular hymn "

All Things Bright and Beautiful "All Things Bright and Beautiful" is an Anglican hymn, also sung in many other Christian denominations. The words are by Cecil Frances Alexander and were first published in her ''Hymns for Little Children'' of 1848. The hymn is commonly sung t ...

". The song was also released as a Double A side single with "

Brian Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word me ...

", the film's opening theme (performed by Sonia Jones). The song touched a chord with the British trait of

and the "

Exocet The Exocet () is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Etymology The missile's name was given by M. Guillot, then the technical director ...

cruise missile A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warh ...

on 4 May 1982 in the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial ...

, her crew sang it while waiting to be rescued from their sinking ship, as did the crew of HMS ''Coventry'', with the line from the song "Worse things happen at sea, you know" being especially ironic. When Chapman died on 4 October 1989, the five remaining Pythons, as well as Chapman's close friends and family, came together at his public memorial service to sing "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" as part of Idle's

eulogy A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person or persons, especially one who recently died or retired, or as ...

. In 2005, a survey by

Music Choice Music Choice (abbreviated as MC) is an American television music service that digitally broadcasts audio-based music channels and video-related content to cable television providers in the United States. Music Choice reaches 65 million househol ...

showed that it was the third most popular song Britons would like played at their funerals. By 2014, it was the most popular.

Alternative lyrics

When performing the song live in a (solo) sketch within special events, Idle re-wrote one verse of the song to fit the particular occasion, and on one occasion sung a parody of the song with entirely different lyrics. What follows are two such examples of the former, and the latter.

''We Are Most Amused'' version (
Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...
's 60th birthday party, 2008)

"If

Spamalot ''Spamalot'' (also known as ''Monty Python's Spamalot'') is a musical comedy with music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle, and lyrics and book by Idle. It is adapted from the 1975 film ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''. Like the motion pictu ...

is hot
And you like it, or per'aps not
A bunch of knights in search of

Holy Grail The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracul ...

s;
When you're 60 years of age
And your mum won't leave the stage,
It's good to know you're still the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rule ...

!"
Grab your sales, go and catch some whales,
maybe take a trip to Finland, well now you can
Your the new bloody king of England.

2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony The closing ceremony of the London 2012 Summer Olympics, also known as A Symphony of British Music, was held on 12 August 2012 in the Olympic Stadium, London. The chief guest was Prince Harry of Wales representing Queen Elizabeth II. The closi ...
version

"When you're stuck on the world's stage
With lots of loonies half your age,
And everything is starting to go wrong,
It’s too late to run away,
You might as well just stay,
Especially when they play your silly song!"

Duet with
James Corden James Kimberley Corden (born 22 August 1978) is an English television host, actor, comedian, and singer. In the United Kingdom, he is best known for co-writing and starring in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom '' Gavin & Stacey''. In the ...

In 2018, Idle made a guest appearance on ''

The Late Late Show with James Corden ''The Late Late Show with James Corden'' (also known as ''Late Late'') is an American late-night talk show on CBS. It is the fourth and current iteration of '' The Late Late Show''. Airing in the U.S. from Monday to Friday nights at 12:37:28a ...

''; he and Corden begin to perform a duet of the song to distract from the abundance of bad-natured current events, but after they are interrupted multiple times by notifications on their cell phones where they are aghast at even more upsetting news, they instead sing a parody of the song titled "We Are Probably All Going to Die".

Single

"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" was first issued as a single as a double A-side with "

" in the UK on 16 November 1979 to promote '' Monty Python's Life of Brian'' and its soundtrack album, but did not chart. Nine years later when the film was released on VHS, the song was reissued on 21 November 1988 in an edited form to remove profanity, with a full version of "Brian" on the B-side. Once again it failed to chart. The song became particularly popular in the early 1990s. The film had retained a cult status in the intervening years. Around 1990,

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance ...

Simon Mayo Simon Andrew Hicks Mayo (born 21 September 1958) is an English radio presenter and author who worked for BBC Radio from 1982 until 2022. Mayo has presented across three BBC stations for extended periods. From 1986 to 2001 he worked for Radio ...

, whose breakfast show had a track record of reviving old

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...

s, began playing the original version on his show, which led to Virgin reissuing the track as a single on 23 September 1991. The 7-inch single 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", while the cassette and CD singles added a German-language version of "

The Lumberjack Song "The Lumberjack Song" is a comedy song by the comedy troupe Monty Python. The song was written and composed by Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Fred Tomlinson. It first appeared in the ninth episode of ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'', "The An ...

" taken from the first '' Fliegender Zirkus'' episode. The single reached the top ten in October and prompted a deliberately chaotic performance by Idle on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

''. Despite some predictions, it did not manage to bring an end to

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

's unprecedented run at the top of the

with "

(Everything I Do) I Do It for You "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams. Written by Adams, Michael Kamen, and Robert John "Mutt" Lange, the power ballad was the lead single for both the soundtrack album from the 1991 film '' Rob ...

", instead peaking at number 3 and leading to a re-promotion for the 1989 compilation ''

Monty Python Sings ''Monty Python Sings'' is a compilation album of songs by English comedy troupe Monty Python. Released in 1989 to celebrate their 20th anniversary, it contains popular songs from their previous albums and films. The album was dedicated to the me ...

'', which the song opens. However, the single did get to Number 1 in Ireland on 13 October 1991, despite '' Life of Brian'' having been banned in Ireland, and the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrac ...

on Warners withdrawn when released after protests. Following this attention, the song became more popular than ever. Two cover versions, by Tenor Fly (incorporating the piano riff from

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blu ...

's " My Baby Just Cares for Me"), and the cast of ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Orig ...

'' (with main vocals by

Bill Waddington William Joseph Waddington (10 June 1916 – 9 September 2000) was an English actor, comedian and co-author who was born in Oldham, Lancashire. In later life he achieved stardom as the pompous ex-serviceman Percy Sugden in Granada Televisi ...

, who played Percy Sugden in the show), both reached the charts in 1995, with ''The Coronation Street Single'' version reaching number 35. Eric Idle recorded alternative lyrics for the radio version, with the swearing censored, and the comments about the end of the film replaced with references to ''the end of the record'', and continued rants about old people. This version was released on CD, cassette and vinyl via the compilation album '' Now 20'' in November 1991 and as a b-side on a reissue of "

Galaxy Song "Galaxy Song" is a Monty Python song written by Eric Idle and John Du Prez. The song first appeared in the 1983 film ''Monty Python's The Meaning of Life'' and was later released on the album ''Monty Python Sings''. The song was released as a ...

" (where it is billed as "1991 version") on 2 December 1991. For this radio version, the line "Life's a piece of shit" was altered to "Life's a piece of spit". In recognition of Simon Mayo's contribution to making the record a hit, a special version was also created, in which Idle addresses him by name. Mayo still uses this version when the song is played on his show. This version is also included as the penultimate track on ''Now That's What I Call Music! 1991 – The Millennium Series'', released in 1999. On 14 July 2014 another version of the song was issued, this time as a 12" single where it was promoted as "The Unofficial England Football Anthem". The track featured a new vocal from Eric Idle and some alternate lyrics about the World Cup.

Track listing

1979 7" #"Brian"/"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" (Double A side) 1988 7" #"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" (Edited Version)/"Brian" 1991 7" #"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life"/"I'm So Worried";"I Bet You They Won't Play This Song on the Radio" 2014 12" #"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" (2014 Version)/"An Apology From Bernard"

Covers

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ov ...

performed "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" as the closing track on his 1980 album, '' Flash Harry''. In 1997, the song was recorded by

Art Garfunkel Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, poet, and actor. He is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Highlights of Garfunkel's solo music career include one top-10 h ...

and included in the soundtrack of

James L. Brooks James Lawrence Brooks (born May 9, 1940) is an American director, producer, screenwriter and co-founder of Gracie Films. His television and film work includes ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', ''Taxi'', ''The Simpsons'', '' Broadcast News'', ''As G ...

' film ''

As Good as It Gets ''As Good as It Gets'' is a 1997 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by James L. Brooks, who co-wrote it with Mark Andrus. The film stars Jack Nicholson as a misanthropic, bigoted, and obsessive–compulsive novelist, Helen Hunt as ...

''. In the film itself,

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...

sings the song fleetingly with the minor addition of "your" in "brighter side of ourlife". 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). The song has also been performed by

Bruce Cockburn Bruce Douglas Cockburn ( ; born May 27, 1945) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. His song styles range from folk to jazz-influenced rock and his lyrics cover a broad range of topics including human rights, environmental issues, p ...

and released on his 1990 live CD. The

Brobdingnagian Bards The Brobdingnagian Bards are a Celtic music group from Austin, Texas, United States. History Marc Gunn, formerly of Austin Texas' alternative rock bands Skander and Breastfed, released a solo album (''Geography'') featuring himself on autoharp an ...

recorded the song for their 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 ''A Bit o' This & That'' is a compilation album by Emilie Autumn that includes rarities, b-sides, remixes, covers, and music from her early years. It was released on August 3, 2007 in a limited edition digipak Optical disc packaging is the pa ...

''. Heavens Gate recorded a metal cover of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" for the album ''Hell for Sale!''.

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a ...

has used it in their rendition of " Shout" on their concert DVD '' Bullet in a Bible''. German fun metal band JBO made a version of the song with changed lyrics ("Always Look on the Dark Side of Life") for their album ''Sex Sex Sex''. German fun punk band

Heiter bis Wolkig ''Heiter bis Wolkig'' (English title: ''Partly Sunny'') is a 2012 German comedy-drama film directed by Marco Petry and starring Max Riemelt, Elyas M'Barek, Jessica Schwarz and Anna Fischer. Plot Tim and his friend Can (Elyas M’Barek) go to b ...

also made a version with changed lyrics called "Versuch's mal von der breiten Seite zu seh'n". The British duo

Amateur Transplants Amateur Transplants was a parody music band fronted by London-based, British comedian Adam Kay and Suman Biswas (born 1978). Amateur Transplants came to prominence in 2005 with a song about the London Underground, parodying the Jam song "Go ...

made a parody version of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" as well, with lyrics in which only the name and the chorus of the original song are retained.

did a short version of the song on their ''

Revolution Radio ''Revolution Radio'' is the twelfth studio album by American rock band Green Day, released on October 7, 2016 through Reprise Records. A self-produced effort, it marked their first release since touring guitarist Jason White returned to his origi ...

'' tour in 2017 in Brisbane, Australia. They also covered "

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' songwriting partnership, it features a guitar riff by Richards that opens and drives the song. The rif ...

" and "

Hey Jude "Hey Jude" is a song by the English rock music, rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in August 1968. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The single was the Beatles' fir ...

" after playing "

King for a Day King for a Day may refer to: Film and television * ''King for a Day'' (1940 film), a 1940 cartoon short in Max Fleischer's ''Gabby'' series * ''King for a Day'' (1934 film), a 1934 short film starring legendary tap dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinso ...

" and " Shout".

Other appearances

The song appears twice in the Broadway musical ''

'', based on ''

Monty Python and the Holy Grail ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' is a 1975 British comedy film satirizing the Arthurian legend, written and performed by the Monty Python comedy group ( Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Pa ...

'' – once in Act II and again during the curtain call. The song is used at the end of ''

Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy) ''Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy)'' is a comedic oratorio based on ''Monty Python's Life of Brian''. It was written by former Monty Python cast member Eric Idle and collaborator John Du Prez, and commissioned by the Luminato festival. ...

'', the comedic oratorio written by Eric Idle and collaborator

John Du Prez John Du Prez (born Trevor Jones; 14 December 1946) is a British musician, conductor and composer. He was a member of the 1980s salsa-driven pop band Modern Romance and has since written several film scores including ''Oxford Blues'' (1984), ' ...

. The song would make an appearance on

season 8 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

of '' The Masked Singer'', where Idle sung it as his encore song after being unmasked as the Hedgehog.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Always Look on the Bright Side of Life Monty Python songs 1979 songs 1979 singles 1988 singles 1991 singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Songs written by Eric Idle Songs written for films Songs about death Novelty songs Virgin Records singles 1979 neologisms Quotations from film Quotations from music Comedy catchphrases Works about nihilism