Galaxy Song - Revision history

Kurt at 13:04, 11 September 2024

2024-09-11T13:04:18Z

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	~~{{Short description\|A Monty Python song written by Eric Idle and John Du Prez}}~~
	~~{{Use British English\|date=September 2013}}~~
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	{{Infobox song		{{Infobox song
	\| name = Galaxy Song		\| name = Galaxy Song
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	}}</ref><ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.justforkidsonly.com/rref6xdistinspace.htm\|title=Ready Reference\|work=justforkidsonly.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web \|url= https://astrosociety.org/edu/publications/tnl/71/howfast.html#5 \|title= How Fast Are You Moving When You Are Sitting Still?\|access-date= 2017-09-27}} 483000 miles/hour = 11.5 million miles/day</ref>		}}</ref><ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.justforkidsonly.com/rref6xdistinspace.htm\|title=Ready Reference\|work=justforkidsonly.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web \|url= https://astrosociety.org/edu/publications/tnl/71/howfast.html#5 \|title= How Fast Are You Moving When You Are Sitting Still?\|access-date= 2017-09-27}} 483000 miles/hour = 11.5 million miles/day</ref>
	* The song says that we are "thirty thousand light years from galactic central point", again correct to within one significant figure of 25,000 light years from the centre of the Milky Way.<ref name="oregon">{{cite web \|url= http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/ast122/lectures/lec25.html \|title= Milky Way Galaxy \|publisher= University of Oregon }}</ref> The song also states that the galaxy is "a hundred thousand light years side to side". This would make the galactic radius 50,000 light years, which is accurate.<ref name="oregon" /> Australian astrophysicist [[Bryan Gaensler]] has stated that Idle's estimation of the thickness of the Milky Way, at 16,000 light years, is more accurate than the official 'textbook' figure of 6,000 light years.<ref>{{cite web \|url= http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/186976,milky-way-twice-as-thick-as-thought.html \|title= Milky Way twice as thick as thought \|work= earthtimes.org}}</ref> However, the song's position on this was later confused by Idle's performance of the song in his ''[[Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy)\|Not the Messiah]]'' show (2007) where the figure he sings is only 6,000 light years.<ref>{{YouTube\|85IGr-yVv_M\|Eric Idle Galaxy Song from Not The Messiah finale at Hollywood Bowl 8-2-08}}</ref> The reason for the confusion has since been explained in a message from Idle on the official Monty Python website. "There was some smug website pulling apart all my original figures for the song (written circa 1981) so for the 2003 Tour (or maybe 2000) I 'updated' them. Now you tell me I was right all along! Not sure where I got my figures originally but tell the bastards to make up their minds."<ref>{{Cite web \|first=John Alex \|last=Wood \|url=http://pythonline.com/blogs/johnalexwood/6_or_16_thousand_light_years_thick \|title=6 or 16 thousand light years thick? \|date=4 August 2008 \|publisher=pythonline.com \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080815043835/http://pythonline.com/blogs/johnalexwood/6_or_16_thousand_light_years_thick \|archive-date=15 August 2008}}</ref>		* The song says that we are "thirty thousand light years from galactic central point", again correct to within one significant figure of 25,000 light years from the centre of the Milky Way.<ref name="oregon">{{cite web \|url= http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/ast122/lectures/lec25.html \|title= Milky Way Galaxy \|publisher= University of Oregon }}</ref> The song also states that the galaxy is "a hundred thousand light years side to side". This would make the galactic radius 50,000 light years, which is accurate.<ref name="oregon" /> Australian astrophysicist [[Bryan Gaensler]] has stated that Idle's estimation of the thickness of the Milky Way, at 16,000 light years, is more accurate than the official 'textbook' figure of 6,000 light years.<ref>{{cite web \|url= http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/186976,milky-way-twice-as-thick-as-thought.html \|title= Milky Way twice as thick as thought \|work= earthtimes.org}}</ref> However, the song's position on this was later confused by Idle's performance of the song in his ''[[Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy)\|Not the Messiah]]'' show (2007) where the figure he sings is only 6,000 light years.<ref>{{YouTube\|85IGr-yVv_M\|Eric Idle Galaxy Song from Not The Messiah finale at Hollywood Bowl 8-2-08}}</ref> The reason for the confusion has since been explained in a message from Idle on the official Monty Python website. "There was some smug website pulling apart all my original figures for the song (written circa 1981) so for the 2003 Tour (or maybe 2000) I 'updated' them. Now you tell me I was right all along! Not sure where I got my figures originally but tell the bastards to make up their minds."<ref>{{Cite web \|first=John Alex \|last=Wood \|url=http://pythonline.com/blogs/johnalexwood/6_or_16_thousand_light_years_thick \|title=6 or 16 thousand light years thick? \|date=4 August 2008 \|publisher=pythonline.com \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080815043835/http://pythonline.com/blogs/johnalexwood/6_or_16_thousand_light_years_thick \|archive-date=15 August 2008}}</ref>
	* The last verse of the song explains that the [[Metric expansion of space\|universe is expanding]], and furthermore, that the [[speed of light]] is the "fastest speed there is". Idle's estimate of the speed of light is a relatively accurate one: 12 million miles per minute, versus the standard figure of about 11.16 million miles per minute. (11 million would be a closer estimate, but Idle may have chosen "12" simply because the word "11" would not scan so well.)~~{{citation needed\|date=October 2017}}~~ Contrary to what the verse implies, the expansion of the universe is not related to the speed of light, and it is in fact expanding much faster.<ref>		* The last verse of the song explains that the [[Metric expansion of space\|universe is expanding]], and furthermore, that the [[speed of light]] is the "fastest speed there is". Idle's estimate of the speed of light is a relatively accurate one: 12 million miles per minute, versus the standard figure of about 11.16 million miles per minute. (11 million would be a closer estimate, but Idle may have chosen "12" simply because the word "11" would not scan so well.) Contrary to what the verse implies, the expansion of the universe is not related to the speed of light, and it is in fact expanding much faster.<ref>
	{{cite web		{{cite web
	\|last=Wright \|first=E. L.		\|last=Wright \|first=E. L.

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2022-11-24T19:57:41Z

External links

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	{{Monty Python}}		{{Monty Python}}

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	[[Category:1983 songs]]		[[Category:1983 songs]]

Kurt at 16:52, 18 September 2022

2022-09-18T16:52:28Z

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	{{Short description\|A Monty Python song written by Eric Idle and John Du Prez}}		{{Short description\|A Monty Python song written by Eric Idle and John Du Prez}}
	~~{{for\|other songs named "Galaxy"\|Galaxy (disambiguation)#Songs}}~~
	{{Use British English\|date=September 2013}}		{{Use British English\|date=September 2013}}
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Kurt: 1 revision imported

2022-08-15T00:18:55Z

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← Older revision	Revision as of 19:18, 14 August 2022
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en>Abstractgrant: /* Remake */

2022-08-10T16:58:26Z

Remake

New page

{{Short description|A Monty Python song written by Eric Idle and John Du Prez}}
{{for|other songs named "Galaxy"|Galaxy (disambiguation)#Songs}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2013}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Galaxy Song
| cover = Galaxy Song.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = [[Monty Python]]
| album = [[Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (album)|Monty Python's The Meaning of Life]]
| B-side = "[[Every Sperm Is Sacred]]"
| released = 27 June 1983<br />2 December 1991 (reissue)
| format =
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = {{flatlist|
* [[Comedy]]
* [[soundtrack]]
}}
| length =
| label = [[Columbia Records|CBS]] / [[MCA Records|MCA]]
| writer = {{flatlist|
* [[Eric Idle]]<br/>[[John Du Prez]]
}}
| producer = Andre Jacquemin<ref>{{cite web |title= Monty Python – Galaxy Song |publisher=Discogs |url=https://www.discogs.com/Monty-Python-Galaxy-Song/release/1498204}}</ref>
| prev_title = [[I Like Chinese]]
| prev_year = 1980
| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|buqtdpuZxvk|"Galaxy Song"}}}}
}}
"'''Galaxy Song'''" is a [[Monty Python]] song written by [[Eric Idle]] and [[John Du Prez]].<ref>''[[Monty Python Sings]]'' CD booklet. 1989 Virgin Records</ref>

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 single in the UK on 27 June 1983 when it reached No. 77 in the charts<ref>{{cite web |title=galaxy song |publisher=Official Charts |url=http://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/galaxy%20song/}}</ref> and again on 2 December 1991 as a follow-up to the successful reissue of ''[[Always Look on the Bright Side of Life]]''. In 2014 the song was featured in the live stage show ''[[Monty Python Live (Mostly)]]'' which was followed by another single release on 13 April 2015, this time in collaboration with [[Stephen Hawking]].

== Premise and synopsis ==

The song originally debuted during the [[comedy sketch]] "Live Organ Transplants". The paramedic ([[John Cleese]]), upon failing to persuade Mrs. Brown ([[Terry Jones]]) to donate her liver, opens the refrigerator doors to reveal a man wearing a pink [[morning suit]] (Eric Idle). The man accompanies Mrs. Brown through outer space singing various statistics about the galaxy. The upshot of the song (which follows a synthesized instrumental montage that, in the movie, is accompanied by a computer-animated picture of a woman being impregnated) is that in the grand scheme of the universe, the likelihood of Mrs. Brown's existence was almost zero, but that she should "pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space, 'cause there's [[bugger all]] down here on Earth". The singer returns to the refrigerator, at which point Mrs. Brown admits that the singer convinced her to hand over her liver.

== Accuracy of astronomical figures ==

The lyrics include a number of [[Astronomy|astronomical]] quantities, the vast majority of which are accurate to within one or two [[significant figures]]. A few statements are only approximately correct or have liberties with definitions, likely to fit within the meter of the song.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://ephemeris.sjaa.net/0312/b.html |title=A study of the ''Galaxy Song'' by Eric Idle |first=Paul |last=Kohlmiller |publisher=San Jose Astronomical Association |journal=Ephemeris |date=December 2003}}</ref>
* Idle sings that the [[Earth]] is "revolving at nine hundred miles an hour". The current estimate for the rotational speed at the equator is 1040 miles/hr (1670 kilometers/hour).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://image.gsfc.nasa.gov/poetry/ask/a10840.html|title=NASA IMAGE satellite,Ask the Space Scientist Archive|publisher=NASA}}</ref> 900 miles is correct if this is given in [[nautical mile]]s, but it is more common to speak of [[knot (unit)|knot]]s in this case. He gives the Earth's orbital speed as {{convert|19|mi|km}} per second, which is accurate to two [[significant figure]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://searchcio-midmarket.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid183_gci849653,00.html|title=What is Earth's mean orbital speed?|work=WhatIs.com}} 2.978589*10^4 m/s is 18.51 miles per second</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://members.aol.com/nlpjp/speed.htm |title=Earth's Speed |first=Jerry |last=Pool |via=AOL |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030919160000/http://members.aol.com/nlpjp/speed.htm |archive-date=19 September 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://galileoandeinstein.physics.virginia.edu/lectures/spedlite.html|title=The Speed of Light|publisher=University of Virginia}}</ref>
* Idle states that the [[Sun]] is "the source of all our power". In fact, three notable sources of electrical power are not directly traceable to the Sun: The first is [[geothermal power]], which is derived from [[geothermal energy]], 20% of which remains from the original planet formation and 80% of which is derived from ongoing radioactive decay. The second source is the Moon's effects on [[tide]]s and the associated methods of [[Tidal power|power generation]]. The third is [[nuclear power]] derived from [[uranium]] and other fissile elements. Ultimately, however, the overwhelming proportion of human-generated power derived from [[fossil fuels]] and thence from photosynthetic plants makes this line a very good approximation to the truth. The three other power sources are available because of the Sun's influence on our early solar system, so Idle's statement is correct in a literal (if somewhat pedantic) sense, even if not for practical purposes.
* Idle's figures for the size of the [[Milky Way]] [[galaxy]] are roughly correct. He understates the speed at which the Sun orbits the "galactic central point" by an order of magnitude (12 million miles a day compared to "1 million miles a day"), but he gives an estimate accurate to one [[significant figure]] for the total time per orbit. This is "two hundred million years" according to the song, compared with accepted figures of 220 to 250 million years.<ref>{{cite web
| url=https://hypertextbook.com/facts/2002/StacyLeong.shtml
| title=Period of the sun's orbit around the galaxy (cosmic year)
| first=Stacy
| last=Leong
| year=2002
| website=The Physics Factbook
| editor-last=Elert
| editor-first=Glenn
| accessdate=2022-01-25
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.justforkidsonly.com/rref6xdistinspace.htm|title=Ready Reference|work=justforkidsonly.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://astrosociety.org/edu/publications/tnl/71/howfast.html#5 |title= How Fast Are You Moving When You Are Sitting Still?|access-date= 2017-09-27}} 483000 miles/hour = 11.5 million miles/day</ref>
* The song says that we are "thirty thousand light years from galactic central point", again correct to within one significant figure of 25,000 light years from the centre of the Milky Way.<ref name="oregon">{{cite web |url= http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/ast122/lectures/lec25.html |title= Milky Way Galaxy |publisher= University of Oregon }}</ref> The song also states that the galaxy is "a hundred thousand light years side to side". This would make the galactic radius 50,000 light years, which is accurate.<ref name="oregon" /> Australian astrophysicist [[Bryan Gaensler]] has stated that Idle's estimation of the thickness of the Milky Way, at 16,000 light years, is more accurate than the official 'textbook' figure of 6,000 light years.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/186976,milky-way-twice-as-thick-as-thought.html |title= Milky Way twice as thick as thought |work= earthtimes.org}}</ref> However, the song's position on this was later confused by Idle's performance of the song in his ''[[Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy)|Not the Messiah]]'' show (2007) where the figure he sings is only 6,000 light years.<ref>{{YouTube|85IGr-yVv_M|Eric Idle Galaxy Song from Not The Messiah finale at Hollywood Bowl 8-2-08}}</ref> The reason for the confusion has since been explained in a message from Idle on the official Monty Python website. "There was some smug website pulling apart all my original figures for the song (written circa 1981) so for the 2003 Tour (or maybe 2000) I 'updated' them. Now you tell me I was right all along! Not sure where I got my figures originally but tell the bastards to make up their minds."<ref>{{Cite web |first=John Alex |last=Wood |url=http://pythonline.com/blogs/johnalexwood/6_or_16_thousand_light_years_thick |title=6 or 16 thousand light years thick? |date=4 August 2008 |publisher=pythonline.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080815043835/http://pythonline.com/blogs/johnalexwood/6_or_16_thousand_light_years_thick |archive-date=15 August 2008}}</ref>
* The last verse of the song explains that the [[Metric expansion of space|universe is expanding]], and furthermore, that the [[speed of light]] is the "fastest speed there is". Idle's estimate of the speed of light is a relatively accurate one: 12 million miles per minute, versus the standard figure of about 11.16 million miles per minute. (11 million would be a closer estimate, but Idle may have chosen "12" simply because the word "11" would not scan so well.){{citation needed|date=October 2017}} Contrary to what the verse implies, the expansion of the universe is not related to the speed of light, and it is in fact expanding much faster.<ref>
{{cite web
|last=Wright |first=E. L.
|date=12 June 2009
|title=Cosmology Tutorial - Part 2
|url=http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/cosmo_02.htm#MD
|work=Ned Wright's Cosmology Tutorial
|publisher=[[UCLA]]
|access-date=2011-09-26
}}</ref>

== Remake ==
[[File:Eric Idle Carol Cleveland Galaxy Song.jpg|thumb|right|[[Eric Idle]] and [[Carol Cleveland]] performing the “Galaxy Song” at ''[[Monty Python Live (Mostly)]]'', in July 2014]]
Released in 1984, [[Jim Post]]'s album ''Crooner From Outer Space'' features a remake called "Galaxy/Lighten Up".<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/bjEOpfCcujE Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20160801201443/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjEOpfCcujE Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjEOpfCcujE| title = 900 MPH The Galaxy/Lighten Up | website=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

"Galaxy Song" was performed by [[Sharon, Lois & Bram]] on ''[[The Elephant Show]]'' and appeared on their album ''[[Stay Tuned (Sharon, Lois & Bram album)|Stay Tuned]]''. (The final line was changed to "Because we need some here on Earth".)

In 1999, [[Clint Black]] recorded a remake of "The Galaxy Song" on his album ''[[D'lectrified]]'', as well as the "Outside Intro (To Galaxy Song)", which he co-wrote and sang with Idle.

In late 2012, an updated version of "The Galaxy Song" aired on [[BBC Two]] in a trailer for [[Wonders of Life (TV series)|''Wonders of Life'']], hosted by physicist [[Brian Cox (physicist)|Brian Cox]].<ref>{{YouTube|uo6OCxwUPPg|Wonders of Life Trailer - BBC Two}}</ref> It was called "The Galaxy DNA Song" by Idle.<ref>{{cite web |last=Idle |first=Eric |date=29 October 2012 |url=http://www.nerdist.com/2012/10/eric-idle-on-galaxy-song-the-new-biological-version/ |title=Eric Idle on 'Galaxy Song,' the New Biological Version |publisher=The Nerdist}}</ref>

In 2014, the song was performed in the stage show ''[[Monty Python Live (Mostly)]]''. Idle emerges from a refrigerator and begins singing to an elderly woman ([[Carol Cleveland]]). At one point, they start dancing on stage as a clip shows them dancing among the stars with the galaxy in the background. After the song ends, the show cuts to a clip of Cox at Cambridge discussing the various scientific inaccuracies within the song only to be knocked over by [[Stephen Hawking]] with his motorized wheelchair. Hawking tells Cox not to be so pedantic, then starts to sing the song himself. Hawking's cover for the song was released as a [[Record Store Day]] [[Single (music)|single]] in 2015.

In December 2016, the theme of the song was extended into the hour-long [[BBC Two]] ''The Entire Universe'' show. Written and co-presented by Idle and Professor [[Brian Cox (physicist)|Brian Cox]], it took the form of a lecture by Cox interspersed with a "comedy and musical extravaganza with the help of [[Warwick Davis]], [[Noel Fielding]], [[Hannah Waddingham]] and [[Robin Ince]], alongside a chorus of singers and dancers". The show closed with an ensemble rendition of "The Galaxy Song" with updated figures: the galaxy containing 500 billion stars instead of 100 billion; the galaxy rotation speed of 500,000 mph instead of 40,000; the galaxy thickness as 6,000 ly instead of 16,000, and a spiral arm thickness of 1,000 ly instead of 3,000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b086kfbj|title=The Entire Universe|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=26 December 2017|access-date=27 December 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227183617/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b086kfbj|archive-date=27 December 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In December 2019, [[Sabine_Hossenfelder]] (physicist and quantum gravity researcher) covered the song for a [[YouTube]] video - retaining many elements of the original Monty Python set in cartoon form. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxLGUKRNHXM&ab_channel=SabineHossenfelder|title=Galaxy Song, Monty Python (cover)|access-date=11 May 2022}}</ref>

== Parodies and Other Uses ==

* Between 1988 and 1991, furniture retailor [[Courts (brand)|Courts]] ran a series of advertisements in the United Kingdom which featured a jingle using the tune of the ''Galaxy Song'' sung by a man mimicking Idle's vocal style.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE8q43ZfokU Courts UK Advert: "See You All In Courts"] on [[YouTube]]</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSRqzc4fUEw Courts UK Advert: "See You All In Courts: Winter Sale"] on [[YouTube]]</ref>
* The "Yakko's Universe" song from the animated show ''[[Animaniacs]]'' is a homage to the Python's song.
* The "Meaning of Life Space Song" from the animated show ''[[the Amazing World of Gumball]]'' has many direct references to the Python's song

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* [http://ephemeris.sjaa.net/0312/b.html A study of the Galaxy song]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050404133448/http://alpha.lasalle.edu/~smithsc/Astronomy/Galaxy_Song/galaxy_song.html Annotations to the Galaxy song]
* {{youtube|XfcC6FYyL4U|"Galaxy Song" (02:43)}} - sung by physicist [[Stephen Hawking]].

{{Monty Python}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:1983 songs]]
[[Category:1983 singles]]
[[Category:1991 singles]]
[[Category:CBS Records singles]]
[[Category:MCA Records singles]]
[[Category:Monty Python songs]]
[[Category:Songs about science]]
[[Category:Songs about outer space]]
[[Category:Songs written by Eric Idle]]
[[Category:Songs written by John Du Prez]]
[[Category:Songs written for films]]