Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

Lore & Background

Eric Idle wrote an original version of the song on a Gibson J-50 guitar using only jazz chords from a course by Mickey Baker. Initially sung in a more straight fashion, the other Python members agreed it would be good enough for the film's end. However, Michael Palin 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 practicing during a break in filming, Idle found it worked better if sung in a more cheeky manner by a character called "Mr Cheeky," based on the film's Cockney lighting crew. This version was used in the film.

The song appears at the end of the film, where the lead character Brian Cohen (played by Graham Chapman) has been crucified. A character on a nearby cross (played by Eric Idle) attempts to cheer him up by singing. 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 restricted way and join in with the song's whistled hook. The song continues as the scene changes to a long-shot of the crosses and the credits 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.

The song 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. It 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.

Reader's Guide

The song touched a chord with the British trait of stoicism and the "stiff upper lip" in the face of disaster, becoming immensely popular. When the destroyer HMS Sheffield was struck by an Exocet anti-ship missile on 4 May 1982 in the Falklands War, her crew sang it while waiting to be rescued from their sinking ship, as did the crew of HMS Coventry. When Graham Chapman died on 4 October 1989, the five remaining Pythons, as well as Chapman's close friends and family, sang the song at his public memorial service as part of Idle's eulogy. In 2005, a survey by Music Choice showed it was the third-most popular song Britons would like played at their funerals; by 2014, it was the most popular.

The song was first issued as a single as a double A-side with "Brian" in the UK on 16 November 1979 but did not chart. It was reissued on 21 November 1988 in an edited form to remove profanity, again failing to chart. Around 1990, BBC Radio 1 DJ Simon Mayo began playing the original version on his show, leading to Virgin reissuing the track as a single on 23 September 1991. The single reached the top ten in October and prompted a deliberately chaotic performance by Idle on Top of the Pops. It peaked at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart and reached number 1 in Ireland on 13 October 1991, despite Life of Brian having been banned in Ireland. Two cover versions, by Tenor Fly and the cast of Coronation Street, both reached the charts in 1995. Eric Idle recorded alternative lyrics for the radio version, with the line "Life's a piece of shit" altered to "Life's a piece of spit." A special version addressing Simon Mayo by name was also created. On 14 July 2014 another version was issued as a 12-inch single promoted as "The Unofficial England Football Anthem," featuring new vocals from Idle and alternate lyrics about the World Cup.