SotD - Monty Python

And now for something completely different as Monty Python have released a new(ish) single...



“I think this catchy little dirge exactly catches how all right-thinking people are feeling at the moment” John Cleese



Info from Monty Python website



Just in case you have been living in a cave with very limited wi-fi connection for the best part of a year, you may have missed the fact that October 2019 marked fifty golden years since a little TV comedy show called ‘Monty Python's Flying Circus’ was first broadcast on BBC television.



In celebration there have been a number of releases, a BFI Season and much more throughout this year… and now there's the very first single release of an alternative country and western version of Terry Jones' ‘I'm So Worried’, entitled ‘I’m (Still) So Worried,’ complete with an animated music video produced by Holly Gilliam and directed by Paul Shammasian.



Terry Gilliam called the song "Terry Jones' pre-posthumous release" adding, "Terry can no longer speak but he can still sing," referring to Jones’ dementia which caused his "frontal lobe to abscond!"



For the video, Paul went “back to complete basics”. He took Terry Gilliam’s original ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus’ animation artwork into Final Cut Pro then "finished off with classic keyframe animation.” This method was as close to Terry Gilliam's cut out animation style as he could get. "I could go anywhere and do anything. My imagination was free to explore and have fun," Paul said. How very Monty Python indeed!



The song was originally written and recorded for the group’s 1980 album, ‘Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album’. Composer Andre Jacquemin recalled "Pete Willsher, a very good friend of mine, played the Pedal Steel on the track, and it was Terry Jones who thought it might be a good idea to see if there was another version to be made out of ‘I'm So Worried’. He certainly preferred singing on the country version as it was a lot more fun with the boys."

John Du Prez, the musical producer & arranger of the original track, added "It's great that this version is now finally getting released for the Python 50th anniversary. Andre has added the Fred Tomlinson Singers backing vocals from the full orchestral version, which really helps the choruses, and has produced a terrific re-mix. Enjoy!"



And, oh, how prescient the track is! Footwear fashion can still hurt like hell, and the baggage retrieval system at Heathrow is still nightmarish and broadcasters are still very happy to flood the schedules with repeats. The worry about "all the things that they dump in the sea" is now, at long last, a serious situation that we should all be worried about, and one that is finally being addressed by international governments: nearly forty years after Terry Jones wrote this song. He is clearly something of a prophet. [No he's not, he's a very naughty boy - Ed]



And as Michael Palin says, “This anthem to angst is as relevant as it was when Terry Jones recorded it over 200 years ago. If you’re worried at Christmas, join in the chorus...”

Image - Monty Python