# Eric Idle updates the Galaxy Song from Meaning Of Life
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-updates-the-galaxy-song-from-meaning-of-life/646908
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [January 11, 2013, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-updates-the-galaxy-song-from-meaning-of-life/646908 "2013-01-11T22:14:51Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2013, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-updates-the-galaxy-song-from-meaning-of-life/646908/1 "2013-01-11T22:14:51Z")
Over the years the facts sung by Eric Idle in his Galaxy Song during Monty Python’s Meaning Of Life have become largely outdated. So recently he teamed up with Professor Brian Cox - a rather clever British astro-physicist and ex member of boy band D:ream - to re-write a more accurate version. And I thought people at the Dope would enjoy it. It’s all tied up in this BBC promotion on You Tube but definitely worth a watch as they play the entire song…
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo6OCxwUPPg)
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### Author:  [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2013, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-updates-the-galaxy-song-from-meaning-of-life/646908/2 "2013-01-11T22:33:05Z")
What are the major changes?
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### Author:  [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2013, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-updates-the-galaxy-song-from-meaning-of-life/646908/3 "2013-01-11T22:37:19Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#):
>
> What are the major changes?
Every damn thing is different.
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### Author:  [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2013, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-updates-the-galaxy-song-from-meaning-of-life/646908/4 "2013-01-11T22:38:09Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#):
>
> What are the major changes?
Just about every word of the song has changed.
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### Author:  [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2013, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-updates-the-galaxy-song-from-meaning-of-life/646908/5 "2013-01-11T22:44:03Z")
There are actually two updates. The completely new version for the Brian Cox show and _The Scientifically Approved and Totally Verified, All New, Guaranteed Reasonably Accurate lyrics to Monty Python’s Galaxy Song_. He explained it all in his blog: [http://www.ericidle.com/blog/?p=233](http://www.ericidle.com/blog/?p=233)
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### Author:  [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2013, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-updates-the-galaxy-song-from-meaning-of-life/646908/6 "2013-01-11T22:45:21Z")
Very cool ineed. The song is almost completely different from the original, a whole new set of lyrics, and much expanded.
On the other hand “astrophysicist and former boy band member”? That’s a hell of a combo. Sounds like an update of Buckaroo Banzai.
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### Author:  [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2013, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-updates-the-galaxy-song-from-meaning-of-life/646908/7 "2013-01-11T23:06:13Z")
Didn’t we have a thread about this just a couple of weeks ago?
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### Author:  [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2013, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-updates-the-galaxy-song-from-meaning-of-life/646908/8 "2013-01-11T23:14:35Z")
> [@standingwave](#):
>
> The completely new version for the Brian Cox show and _The Scientifically Approved and Totally Verified, All New, Guaranteed Reasonably Accurate lyrics to Monty Python’s Galaxy Song_. He explained it all in his blog: [http://www.ericidle.com/blog/?p=233](http://www.ericidle.com/blog/?p=233)
Hmm. He says “250,000 miles per hour” is tricky for the metre, and settles on “200,000 miles an hour”. But “a quarter million miles per hour” would have worked fine.
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### Author:  [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2013, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eric-idle-updates-the-galaxy-song-from-meaning-of-life/646908/9 "2013-01-11T23:47:19Z")
Don’t like the new song at all.
Maybe some measurements in the original song were off, but this so called “update” totally misses the point of the original song. The Galaxy Song was meant to emphasize just how insignificant our existence really is in comparison to the universe, so nothing really matters and we shouldn’t take ourselves so seriously. In fact, the final lines are “And pray that there’s intelligent life somewhere out in space, 'cause it’s bugger all down here on Earth.”
This update is just a drippy, ‘life is so beautiful’ sentimental slopfest.