And Now For Something Completely Different ...

Yes, it is Monty Python. I found some sketches on YouTube ... here are two of my favourites:

The Dead Parrot


You might know the plot, a man (John Cleese) wishes to make a complaint concerning a dead parrot.

The salesman (Michael Palin) does not acknowledge that the parrot is dead.

Cleese: "This parrot is no more! It has ceased to be! It's expired and gone to meet its maker! This is a late parrot! [...] It's stiff, bereaved of life, it rests in peace. If you wouldn't have nailed it to its perch it would be pushing up the daisies! [...] This is an ex-parrot."

I saw it years ago on the Austrian TV, in combination with the Lumberjack Song. It was kind of a running gag, e. g. a salesman saying "I never wanted to be a salesman, I always wanted to be a lumberjack ..." and then the song begins. There is also a YouTube video available of that.

I especially like the second verse: "I am a lumberjack and I'm okay [...] I put on women's clothing and hang around in bars" (the reaction of the choir, who repeats the vocals, is priceless).


Flying Sheep


Ah, this one is great. It's about clever sheep, trying to learn how to fly and live in trees.

Farmer (Graham Chapman): "Observe for example that ewe in that oak tree. She's clearly trying to teach her lamb to fly. Talk about the blind leading the blind. [...] Trouble is: Sheep are very dim. And once they're getting an idea into their heads, there's no shifting it."

Tourist (Terry Jones): "But where did they get the idea from?"

Farmer (Graham Chapman): "From Harold, he's that sheep over there on the oak. He's the most dangerous of animals: A clever sheep. He's the ringleader. He's realised the sheep's life consists of standing in the rain for a few months and then being eaten."