Something new for the Daft Lyrics Database: a newly written filk piece, to the tune of Monty Python’s Lumberjack Song:
(Presented with apologies to people named Jones, people named Tomlinson and some people named Palin.)
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One of the most influential works in Chinese history, the Analects of Confucius were written over a period of several decades durring the Warring States period. Ever since copies of the Analects first begin to be distributed, over 2000 years ago, it has shaped Chinese society, teaching the Confucian virtues to generation after generation. Its influence has also been felt in other parts of Asia, as it slowly diffused into other nations and cultures. Even today, the Analects remains one of the canonical texts that any serious Chinese scholar (or scholar of China) must read and understand in order to be considered properly educated. Referenced in: I Like Chinese – Monty Python
The Battle of Marston Moor, which is located near York in northern England, was a decisive engagement in the English Civil War. The Royalist side was soundly defeated by a combined force of Scots Covenanters and Parliamentarians. It was a serious blow to the Royalist side, which more or less abandoned the northern part of the country thereafter. Oliver Cromwell, at the time little-known, distinguished himself in this battle. He commanded the Ironsides Cavalry, and his leadership and the discipline of his troops were both acknowledged as key factors in the victory. From here, Cromwell’s star would only rise. Referenced in:
Cromwell and Fairfax had recruited their New Model Army in the early months of 1645, taking advantage of King Charles I’s hesitation in attacking them to consolidate and train. At Naseby, on June 14, 1645, the decisive battle of the English Civil War was fought. The Parliamentarian forces, under Cromwell, outnumbered the Royalists by almost two to one, and also commanded a stronger position. As the battle drew on, many of the Royalist soldiers surrendered, while other withdrew in disarray. The King, soundly defeated, fled to Scotland. Referenced in:
Hated by the Irish for his invasion the previous decade, Oliver Cromwell’s manner of death must have given them some satisfaction. He died from a malarial fever contracted during the invasion (and complicated by what appears to have been kidney stones). Cromwell had come far and acheived much in his 59 years, but little that he had built long-survived him. His son Richard, who succeeded him as Lord Protector, resigned from that role due to a lack of political support less than a year later, and King Charles II was invited back to England to reinstate the monarchy the year after that. In 1661, on the anniversary of King Charles I’s execution, Cromwell’s corpse was exhumed, and a symbolic posthumous beheading was carried out. His severed head would be a collector’s item for some years thereafter, before being reburied in 1960. Referenced in: Oliver Cromwell – Monty Python
Hegel was one of the most influential philosophers of his time. He built upon the work of Kant, Descartes, Hume and others – his work assumes a familiarity with the writings of many of his predecessors – and Hegel himself was an influence on any number of the philosophers who followed him, notably Karl Marx and Theodor Adorno. Hegel lived to be 61 years old, and spent most of his adult life studying and writing in a total of eight different German universities. He wrote four books: Phenomenology of Spirit (1807); Science of Logic (published in three volumes: 1811, 1812 & 1816); Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences (1816) and Elements of the Philosophy of Right (1822). Referenced in: Bruces’ Philosophers Song – Monty Python
Franz Josef Haydn is known as both the “Father of the Symphony” and “Father of the String Quartet” because of his important contributions to these genres. However, despite his many contributions to the sonata form, he is not the “Father of the Sonata.” He was a prolific composer with few illusions regarding the magnitude of his talents or the importance of his contributions to the development of music. He died at age 77, shortly after an attack on Vienna by Napoleon’s force. Among his last words was a characteristically humble attempt to calm and reassure his servants when cannon shot fell in the neighborhood: “My children, have no fear, for where Haydn is, no harm can fall.” Referenced in: Decomposing Composers — Monty Python
Carl Maria von Weber was one of the earliest significant composers of what is now called the Romantic movement. His best known works include his operas Der Freischütz, Euryanthe and Oberon, and the Konzertstück (Concert Piece) in F minor (a work for piano). In addition to his composing, von Weber was also a noted for his orchestration, a music journalist, and an engraver. The last of these he actually taught himself – he wanted to be able to engrave his own compositions. He was 39 years old when he died of tuberculosis while visiting London. Although his remains were buried there, they were later exhumed and reburied in Dresden at the instigation of Richard Wagner. Von Weber had been director of the Opera since 1817. Referenced in: Decomposing Composers – Monty Python
Of all the great philosophers, none is quite so famous for being, well, a raving loon, as Friedrich Nietzsche. Born in Rocken, near Leipzig, on October 15, he would become the most famous German philosopher of the 19th century. His best known works include the posthumous “Will To Power”, “Ecce Homo”, “Beyond Good and Evil” and “The Spake Zarathustra”. Nietzsche was widely seen, in Germany and elsewhere, as a supporter of German militarism – and his work was influential to Hitler and other Nazis (although they were selective in their use and interpretation of him). Later, he was seen as a forerunner of the Existentialists. However, his most lasting contribution to Western culture may be the concept of the Übermensch, or Superman. Referenced in: Bruces’ Philosophers Song – Monty Python
Born in Hungary on October 22, 1811, Franz Liszt spent much of his life travelling. A large portion of his adolescence was spent in Paris, and it was here, on April 20, 1832, that he saw the great Paganini playing violin. Liszt was inspired by the master’s performance, and resolved to become as great a pianist as Paganini was a violinist. By 1835, Liszt was a touring virtuoso and composer, rapidly building a reputation across all of Europe. By 1842, his fame was such that the term Lisztomania had been coined to describe it. He was the John Lennon of his day, although more temperate about comparing himself to Jesus. Liszt donated a large portion of his fees to charity – in fact, by 1857, this portion was virtually the entirety. After an injury in 1881, Liszt’s health began to decline, and his compositions from this point onwards show an increasing preoccupation with mortality. He finally died of pneumonia, although it has been suggested that a certain degree of medical malpractice may have contributed to his demise. After his death, Liszt’s close friend Camille Saint-Saëns dedicated his third symphony to him in memorial. Referenced in: Decomposing Composers — Monty Python
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