Bruces' Philosophers Song
"Bruces' Philosophers Song", also known as "The Bruces' Song", is a popular Monty Python song written and composed by Eric Idle that was a feature of the group's stage appearances and its recordings. Origins. The Bruces' Philosophers Song is sung by The Bruces, stereotypical "ocker" Australians of the period. The Bruces are kitted out in khakis, slouch hats and a cork hat and are faculty members of the Philosophy Department at the fictional University of Woolamaloo. (There is no such place as Woolamaloo in Australia; but Woolloomooloo is an inner suburb of Sydney. There is no  university there, although the real-life University of Sydney is not far away.) The Bruces themselves first appeared in the Bruces sketch which featured in episode 22, "How to Recognise Different Parts of the Body", of the TV show "Monty Python's Flying Circus", first broadcast on 24 November 1970. The sketch shows an English academic (played by Terry Jones) coming to a hot and perhaps remote part of Australia and being inducted by the Bruces (John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle and Michael Palin) into their Philosophy Department, seemingly located in a simple wooden shack. The Bruces are lounging  around a wooden table and soon start drinking cans of Foster's Lager. The song was not part of the TV sketch; it first appeared on the Monty Python's 1973 album "Matching Tie and Handkerchief" as a coda for the album version of the sketch. The song was subsequently included in most of the Monty Python team's live shows, sometimes as a singalong with musical accompaniment provided by a Jew's harp. Lyrics. The song's lyrics make a series of scandalous allegations about a number of highly respected philosophers, usually with regard to their capacity or incapacity  for imbibing alcoholic drinks. The sixth line differs from version to version. While the studio recording on "Matching Tie and Handkerchief" refers solely to "Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel", live recordings (included in the "Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl" film and on the albums "Live at Drury Lane" and "Live at City Center") mention "Schopenhauer and Hegel. The philosophers. All the philosophers whom the song mentions were dead by the time it appeared, apart from Martin Heidegger. Philosophers mentioned in the song (in order): Some of the philosophers seem to be portrayed according to their works. Bruces' Philosophers Song "Bruces