Famed cosmologist Stephen Hawking has proved his comedy chops on shows like “The Big Bang Theory,” and now he’s trying his hand at musicals.
Hawking has partnered with the silly lads of Monty Python to recreate the signature “Galaxy Song” from their 1983 film “The Meaning of Life.” The collabo is in honor of Saturday’s Record Store Day, when the 7-inch single will be available for sale.
The accompanying video is guaranteed to be the most awesome thing you see today.
In it, fellow scientist Brian Cox rails against the inaccuracies in “Galaxy Song” when a fed-up Hawking, who has ALS, zooms up in his wheelchair and knocks over Cox. Hawking continues singing the song in his signature computerized voice.
Hawking then launches into the stratosphere for a trippy ride and lesson on the cosmos.
The scene is derived from a filmed bit that Monty Python uses during its live shows.
“Galaxy Song” song was written by Python member Eric Idle, along with John Du Prez, and is “an intricate and informative lecture on the enor-mity of the Universe fashioned into a bewitching and, above all, highly amusing pop song,” according to the comedy troupe’s site.
Hawking’s version is available for download.
It’s not Hawking’s first music gig; he’s also featured on the Pink Floyd song “Talkin’ Hawkin.'”
The original version of “Galaxy Song” is below.
A sampling of the lyrics: “Just remember that you’re standing on a planet that’s evolving and revolving at 900 miles an hour. That’s orbiting at 19 miles a second so it’s reckoned. A sun that’s the source of all our power. The sun and you and me and all the stars that we can see are moving at 1 million miles a day. In an outer spiral arm at 40,000 miles an hour of the galaxy we call the Milky Way.”