Sit on My Face

"Sit on My Face" is a short song by the members of the comedy troupe Monty Python which originally appeared on the album Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album. It was later included in the album Monty Python Sings, and was sung in the Python concert filmed and released as Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl. It was also performed at the Concert for George; at the end of this rendition the four men performing it, who were dressed as waiters in long aprons (or perhaps as a barbershop quartet), turned their backs to face a portrait of George Harrison, thereby revealing their naked buttocks and effectively mooning the Royal Albert Hall audience. More recently it was featured as an animated number in A Liar's Autobiography, performed by the London Gay Men's Chorus, both on the recorded soundtrack and live, as a flash mob, during the screening shown during the London Film Festival.

Written by Eric Idle, the song's lyrics are sung to the melody of "Sing As We Go" by Gracie Fields. The opening gives way to multiple male voices singing "Sit on my face and tell me that you love me." The remaining lyrics contain numerous references to fellatio and cunnilingus, such as "when I'm between your thighs you blow me away" and "life can be fine if we both 69".

Legal issues

Prior to the album's release, Monty Python received legal threats for alleged copyright infringement due to the use of the tune of "Sing as We Go". Nonetheless, the Pythons decided to retain the song.

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has ruled that the song is actionably indecent, concluding that "despite English accent and 'ambient noise' … the lyrics were sufficiently understandable".^[1] In 1992, it pursued legal action against KGB-FM, a San Diego, California classic rock radio station, for playing the song,^[2] eventually forcing the station to pay US$9,200 in fines.^[3]

French adaptation

A French language rendition of the song presented in Edinburgh in 2003 translated the title as "Cum in My Mouth". According to producer Rémy Renoux, "Cum in My Mouth is … what Monty Python would have written today." Renoux also pointed out that a literal translation into French would not fit the melody of the song, and claimed that the translation met with the approval of the Monty Python team.^[4]

See also

• Censorship of broadcasting in the United States
• Censorship of music

References

1. Federal Communications Commission (6 April 2001). "Industry Guidance On the Commission’s Case Law Interpreting 18 U.S.C. § 1464 and Enforcement Policies Regarding Broadcast Indecency" (DOC). p. 9. Retrieved 30 August 2007.
2. Blecha, Peter (2004). Taboo Tunes: A History of Banned Bands & Censored Songs. Backbeat Books. p. 116. ISBN 978-0-87930-792-9. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
3. Ahrens, Frank (2005). "FCC Indecency Fines, 1970-2004". The Washington Post. Retrieved 30 August 2007.
4. "Ce perroquet est mort: Monty Python in French? Brian Logan meets the team behind a world first". The Guardian. 4 August 2003. Retrieved 7 July 2014.