Elements
Groundation Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Tom Lehrer
Miscellaneous
The Elements
Now, if I may digress momentarily from the main stream of this evenings symposium, I'd like to sing a song which is completely pointless but which is something I picked up during my career as a scientist. This may prove useful to somebody some day perhaps, in a somewhat bizarre set of circumstances. It's simply the names of the chemical elements set to a possibly recognizable tune.

There's antimony, arsenic, aluminum, selenium,
And hydrogen and oxygen and nitrogen and rhenium,
And nickel, neodymium, neptunium, germanium,
And iron, americium, ruthenium, uranium,
Europium, zirconium, lutetium, vanadium,
And lanthanum and osmium and astatine and radium,
And gold and protactinium and indium and gallium,

And iodine and thorium and thulium and thallium.

There's yttrium, ytterbium, actinium, rubidium,
And boron, gadolinium, niobium, iridium,
And strontium and silicon and silver and samarium,
And bismuth, bromine, lithium, beryllium, and barium.


Isn't that interesting?

I knew you would.
I hope you're all taking notes, because there's going to be a short quiz next period.

There's holmium and helium and hafnium and erbium,
And phosphorus and francium and fluorine and terbium,
And manganese and mercury, molybdenum, magnesium,
Dysprosium and scandium and cerium and cesium.
And lead, praseodymium, and platinum, plutonium,
Palladium, promethium, potassium, polonium,
And tantalum, technetium, titanium, tellurium,

And cadmium and calcium and chromium and curium.

There's sulfur, californium, and fermium, berkelium,
And also mendelevium, einsteinium, nobelium,
And argon, krypton, neon, radon, xenon, zinc, and rhodium,
And chlorine, carbon, cobalt, copper, tungsten, tin, and sodium.

These are the only ones of which the news has come to Ha'vard,
And there may be many others, but they haven't been discavard.




Now, may I have the next slide please?
Got carried away there.

Overall Meaning

The song "Elements" by Tom Lehrer is a humorous and educational song that lists the names of various chemical elements. The song is set to a recognizable tune and begins with the names of several well-known elements such as hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and gold. As the song progresses, Lehrer lists the names of many more chemical elements, some of which are obscure and lesser-known. The lyrics are presented in alphabetical order, and Lehrer even includes a reference to Ha'vard (Harvard), implying that there are likely many more elements that have not been discovered or named yet.


Although the song is mostly a lighthearted and playful tune, it also serves as an example of how science and music can intersect in creative and unexpected ways. Lehrer's background as a scientist is evident in the song, and his ability to make complex scientific concepts accessible and fun has made the song a popular educational tool for students of all ages.


The song "Elements" is not only entertaining but also provides an excellent overview of the periodic table of elements, making it a useful tool for students studying chemistry. Additionally, Lehrer's clever wordplay and use of humor have made the song a beloved classic and earned him a place in the pantheon of songwriters who have used music to educate and inspire.


Line by Line Meaning

There's antimony, arsenic, aluminum, selenium,
The singer lists a series of chemical elements, namely antimony, arsenic, aluminum, and selenium.


And hydrogen and oxygen and nitrogen and rhenium,
In addition, the singer lists other chemical elements, such as hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and rhenium.


And nickel, neodymium, neptunium, germanium,
The singer continues to list additional chemical elements, including nickel, neodymium, neptunium, and germanium.


And iron, americium, ruthenium, uranium,
More elements are added to the list which include iron, americium, ruthenium, and uranium.


Europium, zirconium, lutetium, vanadium,
The singer brings up yet even more elements to the list including europium, zirconium, lutetium, and vanadium.


And lanthanum and osmium and astatine and radium,
The singer continues to add additional elements to the list, including lanthanum, osmium, astatine, and radium.


And gold and protactinium and indium and gallium,
The singer continues to list different elements such as gold, protactinium, indium, and gallium.


And iodine and thorium and thulium and thallium.
Finally, the singer lists additional elements, namely iodine, thorium, thulium, and thallium.


There's yttrium, ytterbium, actinium, rubidium,
The singer lists additional elements, including yttrium, ytterbium, actinium, and rubidium.


And boron, gadolinium, niobium, iridium,
Additional elements are added to the list such as boron, gadolinium, niobium, and iridium.


And strontium and silicon and silver and samarium,
The singer adds more elements to the list, including strontium, silicon, silver, and samarium.


And bismuth, bromine, lithium, beryllium, and barium.
The singer ends the list with additional elements such as bismuth, bromine, lithium, beryllium, and barium.


Isn't that interesting?
The singer expresses their interest in the subject and asks if the listener finds it interesting as well.


I knew you would.
The singer acknowledges that they expected the listener to also find this interesting.


I hope you're all taking notes, because there's going to be a short quiz next period.
The singer warns the audience that there will be a quiz in the future, and encourages them to take notes.


There's holmium and helium and hafnium and erbium,
The singer begins listing more elements, including holmium, helium, hafnium, and erbium.


And phosphorus and francium and fluorine and terbium,
Additional elements are added to the list, including phosphorus, francium, fluorine, and terbium.


And manganese and mercury, molybdenum, magnesium,
The singer adds more elements to the list, including manganese, mercury, molybdenum, and magnesium.


Dysprosium and scandium and cerium and cesium.
The singer continues listing elements, including dysprosium, scandium, cerium, and cesium.


And lead, praseodymium, and platinum, plutonium,
Additional elements are added to the list, including lead, praseodymium, platinum, and plutonium.


Palladium, promethium, potassium, polonium,
The singer adds more elements to the list, including palladium, promethium, potassium, and polonium.


And tantalum, technetium, titanium, tellurium,
Additional elements are added to the list, including tantalum, technetium, titanium, and tellurium.


And cadmium and calcium and chromium and curium.
The singer continues listing elements such as cadmium, calcium, chromium, and curium.


There's sulfur, californium, and fermium, berkelium,
The singer adds more elements to the list including sulfur, californium, fermium, and berkelium.


And also mendelevium, einsteinium, nobelium,
Additional elements are added to the list, including mendelevium, einsteinium, and nobelium.


And argon, krypton, neon, radon, xenon, zinc, and rhodium,
The singer lists more elements, including argon, krypton, neon, radon, xenon, zinc, and rhodium.


And chlorine, carbon, cobalt, copper, tungsten, tin, and sodium.
Finally, the singer lists additional elements, including chlorine, carbon, cobalt, copper, tungsten, tin, and sodium.


These are the only ones of which the news has come to Ha'vard,
The singer notes that these elements are the only ones that have news of them at Harvard, possibly meaning that they are more well-known or commonly studied.


And there may be many others, but they haven't been discavard.
The singer suggests that there may be many other elements that have yet to be discovered or acknowledged, and haven't yet been integrated into the academic community.


Now, may I have the next slide please?
The singer is ready to move on to the next discussion topic.


Got carried away there.
The singer acknowledges that they may have become too enthusiastic in discussing the chemical elements.




Contributed by Mason P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found

More Versions