About The Elements Song

I stuck this commentary in a separate post as it is quite long.

The Elements song by Thomas Lehrer is a fun memory test if nothing else! Here he is performing it in 1967: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcS3NOQnsQM In this version he says Gold twice and misses Sulfur...

Mr. Lehrer based on this song "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General". Not as well known now I guess: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSGWoXDFM64

Bonus! Here is an odd Japanese version for ya too: http://boingboing.net/2010/10/08/the-elements-tom-leh.html

The number of elements discovered expands all the time. This song lists 102, now there are 118, though not all have names yet. The named ones 103 to 112 are lawrencium, rutherfordium, dubnium, seaborgium, bohrium, hassium, meitnerium, darmstadtium, roentgenium and copernicium,

The newest only have names based on their number so 113 to 118 are ununtrium, ununquadium, ununpentium, ununhexium, ununseptium and ununoctium.

Though 114 and 116 were only this year named Flerovium (FL) and Livermorium (Lv) for the labs they were discovered in. You can see the whole table here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periodic_table_(large_version)

Of course it was much easier to learn in Aristotle's time when there was only Air, Fire, Water and Earth. Also Chuck Norris only recognises one element: the element of surprise :-)

The Elements Song

The Elements Song

         C
There's antimony, arsenic, aluminum, selenium,
       G7
And hydrogen and oxygen and nitrogen and rhenium,
      C
And nickel, neodymium, neptunium, germanium,
     G                            D7              G
And iron, americium, ruthenium, uranium,
   G7                                             Cm
Europium, zirconium, lutetium, vanadium,
        Bb7                                                              Eb
And lanthanum and osmium and astatine and radium,
     G7                                                             Cm
And gold and protactinium and indium and gallium, [Breath]
      G#7                                                       G7
And iodine and thorium and thulium and thallium.

           C
There's yttrium, ytterbium, actinium, rubidium,
      G7
And boron, gadolinium, niobium, iridium,
         C                   G7                C              G7
And strontium and silicon and silver and samarium,
       C                             F           G7                   C
And bismuth, bromine, lithium, beryllium, and barium.

             C
There's holmium and helium and hafnium and erbium,
        G7
And phosphorus and francium and fluorine and terbium,
        C
And manganese and mercury, molybdenum, magnesium,
     G                                            D  7           G
Dysprosium and scandium and cerium and cesium.
     G7                                                        Cm
And lead, praseodymium, and platinum, plutonium,
   Bb7                                                  Eb
Palladium, promethium, potassium, polonium,
       G7                                                Cm
And tantalum, technetium, titanium, tellurium,
      G#7                      G7
And cadmium and calcium and chromium and curium.

          C              
There's sulfur, californium, and fermium, berkelium,
     G7
And also mendelevium, einsteinium, nobelium,
        C           G7            C                G7
And argon, krypton, neon, radon, xenon, zinc, and rhodium,
       C                 F              G7                C
And chlorine, carbon, cobalt, copper, tungsten, tin, and sodium.


######## Optional verse with new elements up to end of 2012 ##########

     G7                                                                            Cm
Some new ones are still numbers so as not to be too bohrium
            Bb7                                                         Eb
they've also added hassium and dubnium, seaborgium,
       G7                                                Cm
darmstadtium, roentgenium, copernicium, flerovium
      G#7                                                             G7
and lawrencium,  meitnerium, rutherfordium, livermorium

################################################


       C                              G7
These are the only ones of which the news has come to Ha'vard,
           C             F               C      G7      C
And there may be many others, but they haven't been discovered.

End: C G7, C G7, C G7, G7 C

Christmas Time (Don't let the bells end)

This songs lyrics are hard to make out in the rocking original (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQhuoY5h2kE) but quite poignant when you read them. It can be covered with less rock too, here is an example with just piano: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8XPmxTsc5Q&list=FL2Az2fvu7SdV-aLys70PSXA&index=2

On the Uke, I do an into with A played by moving G up 2 frets, and then D on  the 5th fret with the A shape barred. If that makes no sense, never mind!

A                     E                                   F#min                                     D
Feigning joy and surprise at the gifts we despise over mulled wine with you

A                 E
On the 25th day of the 12th month                    

                             F#min           D
The sleigh bells are in time ringing true

Bmin                               A        Bmin    D
How we cling each Noel to that snowflake's hope in hell

E                  A C#min F#min
that it won’t end

A                  D     E
Don’t let the bells end

A  C#min F#min A                D    E
Christmas  time, just let them ring in peace.

A D E A D E

A                
Well the weather is cruel,

E                                   F#min               D
and the season of Yule warms the heart, but it still hurts.

A                           E                                      F#min
You’ve got your career, spent the best part of last year apart

             D
and it still hurts

Bmin                 A           Bmin      D      
So that’s why I pray each and every Christmas day

E          A C#min F#min
that it won’t end

A                 D     E
Don’t let the bells end

A C#min F#min A                  D    E
Christmas  time, just let them ring in peace.

A                           D  E
(Christmas time, don’t let the bells end)

A                           D  E
(Christmas time, don’t let the bells end)

F#min                                     A            C#min
Dust underneath the mistletoe leaves when you’re not here,

F#min
You went away upon boxing day,

    E                    D                 A
Now how the hell am I gonna make it into the New Year?

A D E A D E B E F# B E F#

N.C.
Christmas time, don’t let the bells end

N.C.                                B
Christmas time, don’t let the bells end

B  D#min G#min B          E  F#
Christmas   time, don’t let the bells end

B  D#min G#min B          E  F#
Christmas   time, just let them ring in peace.

B  D#min G#min B          E  F#
Christmas   time, don’t let the bells end

B  D#min G#min B          E  F#
Christmas   time, don’t let the bells end

B D#min G#min F# E F# B