Iron is a metal, you see it every day
Oxygen, eventually, will make it rust away
Carbon in its ordinary form is coal
Crush it together, and diamonds are born
Come on come on and meet the elements
May I introduce you to our friends, the elements?
Like a box of paints that are mixed to make every shade
They either combine to make a chemical compound or stand alone as they are
Neon's a gas that lights up the sign for a pizza place
The coins that you pay with are copper, nickel, and zinc
Silicon and oxygen make concrete bricks and glass
Now add some gold and silver for some pizza place class
Come on come on and meet the elements
I think you should check out the ones they call the elements
Like a box of paints that are mixed to make every shade
They either combine to make a chemical compound or stand alone as they are
Team up with other elements making compounds when they combine
Or make up a simple element formed out of atoms of the one kind
Balloons are full of helium, and so is every star
Stars are mostly hydrogen, which may someday fill your car
Hey, who let in all these elephants?
Did you know that elephants are made of elements?
Elephants are mostly made of four elements
And every living thing is mostly made of four elements
Plants, bugs, birds, fish, bacteria and men
Are mostly carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen
Come on come on and meet the elements
You and I are complicated, but we're made of elements
Like a box of paints that are mixed to make every shadev
They either combine to make a chemical compound or stand alone as they are
Team up with other elements making compounds when they combine
Or make up a simple element formed out of atoms of the one kind
Come on come on and meet the elements
Check out the ones they call the elements
Like a box of paints that are mixed to make every shade
They either combine to make a chemical compound or stand alone as they are
“Meet the Elements” by They Might Be Giants is a kids’ song designed to teach children about chemistry. It lists many different elements, describing their uses where they are found. For example, it explains the way “silicon and oxygen make concrete bricks and glass” (They Might Be Giants 11). The chorus then tells how elements can combine to form compounds or stay separate as individual elements. While They Might Be Giants is a popular American band, they also make children’s music, such as “Meet the Elements.” They Might Be Giants is able to reach a broad audience of kids as they are already popular with adults who might share songs like “Meet the Elements” with their children. By making educational songs they help provide kids with knowledge. Many children have questions about the world they live in, and They Might Be Giants provides them with knowledge of the answers to some of these questions through their music. Children might wonder what they are made of, and by listening to “Meet the Elements” they could expand their knowledge and find out that they “are mostly carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen” (They Might Be Giants 26).
I found the most compelling part of the song to be when it compares compounds to “a box of paints that are mixed to make every shade” (They Might Be Giants 29). For children that like arts and crafts this is a helpful analogy that they could easily understand. Just as primary paint colors can combine to form secondary and tertiary colors, elements can combine to form compounds and larger molecules. Through this comparison many children can understand the way elements function more easily. In addition, comparisons like this throughout “Meet the Elements” can spark interest in children who might not think science is interesting.
I remember clearly how in seventh and eighth grade my social studies teacher, Mr. Prinz, would play history songs about what we were learning in class while we were working. One of them was about the signing of the Declaration of Independence; another had to do with the Constitution. History has never been very interesting to me, but these songs helped me become more interested, especially catchy ones that would get stuck in my head. Along with making me more interested in history, the songs Mr. Prinz would play helped me remember the information we learned in class for tests and provided me with knowledge that I still remember to this day, similarly to how They Might Be Giants is making children more interested in science through their music.