Chunk 8 — Row 6 end (72–86)

lo-fi, ambient, dreamy, relaxed · 4:56

Listen on 93

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Seventy-two, Hafnium — ghost in the zirconium seam,
slides inside a reactor rod, cooling down the steam.
Seventy-three, Tantalum, taxi skin that never rusts,
capacitor heart holding charge through the dust.
Seventy-four is Tungsten, wolfram, obdurate and stern —
that word means stubborn, hardest metal, watch it burn
white at three thousand degrees before it ever bends.
Seventy-five, Rhenium, red thread the turbine depends.
Seventy-six, Osmium, the densest thing on this earth,
Seventy-seven, Iridium, irritating pilots since birth —
hard as a meteor's kiss, stamped in the crust below.
Seventy-eight, Platinum, refulgent — that means it'll glow
brilliant on a bride's finger, catalytic in the car.
Seven metals deep in the vault, and we ain't done so far.

[Chorus]
Half taxis wander, red ostriches irritate pilots,
Aunts hug tall plumbers, big poets attack rain —
row six closing out from seventy-two to eighty-six,
heavy metal legacy, dark opulent mix.
Half taxis wander through the periodic haze,
Every symbol got a story, every number got a phase.

[Verse 2]
Seventy-nine, Aurum, Gold — the aunt's tight embrace,
Eighty's Hydrargyrum, Mercury, liquid silver face,
runs across the table like it's dodging every hand.
Eighty-one, Thallium, tall poison in the land,
slipped in coffee cups while nobody's watching close.
Eighty-two, Plumbum — Lead, the plumber's heavy pipe, I chose
that name for a reason, the metal bends but never breaks,
weighing down the water lines while the whole house shakes.

[Verse 3]
Eighty-three, Bismuth, big and rainbow-crusted bright,
crystal stairs of oxide catching cold cinematic light.
Eighty-four, Polonium, the poet's poison dart,
one microgram enough to still a healthy heart.
Eighty-five, Astatine, so rare it barely stays,
attacking existence for a few unstable days.
Eighty-six is Radon, chthonic — rising from the ground,
that means born of the underworld, seeping without sound
through granite floors and basements while the brass horns swell.
Row six ends in shadow, ringing like a funeral bell.

[Bridge]
Polonium poisoned a spy over evening tea,
Astatine's so scarce, man, it barely gets to be.
Radon breathes up chthonic from the rock beneath your feet —
row six is heavy metal, opulent and obsolete.

[Chorus]
Half taxis wander, red ostriches irritate pilots,
Aunts hug tall plumbers, big poets attack rain —
row six closing out from seventy-two to eighty-six,
heavy metal legacy, dark opulent mix.

[Outro]
Hafnium, Tantalum, Tungsten, Rhenium, Osmium, Iridium, Platinum, Gold,
Mercury, Thallium, Lead, Bismuth, Polonium, Astatine, Radon told —
fifteen names locked deep where the brass and piano meet,
row six is finished, heavy, opulent, complete.

← Chunk 7 — Lanthanides (58–71) | Chunk 9 — Row 7 start (87–89) →