[Verse 1]
Thirty-three bones stacked in a baby's spine,
Little chalky disks in a crooked line,
Latin whisper, "vertere," to turn and to twist,
That's the name they gave to this twisting fist
Of knuckles down your back, a drawbridge made of bone,
Holding up your skull like a crown on a throne,
By the time you're grown some fuse into one,
Thirty-three shrinks down to twenty-six, done.
[Chorus]
Breakfast at seven, cervical count,
Lunch at twelve, thoracic amount,
Dinner at five, lumbar on the plate,
Sacrum's the fused five, coccyx seals your fate,
Count the courses, clear your head,
That's the menu stacked from your neck to your bed,
Seven, twelve, and five again,
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner — the stack of vertebrae, friend.
[Verse 2]
Mouse or man or giraffe with a sky-high chin,
Seven in the neck is where they all begin,
Nature drew the line and never redrew it twice,
Long neck, short neck, same cervical price.
Feel the bump where your collar meets your hair,
That's C7, vertebra prominens sitting there,
The one that pokes out when you duck your head low,
Landmark bone the surgeons always know.
[Verse 3]
Your spine's no ruler, it curves like a tide,
Lordosis dips in at the neck and the side,
Kyphosis humps out through the chest and the base,
Natural waves, not a flaw to erase,
But scoliosis slides off to the east or the west,
A sideways bend that the doctor will test,
Cartilage cushions called discs in between,
Jelly-soft shock absorbers, rarely seen.
[Chorus]
Breakfast at seven, cervical count,
Lunch at twelve, thoracic amount,
Dinner at five, lumbar on the plate,
Sacrum's the fused five, coccyx seals your fate,
Count the courses, clear your head,
That's the menu stacked from your neck to your bed,
Seven, twelve, and five again,
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner — the stack of vertebrae, friend.
[Bridge]
But years can hollow the chalky bone,
Osteoporosis creeps in alone,
A sneeze, a stumble, a cough too strong,
Compression fractures crush the body along,
The vertebra caves like a soda can,
Shrinking the stack in an older man,
So guard your calcium, guard your core,
Keep the drawbridge standing, bone to bone, forevermore.
[Verse 4]
From the base of your skull to the curve of your hip,
Every nerve in your body takes this highway trip,
Spinal cord threaded through the bony hall,
Guarding the signals that answer your call,
Protect it well, for it's fragile and rare,
The whole of your body depends on its care.
[Outro]
Seven for the morning, twelve for the noon,
Five for the evening, the sacrum's a fused platoon,
Coccyx trails behind like a worn-out tail,
Twenty-six strong, the stack won't fail,
Vertere, turning, bone over bone,
The stack of vertebrae — your built-in throne.