[Verse 1] Drop an iron nail in a jar of blue, copper sulfate water, watch what it'll do, the sapphire liquid turns pale and thin, iron shoves the copper right out of its skin. A plus BC, arrow, AC plus B, that's the formula, simple as can be, one metal elbows, the other retreats, single displacement, a quiet little heist. [Chorus] Elbowing in, c'est la bagarre, o ferro supplanta o cobre, lá vai, stronger shoves weaker clean out the door, elbowing in — who's reactive, who's not anymore, qui pousse plus fort, gagne toujours. [Verse 2] Potassium, sodium, up at the crown, lithium, calcium, climbing on down, zinc and iron hustle in the middle of the race, gold and platinum just loiter, dead last place. The activity series, a ladder of might, whoever stands higher will usurp overnight — usurp means to seize what was never your own, they topple the weaklings and steal the whole throne. [Chorus] Elbowing in, c'est la bagarre, o ferro supplanta o cobre, lá vai, stronger shoves weaker clean out the door, elbowing in — who's reactive, who's not anymore, qui pousse plus fort, gagne toujours. [Verse 3] This is old mining, the prospector's tale, reactive metals go hunting through shale, they pull silver and gold from their locked-up embrace, elbowing weaker bonds right out of place. Batteries hum on this very same war, electrons go marching from one metal's shore, corrosion's the slow, sadder half of the deal — a nail left out bleeding its orange appeal. [Bridge] Mon ami le zinc, il pousse le cuivre dehors, minha moeda enferruja, perdendo a cor, one reaction building, another decays, the same tug of war dressed a hundred new ways, batteries sparking and bumpers corrode, same elbow, same shove, just a different road. [Chorus] Elbowing in, c'est la bagarre, o ferro supplanta o cobre, lá vai, stronger shoves weaker clean out the door, elbowing in — who's reactive, who's not anymore, qui pousse plus fort, gagne toujours. [Verse 4] In the lab we test it with tongs and with care, dropping zinc into acid, watch bubbles appear, hydrogen rising, a fizzing bright cheer, zinc shoves the hydrogen, the proof is right here. Predicting reactions before they begin, just check the ladder and see who will win, chemistry's a game of who's bold, who's shy, the strong metal conquers, the weak say goodbye. Every rivet, every pipe in the ground, knows this quiet war without making a sound, from ancient alchemists to modern-day plants, the ladder of metals still calls all the shots. [Chorus] Elbowing in, c'est la bagarre, o ferro supplanta o cobre, lá vai, stronger shoves weaker clean out the door, elbowing in — who's reactive, who's not anymore, qui pousse plus fort, gagne toujours. [Outro] A plus BC, AC plus B, elbowing in, that's chemistry, quem é mais forte sempre vai vencer, qui pousse le plus fort gagne toujours, you'll see.
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