[Verse 1]
Eighteen twenty-three, Döbereiner strikes a spark,
a jet of hydrogen hissing through the dark,
over platinum gauze — no flame, just heat,
ignition born quiet, a chemical feat.
Berzelius watched and he gave it a name,
eighteen thirty-five, "catalysis" became the frame —
a helper that nudges but never gets used,
lowers the hurdle so the bonds get loosed.
[Chorus]
Catalyst, catalyseur, o casamenteiro,
introduz as moléculas, não cobra dinheiro,
baisse l'énergie, drops the wall down low,
sai igual que entrou — regarde-le go!
Same mass, same face, pas de changement,
just speeding up love — c'est l'arrangement!
[Verse 2]
Nineteen seventy-five, American cars got new guts,
a honeycomb box bolted under their butts,
platinum, palladium, rhodium inside,
grab carbon monoxide before it can hide,
nitrogen oxides get split and rearranged,
out comes CO2, water, N2 — exchanged,
toxic breath in, harmless breath out the pipe,
the metal don't vanish, it's just doing its type.
[Chorus]
Catalyst, catalyseur, o casamenteiro,
introduz as moléculas, não cobra dinheiro,
baisse l'énergie, drops the wall down low,
sai igual que entrou — regarde-le go!
[Verse 3]
Cut a potato, pour peroxide on top,
catalase rips it, bubbles won't stop,
liver and yeast hold the very same key,
H two O two turns water plus O two — instantly free,
enzymes are catalysts built out of life,
folding just right to end molecular strife,
no furnace required, the body's own trick,
biology's chemistry, elegant and quick.
[Bridge]
But écoute, there's shadow behind the design —
nineteen seventy-four, Molina drew the line,
Rowland beside him, they counted the cost,
one chlorine atom, cent mille ozone lost,
CFCs rising, breaking loose up so high,
chlorine keeps catalyzing, never says goodbye,
the same little atom destroying thousands more,
a matchmaker turned monster at the ozone door.
[Verse 4]
Nineteen-oh-nine, Haber split the sky,
nitrogen and hydrogen, forced to comply,
iron catalyst holding the pressure and heat,
ammonia pours out, the reaction complete,
fertilizer born from the air that we breathe,
feeding billions of mouths that the old world couldn't feed,
the iron stays solid, never wears thin,
just opening the door for the atoms within,
Bosch scaled it up, industry's dream come true,
one surface of metal, a world made anew.
[Chorus]
Catalyst, catalyseur, o casamenteiro,
some speed up healing, some speed up perigo,
baisse l'énergie, c'est son seul métier,
sai igual que entrou, every single way.
[Outro]
Lower the hill, let the bonds combine,
unchanged at the finish, every single time,
matchmaker molecule, pequeno but strong,
catalyseur, catalyst — sing the chemistry song.
[Final Chorus]
Catalyst, catalyseur, o casamenteiro,
introduz as moléculas, não cobra dinheiro,
baisse l'énergie, drops the wall down low,
sai igual que entrou — regarde-le go!
Same mass, same face, pas de changement,
the chemistry of matchmaking — c'est l'arrangement!