Make Way for Lawrencium

Lyrics

[Verse 1] At the far end of the ledger, where the heavy names are spun, A new lord takes his place beneath the California sun. Ninety-three was neptunium, ninety-four plutonium’s reign, Then the table keeps its counsel till the next one joins the chain. [Chorus] Make way for lawrencium, the hundred-and-third, A fleeting little sovereign with a difficult word. From the cyclotron’s bright court to the chemist’s careful hand, He wears his place in silence at the table of the land. [Verse 2] Named for Ernest Lawrence and the machine that bore his name, Its atoms pass like couriers; no two linger quite the same. The actinide procession draws its final curtain near, And lawrencium steps forward, brief of life but crystal clear. [Chorus] Make way for lawrencium, the hundred-and-third, A fleeting little sovereign with a difficult word. From the cyclotron’s bright court to the chemist’s careful hand, He wears his place in silence at the table of the land. [Bridge] No crown of gold, no marble hall, Just tiny traces, measured small. Yet one more square completes the row— A noble name the numbers know. [Final Chorus] Make way for lawrencium, the hundred-and-third, A fleeting little sovereign with a difficult word. Though scarcely seen, his seat is earned, his title will endure; The court records the element, precise and quite obscure. [Outro] The ledger closes, candles low, One hundred three: let lawrencium show.