The Periodic Table of Songs Trivia Quiz

Answer: Tin

Originally released by The Original Caste, "One Tin Soldier" (1969) was written by Brian Potter and Dennis Lambert.

The message was definitely anti-war and anti-materialistic, as the story talked about one group of people sitting on a treasure that another group coveted. Offering to share the treasure didn't save the mountain kingdom from being wiped out by the valley folk, who found that the treasure they had killed to possess was simply peace on Earth.

The song was used in the movie "Billy Jack" (1971) for which, I was surprised to find, it was re-recorded by Jinx Dawson of Coven. I had always thought that The Original Caste version was used in the movie.

Hats off to skunkee for this stunning question on stannum!

Answer: Copper Kettle

"Copper Kettle (The Pale Moonlight)" is a song about making moonshine, and the quoted line ends each verse.

The first verse goes like this:

"Get you a copper kettle, get you a copper coil
Fill it with new made corn mash and never more you'll toil
You'll just lay there by the juniper while the moon is bright
Watch them jugs a-filling in the pale moonlight."

Later verses go on to tell that there is a family tradition of making moonshine whiskey, and not paying tax on their alcoholic beverages.

Here's a (completely legal) toast to spanishliz for this fine copper question!

Answer: Oxygen

"Love is like oxygen
You get too much you get too high
Not enough and you're gonna die
Love gets you high"

Sweet was a British band formed in 1970 and used an amalgam of popular musical forms of the day to forge their identity. They were part "bubblegum" in terms of their root style (albeit with a little bit more of an edge), played their instruments like a metal band would but they looked like a "glam" band in appearance. Add it up and in the end, they were a rock band with a "shtick". Despite this split personality, somehow they made it work starting with their Number Three hit "Little Willy" (1973) followed up with two Number Five hits, "Ballroom Blitz" (1975) and "Fox On The Run" (1976).

"Love Is Like Oxygen" would be their last gasp, as it were, later releases making little or no impression on the charts. Lead singer, Brian Connelly, left the group right after the release of this hit and by 1982, they would breathe no more save for a couple of short-lived reunions later in the decade.

Kudos to maddogrick16 for a breathtaking question!

Answer: Lithium

Sting is singing about his troubles being eased by a "Lithium Sunset", a clear reference to the mood stabilizing drug that is used to treat manic depression and bipolar disorder. He reportedly got his inspiration for the song from a Brazilian shaman with a degree in chemistry, who told him that sunlight is composed of many elements, one of them being lithium. The song is about how people can obtain a great deal of solace from watching a sunset, and is an ode about "this natural medication that is available to all". The final words in the song are the same as the name of the album it's on, "Mercury Falling", another elemental title.

Cheer up, jmorrow, for your anti-depressant remedy proved uplifting indeed!

Answer: Hydrogen Jukebox

"...listening to the crack of doom on the hydrogen jukebox", wrote Allan Ginsberg in his landmark poem "Howl". The phrase exemplifies a literary device that Ginsberg often used, and that he called an "eyeball kick" - the juxtaposition of two contrasting images to create an immediate and powerful effect.

Avant-garde composer Philip Glass used it as the title of his song collection in which he set to music 21 Ginsberg poems ranging from personal introspection to reflections on social issues like drugs, anti-war movement, sexual revolution, Eastern philosophy or environment concerns.

Intended as an epic portrait of American life from the 1950s to the 1980s, "Hydrogen Jukebox" is scored for chamber ensemble and six voices representing six archetypal American characters: a waitress, a priest, a cheerleader, a policewoman, a businessman and a mechanic.

The work was premiered in 1990 at the Spoleto Music Festival in Charleston, SC, with Philip Glass at the piano and Allan Ginsberg as the narrator.

Salutations to Arlesienne for a top notch question on element No.1!

Answer: Silver

"Maxwell's Silver Hammer" was a pop rock song sung by The Beatles and released in September, 1969. It was written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon with the lead singing role going to Paul. The song was about a medical student called Maxwell Edson who uses his silver hammer to kill his girlfriend. He also uses it on his teacher and the judge at his murder trial.

George Harrison claimed that "you either like the song or you loathe it" (1969). It had a catchy, memorable tune and Ringo Starr mentioned that it was "the worst track we ever had to record. It went on for weeks" (1969).

Lay down that hammer and raise your thumbs up for Soozy_Woozy on her first of two appearances in this quiz!

Answer: Uranium

"Who wants to be a millionaire? I don't.
Who wants uranium to spare? I don't.
Who wants to journey on a gigantic yacht?
Do I want a yacht? Oh, how I do not."

The movie "High Society" (1956) had a cracker of a cast, with Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly and Sinatra starring. Louis Armstrong and his band also appeared. The movie won an Oscar for Best Song, but NOT for "Millionaire"; instead, the gong went to "True Love".

A million thanks to ozzz2002 - that's what we call enriching uranium!

Answer: Fields of Gold

Sting penned "Fields of Gold" and it was released on the album "Ten Summoner's Tales" (1993).

Eva had the song suggested to her by Mike Dove when she was collecting songs for her locally released album "Live at Blues Alley" (1996).

The evocative lyrics and Cassidy's brilliant interpretation of this song can easily reduce the listener to tears.

Song bird Eva was a Washington DC native and died in 1996, the same year "Fields of Gold" was released on her live album. She died of a malignant melanoma at the age of 33.

"You'll remember me when the west wind moves
Among the fields of barley
You can tell the sun in his jealous sky
When we walked in fields of gold"

Hail Nannanut as she went for gold, and got it!

Answer: Bromine

"Magog (in Bromine Chambers)" is preceded by the piece "Gog". Together they provide an impressing and hectic ending to this album which is otherwise notably melodic.

"In Bromine Chambers
There can be no mercy,
No bitter flagellation for your sins;
No forgiveness and no sackcloth
Can cease the dance
Of ashes on the wind."

Another elemental Hammill citation would be the title of the third album released by his group Van der Graaf Generator (VdGG): "H to He, Who Am the Only One" (1970). As their name suggests, modern science played a major role in VdGG's art. The title refers to the sun's primary energy cycle where the fusion of hydrogen nuclei forms a helium nucleus in a process which releases the energy that enables life on earth.

And another one is found in the opening verse of their classic "My Room (Waiting for Wonderland)" from the album "Still Life" (1976):

"Searching for diamonds in the sulphur mine
Leaning on props which are rotten
Hoping for anything, looking for a sign
That I am not forgotten"

This is gentlegiant17 taking the opportunity to thank you for playing this quiz of ours.

Answer: The Elements

Tom Lehrer was a Harvard math teacher and musical humorist who wrote "The Elements" in 1959. At the time there were 102 known chemical elements, but since then 15 more have been discovered.

The song is sung to the tune of the "Major General's Song" from "The Pirates of Penzance". Rapper Jesse Dangerously has recorded this song on his album called "How To Express Your Dissenting Political Viewpoint Through Origami".

Lehrer's song is a popular aide to some Chemistry students who learn the elements by memorizing the song.

For providing us with a best-fitting closing question please join me in hooraying: "Elementary, our dear Soozy_Woozy!".