Well-known science songs by topic, with artists and years
Some science songs have become classics: they are widely known, often quoted in classrooms, and easy to find. Here are 21 of them by topic, with the artist, the year and where to find them. Each was checked against reliable sources; a few contain dated or simplified science, noted below.
Song titles are listed for reference only; we do not reproduce lyrics. We are not connected with any of the artists. Links go only to official pages we checked in November 2026.
The list
| Topic | Song | Artist | Year | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chemistry: elements | The Elements | Tom Lehrer | 1959 | Lyrics and sheet music (public domain) |
| Chemistry: elements | The Periodic Table Song (2018 Update!) | AsapSCIENCE | 2018 | YouTube (official) |
| Chemistry: elements | Meet the Elements | They Might Be Giants | 2009 | Album Here Comes Science; tmbg.com |
| Astronomy: the sun | Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas) | They Might Be Giants | 1993 | EP Why Does the Sun Shine? (song by Hy Zaret and Lou Singer, which first appeared on Tom Glazer’s 1959 album Space Songs) |
| Astronomy: the sun | Why Does the Sun Really Shine? (The Sun Is a Miasma of Incandescent Plasma) | They Might Be Giants | 2009 | Album Here Comes Science |
| Astronomy: planets | Interplanet Janet | Schoolhouse Rock! (Lynn Ahrens) | 1978 | Science Rock segments; Schoolhouse Rock! video collections |
| Astronomy: galaxy | Galaxy Song | Monty Python (Eric Idle and John Du Prez) | 1983 | Film Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life |
| Cosmology | A Glorious Dawn | Symphony of Science (melodysheep), with Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking | 2009 | symphonyofscience.com |
| Cosmology | Big Bang Theory Theme (“History of Everything”) | Barenaked Ladies (written by Ed Robertson) | 2007 | Theme of the TV series The Big Bang Theory |
| Physics: gravity | A Victim of Gravity | Schoolhouse Rock! (The Tokens) | 1978 | Science Rock segments |
| Physics: electricity | Electricity, Electricity | Schoolhouse Rock! (Bob Dorough) | 1979 | Science Rock segments |
| Physics: energy | The Energy Blues | Schoolhouse Rock! (Jack Sheldon) | 1979 | Science Rock segments |
| Physics: thermodynamics | First and Second Law | Flanders and Swann | 1963 | Stage show and live album At the Drop of Another Hat |
| Physics: thermodynamics | Entropy | MC Hawking (Ken Lawrence) | 2004 | Album A Brief History of Rhyme (the year is the album release) |
| Physics: string theory | Bohemian Gravity | A Capella Science (Tim Blais) | 2013 | A Capella Science on YouTube |
| Physics: particle colliders | Large Hadron Rap | Kate McAlpine (“alpinekat”) | 2008 | YouTube (original upload) |
| Physics: light and color | Roy G. Biv | They Might Be Giants | 2009 | Album Here Comes Science |
| Biology: body systems | The Body Machine | Schoolhouse Rock! | 1979 | Science Rock segments |
| Biology: circulation | Do the Circulation | Schoolhouse Rock! | 1979 | Science Rock segments |
| Biology: skeleton | Them Not-So-Dry Bones | Schoolhouse Rock! (Jack Sheldon) | 1979 | Science Rock segments |
| Math: pi | π | Kate Bush | 2005 | Album Aerial |
Years are the first release of the version listed. The Schoolhouse Rock! Science Rock segments first aired on US television in 1978–79; the name in brackets is the main writer or performer.
Accuracy notes for teachers
Famous does not mean correct. These notes make good starting points for a “find the error” activity (see using songs in the classroom).
- “The Elements” (1959) lists the elements known at the time, so the newer ones are missing. Tom Lehrer’s website offers extra lyrics for elements 103–118. The order follows the rhythm of the tune, not the periodic table.
- The two sun songs make a ready-made lesson. The 1993 recording describes the sun as a mass of incandescent gas. In 2009 the band released a follow-up that corrects it: the sun is made of plasma, a state of matter in which atoms have lost electrons.
- “Galaxy Song” (1983) gets several figures roughly right, such as Earth’s orbital speed, but understates how fast the sun moves around the center of the Milky Way. Students can check each number against current data.
- Schoolhouse Rock! Science Rock (1978–79) was made decades before Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006. Check how any older planet song describes Pluto.
- “π” (2005) is not a way to memorize pi: Kate Bush sings the digits to the 78th decimal place, then skips ahead.
- Parodies and raps such as MC Hawking’s tracks and some pop-song parodies may include language or images unsuitable for younger students. Preview before playing.
Finding more
For channels and collections that publish new science songs, see free science song collections. For the history of the MASSIVE song database and tips on searching, see where to find science songs. To learn the planet order, the spectrum or the elements without music, try our memory tricks.
Sources
- The Elements (song), Wikipedia
- The Elements, tomlehrersongs.com
- Why Does the Sun Shine?, Wikipedia
- Here Comes Science, Wikipedia
- List of Schoolhouse Rock! episodes, Wikipedia
- Galaxy Song, Wikipedia
- Symphony of Science, Wikipedia
- The Big Bang Theory, Wikipedia
- At the Drop of Another Hat, Wikipedia
- MC Hawking, Wikipedia
- Tim Blais, Wikipedia
- Katherine McAlpine, Wikipedia
- Aerial (album), Wikipedia
- Pluto, NASA Science