I Masticate Three Times a Day (Masticate)

Lyrics

[Intro]

[Verse 1]
Horace Fletcher, born in 1849,
Sat at his oak table in the Victorian dining room,
Gaslight flickering on lace and silver.
He picked up the engraved spoon,
Dipped it into steamed vegetables,
Boiled cabbage scent mixing with musty books.
Thirty-two chews per bite, he said,
One for each tooth in a healthy mouth.
Nature will castigate those who don't masticate.

[Chorus]
I masticate three times a day,
In the cool 60 degrees of afternoon light,
Around 4 PM, with dry toast and lukewarm milk.
Feel the jaw muscles work, the tongue pressing,
Saliva mixing, enzymes waking.
It's not what you think, but oh, the rhythm,
The slow grind, the thorough breakdown.

[Verse 2]
In 1903, New York lecture hall,
Antiseptic tang and damp wool coats.
He stood there, at 54, claiming youth at sixty.
Fletcherizing, he called it,
Chewing till the food turns liquid,
No rush, no swallow too soon.
The dental mirror checks the efficiency,
Porcelain plate with mutton remnants,
A horse-drawn carriage waits outside.

[Chorus]
I masticate three times a day,
In the cool 60 degrees of afternoon light,
Around 4 PM, with dry toast and lukewarm milk.
Feel the jaw muscles work, the tongue pressing,
Saliva mixing, enzymes waking.
It's not what you think, but oh, the rhythm,
The slow grind, the thorough breakdown.

[Bridge]
What of his wife, unnamed in the records,
Did she count her chews at the family table?
The servants whispering in the kitchen,
Mocking the fine art of mastication.
A quirk in the gaps of history,
Lost reactions to his extreme rituals.
But here I am, Kiki, sharp and spiky,
Playing with the word that sounds so wrong.

[Outro]
So masticate with me, Horace,
In this cigar-room without the cigar,
Just the intimacy of chew and swallow.
Nature's way, playful and pure.