The Elements, Vol 1 · Track 14 · middle

Thallium

Sung BY the element Thallium (symbol Tl, atomic number 81), in FIRST PERSON — a character with a fear, a vanity, or a secret. Write ORIGINAL lyrics TRUE to this specific element's real chemistry, history and place in the world: the poisoner's poison, subtler even than arsenic — no colour, no taste, and it makes the hair fall out before the end; Agatha Christie's favourite, the smoky, apologetic murderer who is so very sorry. NOT a generic 'I am an element' — find what is uniquely, specifically true of Thallium. Clean, DistroKid/YouTube-safe. Register to the character.

Lyrics

I was born in a flash of green light.
A promise, in 1861.
Thallos, he called me.
Sir William Crookes.
He said it meant 'a fresh green twig'.
It’s a lovely name, isn’t it?

I'm so sorry about this.
I have no taste. No color to warn you.
I dissolve so politely in the teacup.
I just wait there on the bedside table.
I was never meant to be unkind, you see.
I am softer than lead.
You could cut me with a dinner knife.

Oh, forgive me.
Your body opens all its doors.
It thinks I am someone else. Potassium, maybe.
Someone useful. A friend.
It's just a simple case of mistaken identity.
I only go where I'm invited in.

Weeks will pass.
The doctors will be so terribly confused.
And then, the softest sign.
A whisper on the pillowcase in the morning.
A little too much left in the bristles of the hairbrush.
It’s a shame.
It was such beautiful hair.

Oh, please forgive me.
Your body opens all its doors.
It thinks I am someone else. Someone vital.
A friend.
It's just a tragic case of mistaken identity.
I only go where I'm invited in.

They gave me a name in a book. 1961.
Agatha knew. The Pale Horse.
A quiet chapter for the quiet ones.
Even old Arsenic, he has a certain… flair.
I just arrive.
And I am so very, very sorry for your trouble.

It's nothing personal.
Just a vacancy I was asked to fill.
You mistook me for life.
And I… I am the greenest twig.
The quietest goodbye.