Kevin Ahern's Wildly Popular Metabolic Melodies


I wrote 35 songs below for the BB 350, BB 450/550 and BB 451/551 classes I teach at Oregon State University and the 5 additional songs were contributed by Tari Tan (3), Tony Rianprakaisang, and Indira Rajagopal. At the end of the quarter, I sing the songs to the class as a study aid. The parts sung by the instructor and by the class are identified below. Try them out on your classes and let me know how they work for you.

6/6/08 - One new song (My 'A')
4/12/08
- Four new videos of students singing Metabolic Melodies on YouTube (linked with the relevant songs below).
4/04/08
One new set of lyrics (The Proteins Go Marching One by One, by Tari Tan), one new recording (I'm a Little Mitochondrion) and a PDF of the entire collection of lyrics have been added.
3/14/08 - Four new sets of lyrics - see below.
3/8/08 - One new recording below (If You're Molecular and Know It . . . ). Work on the new album is progressing. One YouTube video added (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25BTgtRihkY) and five more on the way.
2/2/08 - Five new recordings are available below. I'm also happy to report that we are working on a second album and hope to release it later this year.
10/14/07 - Announcing the release of "The Wildly Popular Metabolic Melodies" CD (lyrics
HERE), recorded by Tim Karplus. It can be purchased online from Lulu at http://www.lulu.com/content/1307905 or alternatively may be ordered by check or money order from Kevin Ahern at "Dept. of Bioch./Bioph., OSU, Corvallis, OR 97330". The cost is $12.99 and payment should made be to "Kevin Ahern".
Also - "The Metabolic Melodies 2008 Calendar" is available for sale through Lulu publishers. The URL for purchase is http://www.lulu.com/content/1308886

The Songs

PDF of all the Lyrics HERE / PDF of Lyrics on the CD HERE (thanks, Andy!)

My 'A' (to the tune of "My Way")

The Cycle Known as TCA
(by Tari Tan - to the tune of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen") (recording in progress :-))

PCR Woes (by Tony Rianprakaisang - to the tune of "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain When She Comes") (recording in progress :-))

Central Dogma Zen (by Indira Rajagopal and Kevin Ahern- to the tune of "Those Were the Days, My Friend") (recording in progress :-))

Test Gently on Glycolysis (by Tari Tan - to the tune of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen")  

Gluconeogenesis (to the tune of to the tune of "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious") Download HERE / See YouTube video HERE

The Proteins Marching One by One (by Tari Tan - to the tune of "The Ants Go Marching One by One")

Oh Delta Gee (to the tune of "Oh Danny Boy")

When Acids are Synthesized (to the tune of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home") Download HERE

Prostaglandins (to the tune of "Oklahoma!") Download HERE

Translation (to the tune of "Maria" from West Side Story) Download HERE

Thank God There's a Video (to the tune of "Thank God I'm a Country Boy")

The Tao of Hormones (to the tune of "The Sound of Silence") Download HERE

Hemoglobin's Moving Around (to the tune of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town") Download HERE / See YouTube video HERE

Oh Daddy Dear (for Dad's Weekend - to the tune of "Oh Danny Boy")

This Song's For BB Three Five Oh (to the tune of "This Land is Your Land")

When Acids Get Oxidized (to the tune of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home") Download HERE / See YouTube video HERE

Brain Farts Just Happen In My Head (to the tune of "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head") Download HERE

Biochemistry Pie (to the tune of "American Pie") Download HERE

This Biochemistry (to the tune of "My Country 'Tis of Thee")

The Codon Song (to the tune of "When I'm 64") Download HERE

The Ribosome (to the tune of "America the Beautiful") Download HERE See YouTube video HERE

Glucagon is Coming Around (to the tune of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town") Download HERE

Biochemistry, Biochemistry (to the tune of "Oh Christmas Tree") Download HERE

N-A-D (to the tune of "Penny Lane") Download HERE

The E. coli Song (to the tune of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer") Download HERE

The Vegetarian Song (to the tune of "Blowin' in the Wind") Download HERE

B-DNA (to the tune of "YMCA") - Download HERE

Oh Little Protein Molecule (to the tune of "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem") Download HERE

The Cell's Lament (to the tune of "Yesterday") Download HERE

If You're Molecular and Know It, Clap Your Hands (to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands") Download HERE (new)

The Sound of Glucose (to the tune of "A Few of My Favorite Things") Download HERE

Hark the Sucrose (to the tune of "Hark the Herald") Download HERE / See YouTube video HERE

God Rest Ye Merry Lipoproteins (to the tune of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen") Download HERE

En-er-gy (to the tune of "Let It Be") Download HERE

I'm a Little Mitochondrion (to the tune of "I'm A Lumberjack") Download HERE

The Battle Hymn of Biochemistry (to the tune of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic")

We All Need Just a Little ATP (to the tune of "Yellow Submarine") Download HERE

Fatty Acids in Our Cells (to the tune of "Halls of Montezuma")

By the way, if you enjoy the songs, you might also be interested in my new book HERE