The sun is a mass of incandescent gas lyrics

The sun is a mass of incandescent gas
A gigantic nuclear furnace
Where hydrogen is built into helium
At a temperature of millions of degrees
Yo ho, it's hot, the sun is not
A place where we could live
But here on earth there'd be no life
Without the light it gives

We need it's light
We need it's heat
We need it's energy
Without the sun, without a doubt
There'd be no you and me

The sun is a mass of incandescent gas
A gigantic nuclear furnace
Where hydrogen is built into helium
At a temperature of millions of degrees

The sun is hot

It is so hot that everything on it is a gas:
iron, copper, aluminum, and many others.

The sun is large

If the sun were hollow,
a million earths could fit inside.
and yet, the sun is only a middle-sized star.

The sun is far away

About 93 million miles away, and that's why it looks so small.

And even when it's out of sight
The sun shines night and day
The sun gives heat
The sun gives light
The sunlight that we see
The sunlight comes from our own sun's
Atomic energy

Scientists have found that the sun
is a huge atom-smashing machine.
the heat and light of the sun come
from the nuclear reactions of hydrogen,
carbon, nitrogen, and helium.

The sun is a mass of incandescent gas
A gigantic nuclear furnace
Where hydrogen is built into helium
At a temperature of millions of degrees

by They Might Be Giants

The sun is a mass of incandescent gas
A gigantic nuclear furnace
Where hydrogen is built into helium
At a temperature of millions of degrees

Yo ho, it's hot
The sun is not
A place where we could live
But here on Earth there'd be no life
Without the light it gives

We need its light
We need its heat
We need its energy

Without the sun,
Without a doubt,
There'd be no you and me

The sun is a mass of incandescent gas
A gigantic nuclear furnace
Where hydrogen is built into helium
At a temperature of millions of degrees

The sun is hot.
(spoken)
It is so hot that everything on it is a gas.
Iron, copper, aluminium, and many others.
(sung)
The sun is large.
(spoken)
If the sun were hollow, a million Earths could fit inside,
And yet, the sun is only a middle-sized star.
(sung)
The sun is far away.
(spoken)
About ninety-three million miles away!
And that's why it looks so small.
(sung)
And even when it's out of sight,
The sun shines night and day.

The sun gives heat
The sun gives light
The sunlight that we see
The sunlight comes from our own sun's atomic energy

(spoken)
Scientists have found that the sun is a huge atom-smashing machine.
The heat and light of the sun come from the nuclear reactions
of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and helium.

(sung)
The sun is a mass of incandescent gas
A gigantic nuclear furnace
Where hydrogen is built into helium
At a temperature of millions of degrees

Why Does The Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)
EP by They Might Be Giants
Released	September 14, 1993
Recorded	Excello (Brooklyn), Skyline (New York City)
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	9:57
Label	Elektra
Producer	They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants chronology
Apollo 18 (1992) Why Does The Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas) (1993) Back to Skull (1994)

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	[2]

Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas) is an EP by alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, released in 1993. The EP is notable for being their first release with a full-band lineup, rather than only the two original members (John Flansburgh and John Linnell) performing. It was also released as a single on 7-inch vinyl.

Songs[edit]

The title song is a cover of a song by Hy Zaret from Tom Glazer's 1959 album Space Songs. The lyrics for the refrain appear verbatim in the 1951 Golden Nature Guide Stars.[3] They Might Be Giants re-arranged the song in an uptempo version for their 1998 live album, Severe Tire Damage, and their 2009 children's album, Here Comes Science, on which they added the self-penned "Why Does the Sun Really Shine? (The Sun is a Miasma of Incandescent Plasma)", which corrects several factual inaccuracies in the original song. It was also included on the soundtrack to the children's game show Carmen Sandiego: Out of This World (1994).[4]

The second track, "Jessica", was originally recorded by the Allman Brothers Band for their 1973 album Brothers and Sisters. The third track, "Whirlpool", is a song written by alternative rock band Meat Puppets, and can be found on their 1991 album Forbidden Places. The fourth and final track, "Spy", is the lone original composition on the EP. It was later re-recorded for the band's successive studio album, John Henry, released in 1994.

Music video[edit]

A music video for the song directed by Maciek Albrecht was featured in an episode of the Nickelodeon television series KaBlam!. In the video, a group of students are listening to a scientist talk about the sun, which makes its way to them and shines its brightest.[5]

Track listing[edit]

CD

• The 7-inch vinyl release contains track 1 on side A and track 2 on side B.

Personnel[edit]

• John Linnell – accordion, saxophone, bass clarinet, vocal
• John Flansburgh – electric guitar, vocal

• Brian Doherty – drums, glockenspiel
• Kurt Hoffman – clarinet, saxophone
• Frank London – trumpet
• Graham Maby – bass guitar

• They Might Be Giants – producer
• Patrick Dillett – engineer, mixing

References[edit]

1. ^ "Why Does The Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas) - They Might Be Giants". Allmusic. Retrieved 2006-04-14.
2. ^ "CG: they might be giants". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
3. ^ Zim, Herbert S.; Baker, Robert H. (1951). Stars. New York: Golden Press. pp. 16 (1975 printing). "The sun is a mass of incandescent gas: a gigantic nuclear furnace where hydrogen is built into helium at a temperature of millions of degrees."
4. ^ Carmen Sandiego: Out of This World allmusic. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
5. ^ Video on YouTube

External links[edit]

• Why Does The Sun Shine? EP on This Might Be A Wiki
• "Why Does The Sun Shine?" (song) on This Might Be A Wiki
• Why Does The Sun Shine? at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences