My Heart
Tim Griffin
You know my heart has got four chambers
Two ventricles below, two atria above
And all four chambers are filled with love for you
But that’s a metaphor you see
Because my heart beats just for me
I need my heart to pump my blood
But that don’t mean I’m not in love with you
My right atrium gets blood from the venae cavae
Then sends it down through my tricuspid valve
My right ventricle contracts while my pulmonary valve acts
Like a one-way door going up you see to my pulmonary artery
My blood goes to my lungs to pick up oxygen
And also to get rid of CO2, oooh
The blood comes back again through my pulmonary veins
And then my heart keeps beating for me, not for you
You know my heart has got four chambers
Two ventricles below, two atria above
But that’s got nothing to do with love
It’s another thing entirely
You know I need my heart, it’s true
That’s why I won’t give it to you
You know I need my heart to pump my blood
But that don’t mean I’m not in love with you
My left atrium gets blood from the pulmonary veins
And sends it on down through my mitral valve
My left ventricle will squeeze blood out to my arteries
Through my aortic valve, you know it’s sorta like a one-way door to my aorta
My blood will circulate through all my systems
And pass through capillaries along the way
They say my heart has so much power, it beats four thousand times an hour
And pumps about two thousand gallons every day
You know my heart has got four chambers
Two ventricles below, two atria above
And all four chambers are filled with blood for me
I’ll never give my heart to you
But don’t let that make you blue
I only need my heart to pump my blood
And that don’t mean I’m not in love with you
I only need my heart to pump my blood
And that don’t mean I’m not in love with you.
Notes
There are many fine country songs about the human heart, whether the heart in question be lonesome, cheatin', or even achy breaky; but alas, they all get the physiology completely wrong. Tim is very grateful to Dr. Chris Robinson for his extensive help and patience in getting the science right on this song; any remaining errors are probably because Tim wasn't paying enough attention.
Here are some academic content standards (NGSS, Common Core, etc.) addressed by this song:
Fourth Grade
NGSS-4-LS1-1. Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction. (Heart, Cardiovascular System)
CC.SL.4.5. Add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.
Crosscutting Concepts: Systems and System Models. A system can be described in terms of its components and their interactions.
Middle School
MS-LS1-3. Use argument supported by evidence for how the body is a system of interacting subsystems composed of groups of cells.
Crosscutting Concept: Structure and Function. Complex and microscopic structures and systems can be visualized, modeled, and used to describe how their function depends on the relationships among its parts, therefore complex natural structures/systems can be analyzed to determine how they function.
High School
HS-LS1-2. Develop and use a model to illustrate the hierarchical organization of interacting systems that provide specific functions within multicellular organisms.
DCI.LS1.A: Structure and Function. Multicellular organisms have a hierarchical structural organization, in which any one system is made up of numerous parts and is itself a component of the next level.