The Body Machine

The Body Machine is a song in Schoolhouse Rock!, which can be seen in Science Rock. The song teaches us how your body digests food.

Lyrics
Big Man: ''When you look down the street, what do you see? The street is overflowing with a lot of machines. Now I don't mean the buses, the trucks or cars. I'm talking about the people, Yeah, you know who they are.''

Both Man: ''I'm a machine, you're a machine Everybody that you know You know, they are machines. To keep your engine running you need energy For your high-powered, revved-up body machine. Your high-powered, revved-up body machine.''

Big Man: ''Now I'd be a fool, if I said that the fuel that We needed to burn was gasoline, Because the fuel we use is the stuff called food And it puts out the power for our machine. You make a stop at the filling station,'' Moustache Man: "Fill 'er up! One chicken sandwich to go!" Big Man: ''As you start to chew, Your body does it. All systems go!''

Moustache Man: Now that sandwich contains some very important kinds of food energy for your body. The chicken gives you protein; bread, carbohydrates; mayonnaise, fat; and the lettuce has vitamins, plus cellulose (or roughage). Together these things help keep your body machine running smoothly.

Big Man: First the saliva, kind of like a driver Moustache: "Move to the rear of the mouth!" Big Man: ''But what it's doing Along with teeth chewing, Is taking food and breaking it down.''

''Down to the stomach, The food is pushed, the esophagus does its stuff'' And the stomach starts, Moustache Man: Look at those moving parts,... Big Man: ''As the body machine churns up Gastric juices operate on proteins, Fats and carbohydrates.''

''In the stomach they do what they do. They take out nutrition and use it for you. And the cellulose, in those leaves you know, Will control the traffic flow. Helps the food to move along so the good stays in, And the bad gets goin'.''

Both Man: ''I'm a machine, you're a machine Everybody that you know You know, they are machines. To keep your engine running you need energy For your high-powered, revved-up body machine. Your high-powered, revved-up body machine.''

Big Man: ''Then the small intestine does most of your digesting, By sending all the nutrients In through the villi,...'' Moustache Man: Which look a little silli But act as little vents Moustache Man: ''The bloodstream passes; the nutrients it catches And takes them to the cells you see, You use what it delivers,'' Big Man: And store some in the liver For future energy.

Both Man: ''I'm a machine, you're a machine Everybody that you know You know, they are machines. To keep your engine running you need energy For your high-powered, revved-up body machine. Your high-powered, revved-up body machine. Your high-powered, revved-up body machine. High-powered, revved-up, complicated tune-up, Fascinating body machine.''

Moustache Man: Take care of that machine. You got such a great model there, honey! Give it the right fuel High protein, low calorie Take it out for a spin every day!