Mary Anning sets her eyes on
an impossible far horizon
With the pounding surf behind her
she’s the queen of the fossil finders
She sells sea shells on the sea shore
as the sands of time slip by her
She sells sea shells on the sea shore
Now we know more than we’ve ever done before
crumbling clifftops let her teach us
of incredible vanished creatures
learned men all fuss and fight for
fossils Mary has risked her life for
She sells sea shells on the sea shore
just to keep the wolf from her door
she sells sea shells on the sea shore
Now we know more than we’ve ever done before
And as she pushes back the veil on what we know
And finds the bones from which great reputations grow
She is penniless, fatherless, unrewarded, undaunted just the same
Let’s chip away the misplaced history, uncovering Mary’s name
She sells sea shells on the sea shore
But she offers the world so much more
She sells sea shells on the sea shore
belemnite and ichthyosaur
she sells sea shells on the sea shore
nursery rhyme no fitting reward
she sells sea shells on the seashore
pterodactyl, plesiosaur
One of several biographical songs for a forthcoming project, "Giants of Science!"