[Verse]
I've been asked to give you a lecture on Carl von Linné
The task seems to me extremely hard to fulfill
As I'm
Of course
Not competent to talk about him
Even if I were
The personality and work of Carl von Linné
Are much too extensive to be treated in a lecture of this kind
Besides
The theme itself is of no interest
But the significance of Linné's work
And
At least
Its importance in connection with the naming of nature

[Chorus]
Nomenclature
[Post-Chorus]
Is too important to be neglected
Nomenclature
In naming nature
Linné did not aim at finding new names
But at introducing some sort of system
Which was simple enough to allow everybody to use it
Therefore
He did not invent the names
But he selected those already existing
Which
In his opinion
Were the best ones
From the first
He had a predilection for short names
As he found them easy to remember
Therefore
He abandoned long names
In cases where he thought it possible

[Verse]
On this account
He came into opposition
With the powerful and respected professors of Holland
Particularly the famous van Royen and van Roy
Who were leading botanists at that time
And the fathers of scientific naming
These professors liked long and sonorous names
Which to their ears were of better sound than short ones
Thus
The flowers of the calceolaria family
Which Linné gave the name of "lips" were called by van Royen "antirrhina"
Which is a name still used

[Chorus]
Nomenclature
[Post-Chorus]
The names invented by van Royen
Which still are retained in nomenclature
Are
On the whole
Rather difficult to understand
Which
Of course
Makes them easier to remember
Therefore
There is no reason for astonishment
That the simple system of Linné soon spread all over the world
Even the botanists of Holland and France
Where the names of Linné were met with a certain resistance
Soon adopted the Linnaean system of naming
But we must not forget that Linné was not the only scientist
Who tried to introduce some sort of system into nomenclature
In order to make it more easy to use