(Verse 1)

Down in Falmouth, where the tide runs late

By the edge of Buzzards Bay's gate

Lies the mud of Sippewissett marsh so grey

A hidden chapter waiting for the day

We dipped our bottles in the dark, dark pool

Pulled a sample, followed science's rule

Sulfidic sediment, rich and deep

Secrets that the salty waters keep.

(Verse 2)

Beneath the surface, out of sight

Live the MMB, guided by the light

Not the sun above, but the Earth's own pull

Magnetic whispers make their lives full

Multicellular, in chains they reside

Bacteria with an iron heart inside

Waiting for the dark, just out of view

In the marsh mud, ancient, strange, and new.

(Chorus)

Oh, the Sippewissett mud, a world unknown

Where tiny magnets make their home

From sediment slurry, tightly sealed

A universe of wonder revealed

MMB, MMB, deep and dark and grand

The unseen life in the Falmouth land.

(Verse 3)

We bottled 'em up, took 'em from their bed

Incubated 'em deep, where they were bred

Twenty-four hours, tucked in the ground

Listening for the life that could be found

Some in big bottles, some in little vials

For the kill control, across the miles

A scientific quest, a patient wait

To unlock the secrets of their fate.

(Verse 4)

With 16S genes, we began to trace

Their family lines, their ancient place

Groups emerged, a phylogenetic tree

From Simmons' studies, and now for all to see

Group 1, they numbered, the dominant kind

Leaving other magnetics far behind

With shiny probes, like tiny colored light

We peered inside them, showing left and right.

(Verse 5)

Activity varies, step by step

Deeper down, their energy slept

Top few centimeters, alive and bold

Feeding on bicarbonate, stories told

Acetate too, they truly loved to feast

Group 1 was fastest, from west to east

BONCAT showed their hunger, how they grew

Anabolic engines, pushing life right through.

(Verse 6)

Inside their walls, what treasures do they hold?

Greigite crystals, shining like gold

The magnetosomes, lined up in a row

Guiding pathways in the ebb and flow

PHB, lipids, energy stored so neat

And sticky layers, something hard to beat

We hit 'em with cellulase, the surface wore away

A mystery membrane, seen another day.

(Bridge)

From Raman spectra, peaks begin to rise

Polymer stories before our eyes

NanoSIMS whispers, where the carbon went

Tracking isotopes, time and money spent

Correlative imaging, SEM, FISH, and more

Laying out their structure, layer by pore

Genomes analyzed, selection's guiding hand

Shaping life in this dark, muddy land.

(Chorus)

Oh, the Sippewissett mud, a world unknown

Where tiny magnets make their home

From sediment slurry, tightly sealed

A universe of wonder revealed

MMB, MMB, deep and dark and grand

The unseen life in the Falmouth land.

(Outro)

So next time you see the marsh grass sway

Remember the world beneath the bay

The MMB are waiting, down below

Making their way, where the magnetics go