Killer Benzene

KILLER BENZENE
Based on “Killer Queen” by, well, Queen
Original words and music by Freddie Mercury
For my Mum and Dad

It keeps all of its six carbons
In a planar hexagon,
All bonds the same, with each
Carbon bound to hydrogen;
Two carbon electrons
Form carbon-carbon sigma bonds,
And one's in every C-H bond - but carbon's got four:
Those six spare electrons are
In a pi molecular
Delocalised orbital -

It's a killer benzene - resonance stabilised,
Electrons are delocalised
Sigma bonds are strengthened by
Partial pi!
Ooh, recognised carcinogen
And probably a mutagen -
Wanna die?
It avoids hydrogenation
More than cyclohexatriene,
Stabilisation
Comes from aromaticity:
Pi electrons spread around
In a diffuse, planar cloud
Make all the bonds identical, and not keen to break;
It might just undergo addition (addition)
In quite severe conditions,
But products are hard to make -

It's a killer benzene - resonance stabilised,
Electrons are delocalised,
Sigma bonds are strengthened by
Partial pi!...
Find it in Kevlar and TCP,
Polystyrene, TNT:
Reluctantly undergoes reactions,
Substituting its hydrogens
But only for electrophiiiiiles
-phiiiiles

(They're out to get you...)

It's a killer benzene - resonance stabilised,
Electrons are delocalised
Sigma bonds are strengthened by
Partial pi;
Ooh, recognised carcinogen
And probably a mutagen -
Wanna die?