fish-like thing appeared among the annelids one day.
It hadn't any parapods nor cetae to display.
It hadn't any lungs, nor jaws, nor ventral nervous cord,
But it had a lot of gill slits and it had a notochord.
 [bad word] 
It's a long way from Amphioxus. It's a long way to us.
It's a long way from Amphioxus to the meanest human cuss.
Well, it's goodbye to fins and gill slits, and [bad word]  lungs and hair!
It's a long, long way from Amphioxus, but we all came from there.

He wasn't much to look at and he scarce knew how to swim,
And Nereus was very sure he [bad word] from him.
The mollusks wouldn't own it and the arthropods got sore,
So the poor thing had to burrow in the sand along the shore.
 [bad word] 

He burrowed in the sand before a crab could nip his tail,
And he said "Gill slits and miotomes are all to no avail.
I've grown a metapleural fold and sport an aural hood,
But all these fine new characters don't do me any good.
 [bad word] 

He sulked awhile down in the sand without a lot of pep,
Then he stiffened up his notochord and said, "I'll beat 'em yet!
Let 'em laugh and show their ignorance. I don't mind their jeers.
Just wait until they see me in hundred million years.
 [bad word] 

My notochord shall change into a chain of vertebrae
And as fins my metapleural folds shall agitate the sea.
My tiny ventral nervous cord will be a mighty brain
And the vertebrates shall dominate the animal domain.
 [bad word] 
Read more at [bad word] /www [bad word] hinton-sam/amphioxus-lyrics/#kxCQLTm2I0CluB0A.99