The Last Bell Rings Out Slow

Lyrics

The chairs are up on the desks tonight
The board is wiped to a ghostly grey
Someone left a sleeve of chalk
And a paper plane that never flew away
The corridor is a held-in breath
The windows throw their gold on the floor
I fold the register shut one last time
And stand a while by the classroom door

The last bell rings out slow
Like it knows we're not ready to go
Names I said a thousand times
Still hanging in the afternoon glow
Go on, go on, the world is wide
I'll be here with the lights turned low
The last bell rings out slow

A drawing taped inside my drawer
A horse with five legs, bravely drawn
A note that says thanks for the patience, sir
In a hand that was small and is nearly grown
I learned more than I ever taught
From the ones who asked me why
I'll keep the sound of the sharpened pencils
And the hush before they'd try

The last bell rings out slow
Like it knows we're not ready to go
Names I said a thousand times
Still hanging in the afternoon glow
Go on, go on, the world is wide
I'll be here with the lights turned low
The last bell rings out slow

September will bring a different crowd
New shoes, new nerves, new names to learn
But I'll think of you when the light comes in
Slanting sideways, and it's my turn
To say it plain, to say it true
You were good, you were good, you were good

The last bell rings out slow
Like it knows we're not ready to go
Names I said a thousand times
Still hanging in the afternoon glow
Go on, go on, the world is wide
I'll be here with the lights turned low
The last bell rings out slow

The door swings shut, the key turns round
And the bell rings out slow