Last Bell Lullaby for the Empty Hallway

Lyrics

The last bell rang an hour ago, the buses all rolled by
Paper stars still taped up on the window to the sky
I'm the teacher locking up, the keys heavy in my hand
Listening to the quiet that a thousand footsteps planned

Sleep now, empty hallway, summer's at the door
The lockers hum their lullaby, the sun lies on the floor
Every name you carried will be somewhere on the road
And I'll leave the hall light burning for the ones who still might go
Sleep now, empty hallway, sleep

There's a chalk dust constellation on the board from today
A heart drawn in the corner that somebody's rubbed half away
A sneaker lost beneath the desk, a note that's been unfolded
Little pieces of a year too brief to ever be held

Sleep now, empty hallway, summer's at the door
The lockers hum their lullaby, the sun lies on the floor
Every name you carried will be somewhere on the road
And I'll leave the hall light burning for the ones who still might go
Sleep now, empty hallway, sleep

Some will come back with stories, and some will never write
Some will fly so far they'll forget the way to this light
But the door's not ever locked here, not in the way that counts
There's always something burning for the ones who've come about

I turn the switch to half-light, and I walk out through the heat
The parking lot is shimmering, the whole world soft and sweet
I look back at the window where the last gold lingers on
And I whisper to the building, you did good, now rest, go on

Sleep now, empty hallway, summer's at the door
The lockers hum their lullaby, the sun lies on the floor
Every name you carried will be somewhere on the road
And I'll leave the hall light burning for the ones who still might go
Sleep now, empty hallway, sleep

Sleep now, empty hallway
Sleep