The Last Bell

[intro]
One last morning, chalk dust on my sleeves
The parking lot already full of autumn leaves

[verse 1]
Thirty kids in room 204, September '85
I barely looked a day over twenty-five
I stumbled through the syllabus, my hands were shaking some
By June they taught me more than I was teaching them

[verse 2]
Pencils worn to nubs, the fire drill in the rain
Ashley falling asleep, I let her dream again
The kid who couldn't read until one Tuesday he just could
Forty years of Tuesdays, man, I'd take 'em all if I could

[chorus]
So ring the last bell, let it echo down the hall
Take my name off the door, I've given it my all
Every comma, every car crash, every kid I couldn't save
They carried me more than I ever carried them
It's okay — I'm okay — let the last bell ring

[verse 3]
The birthday cards from seniors taped above my desk
A drawing of a dragon from the quiet kid in Czech class
The chair that squeaks, the window that won't open in the heat
A thousand small forevers on a school desk's heart-carved seat

[bridge]
I'll still wake at six, out of habit, out of love
Watch the buses pass the corner like an old friend from above
And when the leaves come back next fall, I'll know just what that sound is
Some other fool with coffee, falling in love with kids

[chorus]
So ring the last bell, let it echo down the hall
Take my name off the door, I've given it my all
Every comma, every car crash, every kid I couldn't save
They carried me more than I ever carried them
It's okay — I'm okay — let the last bell ring

[outro]
Room 204, turn off the light
You did good, old friend
You did good tonight
(let the last bell ring)