The Empty Desk

Verse 1

White chalk

Dust on your sleeves

You hide behind a desk and sell us lies

The curriculum is just a cage you built

Cold eyes

Looking at the clock

You blame the neighborhood for every failure

The budget cuts are just a shield you wear

Coward

Lacking any heart

A hollow captain on a sinking ship

The lesson plan is dry as desert bone

You teach us how to bow instead of lead

Then wonder why the spirit starts to bleed

Your spine is made of jelly and your words are made of glass

You fail the future just so you can pass

Chorus

Why did you leave us here alone

To find a way when we were small

The seeds you planted never grew

You built a roof and let it fall

You built a roof and let it fall

Verse 2

Stiff neck

Checking off the box

A paper soldier in a war of wills

You claim the parents never showed their face

Lost soul

Watching for the check

The fire in your throat is buried deep

A puppet dancing on a thinning string

Small mind

Afraid of every risk

You kill the wonder with a red ink pen

The mirror shows a ghost you hate to see

You trade a legacy for easy rest

And put a heavy weight upon our chest

You want the crown without the sweat or any of the pain

You pray for harvest while you block the rain

Chorus

Why did you leave us here alone

To find a way when we were small

The seeds you planted never grew

You built a roof and let it fall

You built a roof and let it fall

Bridge

Maybe you tried

Maybe you cried

Maybe you lied

To keep your sanity inside a system that is broken

But silence is the loudest thing that you have ever spoken

Silence is a weapon

Silence is a crime

Silence is the way you waste our time

Verse 3

Locked door

Safe inside the lounge

Complaining while the hallway starts to roar

You cite the union like a holy book

Dark room

Turning off the light

The shortest path is all you ever seek

A gardener who hates the sight of green

No hope

Giving up on ten

Because the other twenty act the same

You poison water just to save a bucket

The history you give is half a truth

You murder every promise of our youth

You claim to be a shepherd but you lead us to the wolf

Then stand across the safety of the gulf

Chorus

Why did you leave us here alone

To find a way when we were small

The seeds you planted never grew

You built a roof and let it fall

You built a roof and let it fall

Outro

Where did you go

Where did you go

The bell is ringing

The bell is ringing

But nobody is home