5543

Lyrics

(Verse 1)
Sitting in the back row, staring at the clock
Tick-tock, tick-tock, my brain is under lock
Names and dates from centuries ago
Why do I need to know? I just don't know
Another F on the paper, another red mark
While the summer sun is shining, my world is getting dark
The final bell rings, the hallways start to clear
But my history teacher's looking at me with a sneer
"See me after class," the dreaded words he said
I've got a mountain of regret running through my head
​(Verse 2)
Summer break is here, but the phone begins to ring
Mr. Davis called my parents, changed the whole damn thing
No video games, no hanging with my crew
I've got a specialized assignment that I'm forced to do
I walk up to his porch, my feet heavy as lead
Complaining every step about the books I never read
He leads me to the attic, it’s dusty, hot, and tight
"Clean it out," he says, "and try to do it right"
I'm coughing in the shadows, sweeping up the floor
Muttering under my breath, staring at the door
​(Verse 3)
"Why do I gotta suffer for people who are dead?
Who cares about some battle or what some emperor said?"
My anger starts to boil, I lose my self-control
I wind up my right foot to vent it from my soul
I kick a cardboard box right across the room
It crashes through the cobwebs in the attic gloom
But it hits a hidden corner, a panel pops askew
And something buried in the dark comes into view
​(Chorus)
Behind the dust, behind the years
Behind the laughter and the tears
History isn't just a page in a book
It's waiting right there if you just take a look
A voice from the shadows, a lock to be broken
Words from the past waiting to be spoken
​(Verse 4)
I walk across the floorboards to see what I have found
An old wooden chest sitting safely on the ground
The brass latches are rusted, the wood is dark and deep
I lift the heavy lid while the shadows start to creep
Inside there's olive drab, a wool uniform so old
A canteen made of tin, a story to unfold
U.S. military gear from a century passed away
And deeper in the chest is where the real secret lay
​(Verse 5)
I wipe away the grime and I open up the page
Written by a young soldier just about my age
The year is nineteen hundred, the ink is fading fast
Suddenly I'm pulled straight into the past
"The Siege of Peking," the first line reads aloud
Surrounded by the Boxers, a fierce and angry crowd
Fifty-five days in the burning summer heat
Fighting for survival on a dusty foreign street
Bullets flying through the legation wall
Wondering if anyone would answer to the call
​(Verse 6)
I couldn't stop reading, I forgot about the time
Forgot about the sweeping and the attic grime
I was standing in China, hearing cannons roar
Feeling all the terror of that long-forgotten war
Footsteps on the stairs, a shadow in the light
Mr. Davis walked up, the sun was setting bright
I looked up with wide eyes, the journal in my hand
He smiled a knowing smile and said, "Now you understand.
You can keep that book, it belongs with you today"
And for the first time in my life, I had nothing left to say
​(Verse 7)
Years started flying, the seasons turned to gold
That little boy grew up, and a new life did unfold
No longer failing classes, no longer looking back
The fire had been lit, and I followed on the track
I went to university, I studied night and day
To bring the forgotten voices back into the gray
And now I stand before a chalkboard of my own
A teacher of the history that I had never known
​(Verse 8)
Today the lesson plan is the summer of nineteen hundred
When empires collided and the heavy cannons thundered
But I look toward the back row, and what do I see?
A kid staring at the clock, looking just like me
He's got a failing grade, he thinks it's all a bore
He doesn't see the point of a century-old war
He's complaining to his desk, drowning in the doubt
Wondering what this old history class is all about
​(Outro)
I smile to myself as the final bell rings
I remember the attic and the magic that it brings
I walk down the aisle, the room is getting clear
I stop right by his desk and I draw a little near
I reach into my bag, pulling out the faded leather
The journal that had brought the past and present back together
I place it on his desk, and I look into his eyes
"Open up the pages, you're in for a surprise.
You can keep this book," I say with a grin
And I watch the history start all over again
Yeah, the story starts again...