Thank You, Mr. Ryan

David Roth - May The Light Music (ASCAP)

The first time that I heard that song
The time I will remember
It all goes back some 20 years
To Mr. Ryan’s classroom
One day he brought his old guitar
And sang his favorite songs for us
The single one that I remember most was “All My Trials”

Something in his simple singing
Touched my very sixth grade soul
The harmonies he taught us
Are the ones I still know today
The verse about the tree of life
Was wondrous to a 12-year-old
And many times these 20 years
I’ve wished that I could say

(Chorus)

Thank you for the music Mr. Ryan
The simple gift you gave that day
Is one I’ve treasured dearly
I’ll always see you sitting up there
Singing “All My Trials”
You’ll never know how much it’s meant to me
You’ll never know how much it’s meant to me

I went home to see my folks in June
The town that I grew up in
The three of us were sitting in the kitchen having coffee
I mentioned Mr. Ryan
How I wondered what became of him
And mother said she heard that he’s still working at my school

I grabbed my coat
And ran outside
Retracing old familiar routes
The shortcut through the playground
And the echo of the hallway
And there he was in room 11
Wiping off the blackboard
I took a breath and cleared my throat
And stepped back into time

(Repeat Chorus)

So we sat and talked for quite a while
I don’t think that he remembered me
But I told him of my work
And where I’ve been
And what I’ve done
And finally he leaned back and said,
“It’s amazing that you’ve come today
Just last night my mother and I were talking until one”

“She asked me was I happy
I said yes I love my teaching
But I’m sad I never married
That I never fathered children

“ ‘Oh yes,’ she said,
‘Oh yes my son,
You’ve fathered several hundred’
And now I look across this cluttered desk and here you’ve come”

(Chorus)

“Thank you for the visit, my dear child
The simple gift you gave today
Is one I’ll treasure dearly
I’ll always see you sitting up here
Filling these twenty years
You’ll never know how much it’s meant to me
You’ll never know how much it’s meant to me”