[verse 1]
I’m sitting in the classroom at school.
It’s not the first time that I’m unsure:
There are 20 quiet kindergarteners
Waiting for a sign that danger is over.
Their eyes search around the room
The lights are all off and we’re surrounded by gloom.
The teacher presses ear to door
She knows that she’s not supposed to be so close.

I signed up to help the kids with their art.
I signed up to help with finger-paints and tying up smocks.
I signed up to help my son feel supported.
I signed up to make sure someone tells each kid that they’re smart.
But I never would have signed up for this.
It’s something that I could have always missed.
They didn’t have this back when I was a kid.
And this feels like the wrong way to live.

[chorus]
I sat through a lockdown drill
At the elementary school.
I was with the kindergarten class
When we heard those sirens blast.
I sat through a lockdown drill
With the students of room one-two-oh.
We told ourselves it was just a drill,
But in fact we really didn’t know.

[verse 2]
We turned out the lights.
Teacher turned the bolt into the doorframe.
We whispered out each kid’s name
And they huddled near the cubbies.
We pulled down the blinds,
And we locked shut the windows.
We took down the fishbowl
And we put it in the cupboard.

I was surprised.
I expected much more sobbing.
But the kids just sat their nodding,
They had done this before.
Then the all-clear came.
It was apparent to me,
As we put the classroom back together,
That the terrorists in politics had already won.