[Intro] [Cassette clicks] [Younger voice, degraded] All right... I don't know if anybody's ever gonna hear this. [Chalk scratches] But I think this matters. [Cassette hiss] [Present-day crowd quiet] [Heart] Found that last week. [Crowd murmurs] God, that guy could talk. [Smiley, off mic] Still can. [Crowd laughs] [Heart] Oh, fuck you, Smiley. Wait— Some of you keep asking who Smiley is. [Pause] Mr. Cosmic? Anything you'd like to add? [Smiley, off mic] Detention. Everybody. [Room erupts] [Heart laughing] There's your answer. All right. This one's for the guy with chalk on his hands. [Desk knock begins the beat] [Verse 1] He talked to a chalkboard Like somebody sat behind him Empty chairs Fluorescent lights Whole damn room was silent Sounded so sure On that old cassette Like the world was running late And sooner or later it'd walk through the door And hear what he had to say Didn't know about these rooms Didn't know your names Didn't know a quiet little voice Would ever carry this far away He just kept showing up Chalk dust on his clothes Talking like somebody listened When nobody did that he could know [Pre-Chorus] I spent years trying to outrun him Thought growing meant I'd leave him behind Turns out all I really did Was give that stubborn bastard a bigger room and a microphone [Chorus] He's the guy who talked to the chalkboard! [Crowd] KEEP TALKING! Before anybody turned the volume up! [Crowd] KEEP TALKING! Same damn voice Same stubborn heart Different room Same starting part Everything here Started somewhere nobody saw With the guy who talked to the chalkboard And kept talking anyway [Verse 2] Played that tape for somebody Who's known me long enough They said, "You sound exactly the same. Just tired from different stuff." [Crowd laughs] Yeah. That's about right. Used to get tired waiting for something to start Now I get tired building things I couldn't see from the first part That's a better tired I'll take that trade I'd shake his hand if I could find him Tell him, "You weren't crazy. Well— not about everything." [Crowd laughs] "Keep the chalk. Keep the questions. Keep talking to the wall. One day the wall starts answering. Then one day— there ain't a wall at all." [Chorus] He's the guy who talked to the chalkboard! [Crowd] KEEP TALKING! Before anybody turned the volume up! [Crowd] KEEP TALKING! Same damn voice Same stubborn heart Different room Same starting part Everything here Started somewhere nobody saw With the guy who talked to the chalkboard And kept talking anyway [Break] [Band stops] [Old cassette hiss] [Younger voice] This matters. [Silence] [Younger voice] Even if nobody's listening yet. [Cassette clicks off] [Heart] I used to hate that recording. [Pause] Thought I sounded foolish. [Crowd Member] YOU WERE RIGHT! [Heart] Maybe. [Crowd Member] KEEP TALKING! [Another voice] KEEP TALKING! [More voices] KEEP TALKING! KEEP TALKING! KEEP TALKING! [Heart] Listen to you. [Acoustic guitar returns] [Bridge] Maybe he wasn't waiting for you Maybe he wasn't waiting for this Maybe saying something true before anybody cared Was already the whole damn gift Maybe the room didn't make the voice Maybe applause never made it real Maybe everything after that empty classroom Was just the world taking longer to hear [Desk percussion returns] [Final Chorus] [Heart] WHO TALKED TO THE CHALKBOARD? [Crowd] YOU DID! [Heart] WHO KEPT TALKING? [Crowd] YOU DID! [Heart] WHO TURNED THE VOLUME UP? [Crowd] WE DID! [Heart stops] ... Yeah. You did. [Band crashes back] Same damn voice Same stubborn heart Bigger room But the same first spark Everything here Started somewhere nobody saw With a guy and a piece of chalk Talking anyway [Crowd] KEEP TALKING! [Heart] Talking anyway! [Crowd] KEEP TALKING! [Heart] Till the empty room— [Crowd] TALKED BACK! [Outro] [Band falls away] [Cassette hiss returns] [Heart] Turned that tape off and sat there awhile. Still don't know if I became him... or he became me. [Pause] Smiley? [Smiley] What? [Heart] You remember that guy? [Smiley] Yeah. [Heart] What would you tell him? [Pause] [Smiley] Class dismissed. [Crowd laughter and applause] [Heart quietly] Yeah. About damn time. [Cassette clicks off]
