Mr. White

[Verse 1]
Mr. White sat third row back
In a desk with a scar cut deep
Sun through the blinds like prison bars
On a boy too bored to sleep

Teacher talked about somewhere else
Some war, some king, some date
He rubbed his chin with two bare fingers
Wondering if he should shave

[Pre-Chorus]
And the clock kept chewing minutes
And the room kept breathing chalk
And he thought, what the hell am I doing here
Learning how to sit and talk?

Then the bell rang out like thunder
And the whole world came alive
A hundred bodies in the hallway
Trying not to look surprised

[Chorus]
Son, let me give you wings
There's nothing for you in these halls
Just lockers, bells, and broken things
And your name scratched on the wall

Son, let me give you wings
Come on, step into the light
You don't have to know where you're going yet
You just have to leave tonight

[Verse 2]
New Albany was buzzing loud
Like a hive behind the doors
Girls with books against their hearts
Boys declaring little wars

Someone laughed, someone shoved
Someone dropped a tray
Mr. White stood in the current
Like he might get swept away

There beside the trophy case
With a smile too clean to trust
A man in blue with a folded flag
Said, boy, you look like us

[Pre-Chorus]
And the floor kept shaking under him
And the lockers flashed like chrome
And the future smelled like floor wax
And gasoline and going home

He rubbed his chin one more time
Felt the roughness coming through
And the man said, I can see it, son
There's something more in you

[Chorus]
Son, let me give you wings
There's nothing for you in these halls
Just lockers, bells, and broken things
And your name scratched on the wall

Son, let me give you wings
Come on, step into the light
You don't have to know where you're going yet
You just have to leave tonight

[Post-Chorus]
Wings
Wings
You were never built to crawl
Wings
Wings
Don't you hear the engine call?

[Bridge]
Years before the red lights found him
Years before the sugar sang
Years before the thing inside him
Learned the shape of hunger's name

He was just a boy in motion
With a shadow down the spine
And a stranger selling heaven
On a dotted little line

[Final Chorus]
Son, let me give you wings
There's nothing for you in these halls
Just lockers, bells, and broken things
And your name scratched on the wall

Son, let me give you wings
Come on, step into the light
You don't have to know what you're becoming
You just have to leave tonight

[Outro]
Mr. White walked through the doorway
While the hallway roared behind
First real shave still waiting on him
First real life still unsigned

And the man said, son
Let me give you wings