[00:14.61]The first time that I heard that song was a time I well remember
[00:20.68]It all goes back some 30 years to Mr. Ryan's classroom
[00:26.36]One day he brought his old guitar and sang his favorite songs for us
[00:32.17]And the single one that I remember most was "All My Trials"
[00:39.65]Something in his simple singing touched my very 6th-grade soul
[00:45.88]The harmonies he taught us are the ones that I still know today
[00:51.50]The verse about the Tree of Life was wondrous to a 12-year old
[00:57.71]And many times these thirty years I've wished that I could say
[01:04.66]Thank you for the music, Mr. Ryan
[01:10.34]The simple gift you gave that day is one I've treasured dearly
[01:16.67]I'll always see you sitting up there singing "All My Trials"
[01:22.74]You'll never know how much it’s meant to me
[01:28.10]You'll never know how much it's meant to me
[01:36.97]I went home to see my folks in June, the town that I grew up in
[01:43.08]Three of us were sitting in the kitchen having coffee
[01:48.62]I mentioned Mr. Ryan, how I'd wondered what became of him
[01:54.97]When Mother said she'd heard that he's still working at my school
[02:01.84]I grabbed my coat and ran outside, retracing old familiar routes
[02:07.50]The shortcut through the playground and the echo of that hallway
[02:15.18]And there he was in room eleven, wiping off the blackboard
[02:20.96]I took a breath and cleared my throat and stepped back into time
[02:28.17]Thank you for the music, Mr. Ryan
[02:33.62]The simple gift you gave that day is one I've treasured dearly
[02:40.16]I'll always see you sitting up there singing "All My Trials"
[02:45.88]You'll never know how much it’s meant to me
[02:51.25]You'll never know how much it's meant to me
[03:00.22]So we sat and talked for quite a while, I don't think that he remembered me
[03:06.25]But I told him of my work and where I've been and what I've done
[03:11.97]And finally he leaned back and said "It's amazing that you've come today
[03:17.86]Just last night my mother and I were talking until one."
[03:25.12]She asked me was I happy, I said, "Yes, I love my teaching
[03:30.76]But I'm sad I never married, that I never fathered children."
[03:37.99]"Oh yes," she said, "Oh yes, my son, you've fathered several hundred."
[03:44.66]And now I look across my cluttered desk, and here you've come
[03:51.64]Thank you for the visit, my dear child
[03:57.33]The simple gift you gave today is one I'll treasure dearly
[04:04.74]I'll always see you sitting up here filling in these 30 years
[04:11.16]You'll never know how much it's meant to me
[04:17.44]You'll never know how much it's meant to me
[04:45.88]