A.C. Newman - They Should Have Shut Down the Streets Lyrics

They should have shut down all the streets,
Presidents and kings should have been there,
With not a single empty seat,
All the schools closed and the roads we drove down all lined,
Lined with people cap in hand and crying,
That went on for miles and miles and miles and miles.

They should have shut down all the streets,
All the papers plastered with tributes,
We should have asked for privacy,
But we understand it that some want to share their pain,
We would ask to grieve in our own quiet way
And they should have asked again, again, and again.

They should have shut down all the streets,
All the bouquets piled on the doorstep,
And pages filled with crayon hearts that a second grade class had made,
In their school that day,
Because the teacher had to give in some small way,
And there weren't that many ways left for her to say it.

They should have shut down all the streets.