Anderson, South Carolina - TL Hanna High The people there will tell you - ask any passerby About the kid who speaks in gibberish - folks'll tell you, \"Shoot... Wasn't nothing but a little love and attention gave voice to a mute\"
Who stood with his transistor - pressed against his ear Picking up certain frequencies that only he could hear There was this little man inside it - perhaps his only friend The only one who'd talk to him - the only one back then
Coach Jones barked, \"Come here, boy!\" to this kid up in the stands Who was mimicking him loudly - making gestures with his hands The players on the football team exchanged uneasy glances You jumped when Coach said to jump - but oh, how slow the boy was advancing
Coach Jones was pulling on the drawstrings on his hood The kid, he spoke in gibberish -Coach, he understood Lamb imitating lion - it sure looked like easy prey But this is not what happened - no, it went the other way
This kid they nicknamed Radio was 18 going on 6 The team needed a water boy - and so the job was his Coach convinced the principal to bend a couple rules He'd pick up Radio every day - on his way to school
Everywhere that Coach Jones went his lamb was sure to go They tried him out in Special Ed but his marks were too low The kid's now in his 50's - his hair is sprinkled white For 30 years he's come to school - he cannot read or write
Come Football Fridays - they let Radio be the star He falls in with the marching band and then with the color guard He jumps when the cheerleaders jump - with pom poms on his hands He cusses like the coaches do & he high fives with the fans
They give Radio report cards & they give him varsity letters They let him wander freely in his TL Hanna sweater He visits all the classrooms - and whenever there's a test He whips out his box of crayons - he tries his very best
Everyone knows Radio - the townspeople adore him The students pat his head just like their parents did before them Anderson, South Carolina... folks'll tell you, \"Shoot... It wasn't nothing but a little love and attention - gave voice to a mute