No One Will Ever Know

Song No One Will Ever Know
Artist Frank Ifield
Album The Essential Collection

Lyrics

[00:05.89] No One Will Ever Know
[00:08.06] by Janet Seever
[00:10.53]
[00:14.22] Karen, Judy and I were the last ones back in the school room after lunch.
[00:19.28] We put our metal lunch boxes on the shelf above the coat hooks,
[00:23.36] which were mostly empty.
[00:25.28] All of the other sixth graders were already outside,
[00:28.53] playing marbles or hop scotch or jumping rope,
[00:31.72] since it was a pleasant spring day.
[00:34.48] “Look what I found this morning in the storage cupboard
[00:36.61] when I was getting out some art supplies for Mrs. Eiffler.”
[00:41.05] With a conspiratorial grin on her face,
[00:43.75] Karen held up a wooden box filled with short pieces of chalk in every color of the rainbow.
[00:49.65] “Wow! What fun it would be to write on the chalkboard while everyone is outside.”
[00:55.36] Judy’s eyes twinkled with anticipation.
[00:57.95]
[00:59.12] “But Mrs. Eiffler doesn’t want us writing on the chalkboard,”
[01:02.43] I responded, already feeling guilty,
[01:05.30] although we had not yet done a thing.
[01:07.54]
[01:08.35] “Don’t be such a ‘fraidy cat’, Janet. No one will ever know,”
[01:12.13] said Karen, reaching into the box and drawing out a piece of chalk.
[01:16.30]
[01:17.50] “Right. Everyone is outside,
[01:19.99] so we’re safe.
[01:21.46] No one will tell on us.”
[01:23.86] Judy was already drawing a house with sure strokes.
[01:27.07]
[01:28.26] I reluctantly joined my friends in the artwork,
[01:30.80] wanting to be part of what was going on,
[01:32.92] but afraid of being caught.
[01:34.91] I knew well that we were breaking not one,
[01:36.81] but two class rules.
[01:39.51] The second rule was that no one was allowed to stay inside at noon
[01:42.82] without a written excuse from home if the weather was nice.
[01:45.95]
[01:47.03] Trying various colors,
[01:48.20] we drew houses, trees and three-dimensional boxes.
[01:52.35] It was fun!
[01:54.15] All the time we were watching the clock,
[01:56.61] knowing that our fun would be over if anyone walked into the room.
[01:59.65]
[02:01.31] Then Judy had an idea.
[02:03.74] “We’re all right-handed.
[02:06.13] Let’s see who can write their name best using their left hand.”
[02:09.54]
[02:10.96] Judy and Karen picked up their chalk and started writing.
[02:14.51] I chose a white piece from the box and wrote my name.
[02:18.10] The handwriting was a bit shaky,
[02:20.14] but no one would doubt that it said “Janet.”
[02:22.54]
[02:23.50] “I think Judy is the winner,”
[02:24.92] said Karen.
[02:25.98] “Hers is the best.”
[02:27.76]
[02:28.69] “We’d better get this board cleaned off before Mrs. Eiffler comes back,”
[02:31.89] said Judy, eying the clock.
[02:34.25] She picked up an eraser and began erasing our handiwork from the board.
[02:38.41] Everything came off... but my name!
[02:42.62]
[02:43.13] In disbelief,
[02:44.07] I looked at the chalk I held in my sweaty hand.
[02:46.80]
[02:47.07] On closer examination,
[02:48.55] it wasn’t chalk at all. I had picked up a small piece of white color crayon
[02:52.97] which was mixed in with the pieces of chalk.
[02:55.05]
[02:55.93] My stomach churned and my knees felt weak.
[02:58.81] What would Mrs. Eiffler do to me?
[03:00.51]
[03:02.23] My mother had a saying:
[03:04.18] “Fools’ names and fools’ faces always appear in public places.”
[03:09.22] I never understood fully what it meant before.
[03:12.10] Now I did!
[03:14.17] I was a fool,
[03:15.48] and there was my name in crayon to prove it.
[03:18.46] And the teacher would be returning soon.
[03:20.65]
[03:22.10] “Quick, let’s get some wet paper towels,”
[03:24.20] said Judy,
[03:25.42] springing into action.
[03:26.75]
[03:27.88] After vigorous rubbing,
[03:28.83] my name still remained.
[03:31.57]
[03:32.28] “I think I saw a can of cleanser by the sink in the coat room,”
[03:34.94] I said as I raced to find it.
[03:37.98] Precious minutes were ticking away.
[03:39.91]
[03:41.28] We rubbed and my name came off all right,
[03:44.00] but in the process of removing it,
[03:45.60] we left an abrasion on the chalkboard.
[03:48.05] Listening for footsteps coming down the hall,
[03:50.62] we dried the scrubbed area as much as we could with more paper towels
[03:54.38] and fanned it with a book to remove every tell-tale trace of wetness.
[03:58.14]
[03:59.45] We were just slipping into our desks as the bell rang
[04:01.99] and the other students began entering the room.
[04:04.85] The teacher walked in soon afterward.
[04:06.96]
[04:08.01] Mrs. Eiffler never asked about abrasion and maybe never noticed it.
[04:13.21] But I did.
[04:15.24] Every time I walked past the marred surface of the chalkboard,
[04:18.55] I remembered. Oh, how I remembered.
[04:21.87]
[04:22.81] The lesson I learned that day is one I never forgot,
[04:25.88] even though over forty years have passed since the event.
[04:29.79] “No one will ever know”
[04:31.45] is never true. Even if no one else found out,
[04:35.59] I myself knew.
[04:37.71] Sometimes living with a guilty conscience is punishment enough.
[04:40.41]

Pinyin

[00:05.89] No One Will Ever Know
[00:08.06] by Janet Seever
[00:10.53]
[00:14.22] Karen, Judy and I were the last ones back in the school room after lunch.
[00:19.28] We put our metal lunch boxes on the shelf above the coat hooks,
[00:23.36] which were mostly empty.
[00:25.28] All of the other sixth graders were already outside,
[00:28.53] playing marbles or hop scotch or jumping rope,
[00:31.72] since it was a pleasant spring day.
[00:34.48] " Look what I found this morning in the storage cupboard
[00:36.61] when I was getting out some art supplies for Mrs. Eiffler."
[00:41.05] With a conspiratorial grin on her face,
[00:43.75] Karen held up a wooden box filled with short pieces of chalk in every color of the rainbow.
[00:49.65] " Wow! What fun it would be to write on the chalkboard while everyone is outside."
[00:55.36] Judy' s eyes twinkled with anticipation.
[00:57.95]
[00:59.12] " But Mrs. Eiffler doesn' t want us writing on the chalkboard,"
[01:02.43] I responded, already feeling guilty,
[01:05.30] although we had not yet done a thing.
[01:07.54]
[01:08.35] " Don' t be such a ' fraidy cat', Janet. No one will ever know,"
[01:12.13] said Karen, reaching into the box and drawing out a piece of chalk.
[01:16.30]
[01:17.50] " Right. Everyone is outside,
[01:19.99] so we' re safe.
[01:21.46] No one will tell on us."
[01:23.86] Judy was already drawing a house with sure strokes.
[01:27.07]
[01:28.26] I reluctantly joined my friends in the artwork,
[01:30.80] wanting to be part of what was going on,
[01:32.92] but afraid of being caught.
[01:34.91] I knew well that we were breaking not one,
[01:36.81] but two class rules.
[01:39.51] The second rule was that no one was allowed to stay inside at noon
[01:42.82] without a written excuse from home if the weather was nice.
[01:45.95]
[01:47.03] Trying various colors,
[01:48.20] we drew houses, trees and threedimensional boxes.
[01:52.35] It was fun!
[01:54.15] All the time we were watching the clock,
[01:56.61] knowing that our fun would be over if anyone walked into the room.
[01:59.65]
[02:01.31] Then Judy had an idea.
[02:03.74] " We' re all righthanded.
[02:06.13] Let' s see who can write their name best using their left hand."
[02:09.54]
[02:10.96] Judy and Karen picked up their chalk and started writing.
[02:14.51] I chose a white piece from the box and wrote my name.
[02:18.10] The handwriting was a bit shaky,
[02:20.14] but no one would doubt that it said " Janet."
[02:22.54]
[02:23.50] " I think Judy is the winner,"
[02:24.92] said Karen.
[02:25.98] " Hers is the best."
[02:27.76]
[02:28.69] " We' d better get this board cleaned off before Mrs. Eiffler comes back,"
[02:31.89] said Judy, eying the clock.
[02:34.25] She picked up an eraser and began erasing our handiwork from the board.
[02:38.41] Everything came off... but my name!
[02:42.62]
[02:43.13] In disbelief,
[02:44.07] I looked at the chalk I held in my sweaty hand.
[02:46.80]
[02:47.07] On closer examination,
[02:48.55] it wasn' t chalk at all. I had picked up a small piece of white color crayon
[02:52.97] which was mixed in with the pieces of chalk.
[02:55.05]
[02:55.93] My stomach churned and my knees felt weak.
[02:58.81] What would Mrs. Eiffler do to me?
[03:00.51]
[03:02.23] My mother had a saying:
[03:04.18] " Fools' names and fools' faces always appear in public places."
[03:09.22] I never understood fully what it meant before.
[03:12.10] Now I did!
[03:14.17] I was a fool,
[03:15.48] and there was my name in crayon to prove it.
[03:18.46] And the teacher would be returning soon.
[03:20.65]
[03:22.10] " Quick, let' s get some wet paper towels,"
[03:24.20] said Judy,
[03:25.42] springing into action.
[03:26.75]
[03:27.88] After vigorous rubbing,
[03:28.83] my name still remained.
[03:31.57]
[03:32.28] " I think I saw a can of cleanser by the sink in the coat room,"
[03:34.94] I said as I raced to find it.
[03:37.98] Precious minutes were ticking away.
[03:39.91]
[03:41.28] We rubbed and my name came off all right,
[03:44.00] but in the process of removing it,
[03:45.60] we left an abrasion on the chalkboard.
[03:48.05] Listening for footsteps coming down the hall,
[03:50.62] we dried the scrubbed area as much as we could with more paper towels
[03:54.38] and fanned it with a book to remove every telltale trace of wetness.
[03:58.14]
[03:59.45] We were just slipping into our desks as the bell rang
[04:01.99] and the other students began entering the room.
[04:04.85] The teacher walked in soon afterward.
[04:06.96]
[04:08.01] Mrs. Eiffler never asked about abrasion and maybe never noticed it.
[04:13.21] But I did.
[04:15.24] Every time I walked past the marred surface of the chalkboard,
[04:18.55] I remembered. Oh, how I remembered.
[04:21.87]
[04:22.81] The lesson I learned that day is one I never forgot,
[04:25.88] even though over forty years have passed since the event.
[04:29.79] " No one will ever know"
[04:31.45] is never true. Even if no one else found out,
[04:35.59] I myself knew.
[04:37.71] Sometimes living with a guilty conscience is punishment enough.
[04:40.41]