Cooper has said he was inspired to write the song when answering the question, "What's the greatest three minutes of your life?". Cooper said: "There's two times during the year. One is Christmas morning, when you're just getting ready to open the presents. The greed factor is right there. The next one is the last three minutes of the last day of school when you're sitting there and it's like a slow fuse burning. I said, 'If we can catch that three minutes in a song, it's going to be so big.'"
Cooper has also said it was inspired by a line from a Bowery Boys movie. On his radio show, "Nights with Alice Cooper," he joked that the main riff of the song was inspired by a song by Miles Davis.
The lyrics of "School's Out" indicate that not only is the school year ended for summer vacation, but ended forever, and that the school itself has been blown up. It incorporates the childhood rhyme, "No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers' dirty looks" into its lyrics. It also featured children contributing some of the vocals.
"School's Out" became Alice Cooper's first major hit single, reaching #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart and propelling the album to #2 on the Billboard 200 pop albums chart. The song reached #1 on the UK singles chart for three weeks in August 1972. It also marked the first time that Alice Cooper became regarded as more than just a theatrical novelty act.
The single version of the song is a mono audio mix of the album version with one major difference - the "turn-off" effect used upon the school bell and sound effects at the end of the album version is not used on the single version, allowing the school bell and effects to simply fade out. A palm-muted guitar track is also much more prevalent at the beginning of the single version.
In 2004, "School's Out" was ranked #319 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2009 it was named the 35th best hard rock song of all time by VH1.
School's Out
Alice Cooper Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All the girls and boys
Makin' all that noise
'Cause they found new toys
Well, we can't salute you, can't find a flag
If that don't suit you, that's a drag
School's out for summer
School's been blown to pieces
No more pencils, no more books
No more teacher's dirty looks, yeah
Well, we got no class
And we got no principals
And we got no innocence
We can't even think of a word that rhymes
School's out for summer
School's out forever
My school's been blown to pieces
No more pencils, no more books
No more teacher's dirty looks
Out for summer
Out 'til fall
We might not come back at all
School's out forever
School's out for summer
School's out with fever
School's out completely
The lyrics of Alice Cooper's "School's Out" describe the joy and liberation of students who have finished school for the summer. The opening lines suggest that the students are making noise with their new toys and reveling in their newfound freedom. The singer then declares that the school has been destroyed and despairs at the lack of anything left to rebel against in their newly liberated state.
The second verse continues the celebration of freedom from school, with a playful reference to the lack of rhyme for the word "innocence." The song finishes with a repetition of the chorus, and a final declaration that school is now out completely.
Overall, the lyrics of "School's Out" capture the excitement and rebellious spirit of the end of the school year, with a sense of freedom and joy that is infectious to anyone who has experienced the end of a long academic year.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, we got no choice
We have to accept school is over
All the girls and boys
Every student is excited
Makin' all that noise
Everyone is enjoying a good time
'Cause they found new toys
Summer represents a new world to explore
Well, we can't salute you, can't find a flag
We don't know how to continue in this environment
If that don't suit you, that's a drag
And if staying isn't an option, that's unfortunate
No more pencils, no more books
Our textbooks and note-taking are gone
No more teacher's dirty looks, yeah
There's nobody to get mad at us for not paying attention
Well, we got no class
There are no more classes to attend
And we got no principals
Nobody to rein us in
And we got no innocence
Summer gives us a newfound sense of boldness
We can't even think of a word that rhymes
We're too happy to care about creativity
Out for summer
Leaving our school days behind
Out 'til fall
Until the new school year starts up again
We might not come back at all
Maybe we'll just never come back to school
School's out forever
The end of an era
School's out for summer
The start of a new season
School's out with fever
A high-energy summer awaits
School's out completely
No turning back now
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Alice Cooper, Michael Bruce
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jacobsalomon8386
1970s: Who needs disco when we have Allison Cooper
1980s: 🤘 Let's skip school and blast this 🤘
1990s: THIS SONG IS PLAYING THAT MEANS IT'S SUMMER VACATION
2000s: We should totally rig the PA system to play this
2010s: Ah yes, old but still gold
2020: I'm confused, is Allison Cooper singing or narrating real life events?
@beccapartridge752
Every year on the last day of school my dad would bring his Alice Cooper CD and we would circle the school, windows down, blasting this song. It always kind of embarrassed me; I would hunch down in my seat, but I also secretly loved it. Every year on the last day when he’d pick me up I’d ask if he remembered to bring his Alice Cooper CD. He did, without fail. He passed away when I was 14, 10 years ago. Flash forward to two years ago: I’m graduating from college. Even though it was an exciting day for me, I couldn’t help feel sad that my dad wasn’t able to be there. After the ceremony, I’m driving myself home. This song comes on the radio and within a second I’m in tears. I’ve never been one to believe in signs, or at least I’ve never thought that anything was a clear sign from my dad. But I know that was him letting me know that he WAS with me that day, on my final last day of school.
@gangsterliveornolife7269
Thats beautiful
@rhondaboles7766
Yes
@dominiqueweller2747
This is an amazing story! What an awesome dad you haVE!
@andreamcateer8489
❤️❤️❤️❤️
@cherylponder8351
He was there with you. Beautiful ❤️
@NostalgiaMan
Schools out forever
Alice Cooper was a visionary
@jethrotull7773
He liked his beer. And pretzels.
@billmurray7473
@@jethrotull7773 Glad you're still
alive and healthy.
I thoroughly enjoyed your
AQUALUNG and THICK AS A BRICK. WAR CHILD, too.
@stefanvukovic1436
This part of the comment section made me think Alice Cooper was gone. Had to check it out. Think about what you write, say it out loud before you post it.