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It’s as inspirational as it is adorable.
An educator in Birmingham, Alabama, has shared footage online of her third-grade students performing their own take on Lil Nas X’s remixed version of “Old Town Road,” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus.
“I’m gonna ace my test, I’m gonna raise my score, I’m gonna solve ’til I can’t no more,” the youngsters from Sun Valley Elementary School sing in the clip that Jasmine Merlette posted on Twitter and Instagram last week.
Check out the video here:
The so-called “Classroom Edition” video has gone viral for its positive message.
It’s also caught the eye of the young Atlanta rapper, Lil Nas X, himself:
And even Cyrus, who tweeted: “This is what it’s all about!!!”
Merlette told HuffPost that the worldwide response to the video, which she developed with a colleague, had been “humbling,” and that the children were “so excited” because it was viewed by the singers themselves.
“A few of them cried because they were overwhelmed with excitement,” she said in an email on Sunday. “One of my students said, ‘Ms. Merlette, (Lil Nas X) saw our classroom! He saw our classroom!’ And to me, that validation is the most important part of this whole experience. The world got a glimpse of what our classroom is like, seeing how much happiness can be filled in schools.”
The lyrics were “more than just something to recite,” she said. Her favorite line is “education is that swag, can’t nobody stop me from learning.”
“It’s a call to action to empower not just yourself but those around you as well, especially our youth because they need us,” Merlette said.
“The goal of our song was to encourage my kids to remain confident and motivated while taking the state exams,” she added. “Music is a fun and easy way to remind them that they possess the tools for success.”
Lil Nas X’s song featuring Cyrus, meanwhile, continues to ride a wave of popularity after the original version was pulled from Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart for not being country enough.
Cyrus stepped in to add his vocals ― and the rest is music history.
Compare the kids’ take to Lil Nas X and Cyrus’ version here:
And check out the reworked lyrics that the children sang here:
“I’m gonna ace my test, I’m gonna raise my score, I’m gonna solve ’til I can’t no more;
I’m gonna ace my test, I’m gonna raise my score, I’m gonna solve ’til I can’t no more;
I got the answers in the back, scratch work is attached, pencils in my bag, and I’m solvin’ mighty fast;
School is my task, I can do this math, really quick and fast, education is that swag;
Can’t nobody stop me from learning, can’t stop me from learning;
The wheels in my head keep churning, they keep on churning.”
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