A teacher’s emotional reaction to Prince’s death has gone viral.
Prince Rogers Nelson passed away on April 21 of yet-unknown causes.
The same day, in honor of the world-famous musician, the teacher, Matthew Patterson, played the artist’s masterpiece “Purple Rain” in his class. Twitter user @shvrdae—a student at Benjamin Banneker High School in College Park, Georgia—captured the moment.
Since being published, the heartfelt sorrow of the teacher has been retweeted over 60,000 times and has been liked nearly 80,000 times.
When my teacher found out Prince died pic.twitter.com/biNapKWJBU
— ✨ diamond ✨ (@shvrdae) April 21, 2016
According to The Daily News, the video is of the English teacher.
“[Prince’s death] hit me like a ton of bricks,” said Patterson.
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In the 10-second video, Patterson can be seen taking off his glasses and holding his head in his hands, presumably crying.
The teacher told the New York news outlet that he has been listening to Prince’s music since he was 7.
“I must’ve spent thousands and thousands of hours listening to Prince,” said Patterson “I was just a huge fan.”
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Learning of Prince’ death while in the classroom, Patterson played “Purple Rain” and spoke to his students about the artist: “I talked about what Prince meant to me as an artist and a brave performer and a person unwilling to take stuff from record companies.”
Of the last time Patterson saw Prince in concert, the educator said “It was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. Who can captivate 20,000 people with one acoustic guitar?”
