Lorena Blas

USA TODAY Life

It was a serious moment for sure with some slight humor, because after all it is Saturday Night Live.

There was nothing fancy to it: Cecily Strong started out singing To Sir With Love as President Obama's photo was projected onto the background. Then, Sasheer Zamata joined her.

The song is from the 1967 movie by the same title that starred Sidney Poitier. In it, he plays a young teacher assigned to teach at a run-down high school in London's working-class east side where he faces challenges that many inner-city teachers face. The theme song was a hit for singer Lulu.

At the end of SNL's number, Strong and Zamata held up a gift for the outgoing president: A coffee mug that reads "World's Greatest President."

As they close the set, Zamata quickly adds, with a hopeful smile: "Don't go."

Strong teased her Instagram followers days earlier when she posted herself lip-syncing to the song.