Loudon Wainwright III
Christmas Morning
Well the banks & the schools & the post office are closed
You can park where you please and you won't get towed
The streets are empty & the stores are finally closed
It's Christmas morning

He got a tie & she got a book
They weren't supposed to peek but they took a little look
Tell me how long will it take for the dinner to cook
It's Christmas morning

There are so many presents underneath the tree
A few are for you but the rest are all for me
And we gotta tip the super and the doormen
Can't you see, It's Christmas morning

Christmas morning finally has come
It has meaning for each & everyone
Christmas morning I cannot believe
Just last night was Christmas Eve

In the Rockerfeller Center the big tree is shining bright
Skaters skate beneath it in the winter light
Like a picture on a Christmas card everything looks right
On Christmas morning

And the homeless who have nothing will ask on
Christmas day, for us to give them something
God we wish they'd go away
Though there is no place for them to go
They have no place to stay on Christmas morning
Lying in a hospital dying in a bed with aids
"He deserved it", I have heard it said
Deck the halls iwth boughs of something
Soon he will be dead on Christmas morning
Christmas morning finally has come
It has meaning for each & everyone
Christmas morning I'm afraid to say
Life goes on, on Christmas morning

And the Prince of peace was born on a Christmas Day
In the little town of Bethlehem not so far away
From where a multitude has gathered in a warlike way
On Christmas morning

So we watch the buildup here we go again
There is sand, there are camels
But where are the wise men
Are they in Baghdad Are they in Washington
It's Christmas morning

There are those who go to church they kneel down to pray
For loved ones who have left to serve so far away
& for a Middle Eastern baby born on that very day
It's Christmas morning

Christmas morning finally has come
It has meaning for each & everyone
Christmas morning I'm afraid to think
This time we are headed to the brink
A week from today we begin a brand new year
Let us all be hopeful, men & women of good cheer
And resolve to fight against stupidity and fear
It's Christmas morning

And as awful as the world can be we are still alive
And if we're very careful we might well survive
There are cures & solutions & there is compromise
Christmas morning

Christmas is for children I have heard it said
That's why King Herod hated the babe in the manger bed
They all came to worship & adore the child instead