Christmas Song

A friend (Kevin Connelly)  challenged me to write a Christmas song after my Mistletoe and Swine post. I thought about it in a general way but didn't come to any conclusions about how I would address the task, or even whether I would try. The closest I can come to describing my spiritual beliefs is to say that I am an agnostic. However, I am not immune to the romance and mystery of the nativity story and I still find Jesus a charismatic and heroic figure. About half-past five this morning I woke up with the words of my Christmas song buzzing around in my head. With a pen and paper and a bit of tweaking and scoring out, I had the finished lyric in about half an hour. Basically it is a sequence of the images that attach, for me at any rate, to Christmas, together with the realisation that mystery is at the heart of spirituality.

I'm too late for this Christmas even though I will probably write the tune today and record the song this week so I may well keep it till next November/December but here, for what it is worth, is the lyric.

PS After Jim Devlin's question about the chorus I have added something - not exactly a chorus but a verbal counterpoint to the instrumental section (which you haven't heard). I've written and half-recorded the tune but still have a way to go. I am still doubtful about putting it out on the web this year - but we'll see.

Mystery

In the still cold night
A mystery so deep
In its blanket of snow
This town lies asleep
And a lonely dark figure
Makes his way down the street
With the sky on his shoulders
And the world at his feet

This night that seems endless
Must pass by and by
But one bright star remains
As the dawn fills the sky
A mystery so deep
The birth of a boy
As the child that lies sleeping
Will awaken to joy

Footfalls in the silent snow
Walking home
But not alone

Footprints in snow
In the still cold night
Led down the dark street
To the day's first light
For Christmas had come
As the town lay asleep
In the first rays of dawn
A mystery so deep


Footfalls in the silent snow
Walking home
But not alone