Just a little while longer
Before we know
We’ll be eating blood oranges
In the snow

The border crossing
Was moving slow
With all this weather
It’s been touch and go

But we keep driving
We’re not afraid
The snow in our headlights
Confetti in a parade

And we’ve got maybe
Oh, a 100 more miles
I’m gonna hold Grace’s baby
They say she’s all smiles

Just a little while longer
Before we know
We’ll be eating blood oranges
In the snow

Daddy’s gonna play Red Wing
Like it’s the only song he knows
Mama’s washin’ dishes
Singin’ soft and low

She’ll ask me to play
From the gospel hymnal
Try to find an old song
She don’t know

Who Made The Lilies?
On The Jericho Road
Let The Lower Lights Be Burning
Be Still My Soul

Just a little while longer
Before we know
We’ll be eating blood oranges
In the snow

And he will gather us
All of us kids
And read pioneer stories
Of the great north woods

And the silent panther
Patient in the trees
With the pioneer children
Walkin’ home beneath

Just a little while longer
Before we know…

Another Christmas is drifting in softly
Like the ghost of my innocence lost
And the tree in the corner burns brightly
I turned all the other lights off

I think back on my life in this stillness
I consider the days of my youth
And the moments I find myself willing
To surrender and just tell the truth

‘Cause I’ve committed every sin
And each one leaves a different scar
It’s just the world I’m livin’ in
And I could use a guiding star

I hope that I can still believe
The Christ child holds a gift for me
Am I able to receive
Peace on earth this Christmas

This old world so sweet and so bitter
Seeds of violence we humans have sown
And these weapons we still love to handle
May our children have strength to let go

When we look at the stars after midnight
Sparkling rumors of redemption at play
Can we still hear the echoes of angels
Who were singing that first Christmas day

‘Cause we’ve committed every sin
And each one leaves a different scar
It’s just the world we’re living in
And we could use a guiding star

I hope that we can still believe
The Christ child holds a gift for us
Are we able to receive
Peace on earth this Christmas

Hark the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn king
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled

Joyful all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With angelic hosts proclaim
Peace on earth this Christmas

My father’s body lies beneath the snow
High on a hill in Holmes County, Ohio
From there you can look out across the fields
A farmer guides his horses home as day to darkness bends
And finally yields

Dad’s gravestone holds the words Be Still My Soul
A song we sang together long ago
And there were times we even shared one hymnbook
His right hand and my left hand side-by-side holding pages
Of music

But now his hands hold nothing but the earth
Hands that held me moments after my birth
And so we must all finally surrender
As we release our grip upon whatever we hold dear
And call familiar

My father’s body lies beneath the snow
And I’m still learning how to let him go
I’ve come to know him better since he’s gone
And often wondered if or how I could’ve been a different
Better son

My father’s body lies beneath the snow
Sometimes on Christmas Eve that’s where I go
I hear faint Christmas bells from far away
Ring out all the unspoken words I’ve never found within myself
To say

If we make it through December
Everything’s gonna be alright I know
It’s the coldest time of winter
And I shiver when I see the falling snow

If we make it through December
Got plans to be in a warmer town come summertime
Maybe even California
If we make it through December we’ll be fine

Got laid off down at the factory
And the timing’s not the greatest in the world
Heaven knows I’ve been workin’ hard
Wanted Christmas to be right for Daddy’s girl

I don’t mean to hate December
It’s meant to be the happy time of year
And my little girl don’t understand
Why Daddy can’t afford no Christmas here

If we make it through December
Everything’s gonna be alright I know
It’s the coldest time of winter
And I shiver when I see the falling snow

If we make it through December
Got plans to be in a warmer town come summertime
Maybe even California
If we make it through December we’ll be fine

If we make it through December
Got plans to be in a warmer town come summertime
Maybe even California
If we make it through December we’ll be fine

Have you been trying too hard
Have you been holding too tight
Have you been worrying too much lately
All night
Whatever we’ve lost
I think we’re gonna let it go
Let it fall
Like snow

‘Cause rain and leaves
And snow and tears and stars
And that’s not all my friend
They all fall with confidence and grace
So let it fall, let it fall

Have you been carin’ too much
How this one ends
Y’know it’s not the kind of fight
That you lose or win
When you’re down so low
You feel the imprint of the ground
On skin
Look around
Breathe in

‘Cause rain and leaves
And snow and tears and stars
And that’s not all my friend
They all fall with confidence and grace
So let it fall, let it fall

Blue lights hanging from the tall palm trees
White wine, catfish and a light gulf breeze
They’re saying it might drop to 60 degrees
For the snowbirds
Here come the snowbirds

Sandals, shorts and mosquitoes
Sunburns, bikinis and Speedos
People swimming in the ocean,
It’s cold in there you know
But the snowbirds don’t mind
The snowbirds

I just wanna be with you all winter
Fly from the north to the south this winter
Where the sky goes on forever and ever
Where the ocean and my heart come together
No more snow boots no earmuffs no sweaters
Just warm weather

Sailboats and seagulls lined along the causeway
Painters with easels misted in a salt spray
There’s only one place I’m longing for today
Like a snowbird
Let me be a snowbird

I just wanna be with you all winter
Fly from the north to the south this winter
Where the sky goes on forever and ever
Where the ocean and my heart come together
No more snow boots no earmuffs no sweaters
Just warm weather

Oh little town of Bethlehem
Have you been forsaken
In your dark and dreamless sleep
Your heart is breaking
And in your wounded sky
The silent stars go by

Oh little town of Bethlehem
Be still tonight be still

Mary she was just a kid
Jesus was a refugee
A virgin and a vagabond
Yearning to be free
Now in the dark streets shining
Is their last chance of a dream

Oh little town of Bethlehem
Be still tonight be still

Cradled by a crescent moon
Born under a star
Sometimes there’s no difference
Between a birthmark and a scar

Oh little town of Bethlehem
With your sky so black
May God impart to human hearts
The wisdom that we lack
Should you chance to find
A hope for all mankind

Oh little town of Bethlehem
Be still tonight be still

The Christmas decorations
Look ragged and rusty
A little sooty with coal dust
Santa’s missing an eye

The neon sign flickers
On the cinder block tavern
By the Salvation Army
And the plumbers supply

The old downtown mission
Has John 3:16 painted
In all capital letters
Above cans full of trash

But the paint is all peeling
Broken glass on the sidewalk
Glitters like chandeliers
Somebody smashed

And my soul feels as empty
As a brown paper bag
The drained bottle inside it
Bought with bummed change

40 ounces of liquor
For 30 pieces of silver
And your temporary suicide
Has all been arranged

It’s like an angel starts singing
An old gospel song
In that part of town where
No angel belongs

But what is this music
That falls on my ear
It’s the very first snowfall
Of a very long year

I’m so far from home
And all that’s familiar
Every prodigal knows
How this story goes

Was I just runnin’ from what’s
Too dark to mention
Or were angels escorting me
God only knows

So help me Maria
We heard the same call
Our hearts felt as free
As a dove newly flown

When a big city beckons
Ah you just can’t imagine
You’re left with no choice
Yeah, you just have to go

It’s like an angel starts singing
An old gospel song
In that part of town where
No angel belongs

But what is this music
That falls on deaf ears
It’s the very first snowfall
Of a very long year

There’s two stray dogs runnin’
In Newport, Kentucky
They’ve got a secret
No one else knows

This old dirty city
Is cleansed of its sin
We’re all light-hearted lovers
We’re all beautiful beggars
We’re all innocent children
As soon as it snows

It’s like an angel starts singing
An old gospel song
In that part of town where
No angel belongs

But what is this music
Are these God’s silent tears?
It’s the very first snowfall
Of a very long year

Here’s a little New Year’s song
Don’t worry it won’t take too long
Just a bit of New Year’s cheer
To say I’m glad you’re here

Little leftover Christmas tree
Just big enough for you and me
With just a single strand of lights
To tease the stars outside

And we thought perhaps we’d see some friends
But as the old year slowly ends
The dogs are dreaming in their beds
We might stay home instead

Here’s a little New Year’s song
Don’t worry it won’t take too long
Just a quiet New Year’s eve
There’s somethin’ up your sleeve

And I might gently take your wrist
Read your body like a Christmas list
The first night that the New Year brings
I wouldn’t wanna miss a thing

Let’s stay home and play old records
Our future’s bright our past is checkered
What do you say we lift a glass

Toast the ghost of another year past
Just a little New Year’s song
Happy New Year everyone
It came upon a midnight clear
Another brand new year

New mercy comes with every morning
The unexpected with no warning
For loved ones who’ve gone on before
Sing me Auld Lang Syne

New mercy comes with every morning
The unexpected with no warning
Let the dear ones you love know
You’ll miss them when you go