12.17.2007

A Honky-Tonk Christmas

Ya'll, we is gussied up!

I mean--ain't nuthin' much round heah that ain't sparkling or smellin' of pine and fir and oranges wif' cloves..vanilla candles and fragrant roses........

Oh how I wish't all ya'll could be wif' Uncle and me and our clan jes' fer a night.

We had a thang the other night--yeah, fun and merry. The regular songs wuz sung out and ever'body racked they brians to come up wif somethin' we ain't sung yet.

Thas' how we ended up wif some Hony-tonk Christmas music. Ya'll's heard the one about the kid tryin' to buy his dyin' Mama a pair of shoes?

Not bad...but mah favorite Hony-tonk Christmas tune is from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra:

IN AN OLD CITY BAR

Ever heered it?

This heah is the lyrics:

In an old city bar
That is never too far
From the places that gather
The dreams that have been


In the safety of night
With its old neon light
It beckons to strangers
And they always come in

And the snow it was falling
The neon was calling
The music was low
And the night
Christmas Eve

And here was the danger
That even with strangers
Inside of this night
It's easier to believe

Then the door opened wide
And a child came inside
That no one in the bar
Had seen there before

And he asked did we know
That outside in the snow
That someone was lost
Standing outside our door

Then the bartender gazed
Through the smoke and the haze

Through the window and ice
To a corner streetlight

Where standing alone
By a broken pay phone
Was a girl the child said
Could no longer get home

And the snow it was falling
The neon was calling
The bartender turned
And said , not that I care
But how would you know this?
The child said I've noticed
If one could be home
They'd be all ready there

Then the bartender came out from behind the bar
And in all of his life it was never that far--
And he did something else that he thought no one saw
When he took all the cash from the register draw

Then he followed the child to the girl cross the street
And we watched from the bar as they started to speak
Then he called for a cab and he said J.F.K.
Put the girl in the cab and the cab drove away
And we saw in his hand
That the cash was all gone
From the light that she had
wished upon

If you want to arrange it
This world you can change it
If we could somehow make this
Christmas thing last

By helping a neighbor
Or even a stranger

And to know who needs help
You need only just ask

* *

Then he looked for the child
But the child wasn't there
Just the wind and the snow
Waltzing dreams through the air

So he walked back inside
Somehow different I think
For the rest of the night
No one paid for a drink

And the cynics will say
That some neighborhood kid
Wandered in on some bums
In the world where they hid

But they weren't there
So they couldn't see
By an old neon star
On that, night, Christmas Eve

When the snow it was falling
The neon was calling
And in case you should wonder
In case you should care

Why we're on our own
Never went home
On that night of all nights
We were already there

Then all at once inside that night
He saw it all so clear
The answer that he sought so long
Had always been so near

It's every gift that someone gives
Expecting nothing back
It's every kindness that we do
Each simple little act

16 comments:

Infinitesimal said...

Merry Christmas,

Did you get your gift in the mail?

Aunty Belle said...

not yet!!
Merry Christmas Infinitessima!!

sparringK9 said...

nice sentiment aunty but the music those guys make? i need a sedative when i hear that shi ite. grrerhahaha

Aunty Belle said...

Dawgy-She, is ya tryin' ter slip in some naughty words? Huh? I seen that--ain't kosher, kiddo.

Hey!! Iffin' ya's comin' thisaway ter see yore Florida folks, gimme a whistle--

You too Artfulsub, if ya comes thisaway fer a Gator thang....

Jenny said...

One of the reasons I like this time of year is because we can take some extra time to think about things like this... but Aunty? The music?

I gotta agree with She.

Hee.

Karen said...

What music? I didn't hear any music though going by She and AB's comments perhaps I have been spared. Loved those lyrics and the sentiment behind them. Wouldn't it be something if we all felt so charitable towards our fellow man all year round?

moi said...

Love the lyrics but must also respectfully agree with She and AB: Must. Cover. Ears.

But you, Aunty, you rock. Merry, merry!

Aunty Belle said...

Aw, ya'll...now thhe music of that song ain't bad--it is ballad style--so, uh, I'se thinkin' ya mean the trans-siberian orchestra's general music? Not that particular tune?
Yep, AB, Gypsy and Mois--fine sentiment--a slow down an' look around ya' moment.

What is the best/most "Christmas thang" ya'll have done this year?

h said...

Merry Christmas, Aunty Belle. I'm not familiar with the music. It's the multiple assaults on guest's olfactory senses that I'd like to see changed.

My Fave Top Chef Season 3 moment was when the Judges dressed down the ghey Contestant for using scented candles.

moi said...

Decorating the tree is A-1 with us, followed by hot toddies, followed by Christmas Eve opening presents. Although we'll have a pre Christmas Eve this year, since we're hitting the inlaws in Looziana for the Big Day.

Oh. And before all that? We'll be trying to de-skunkify the dawg. Mebby Cwismas.

boneman said...

I fergot t'mention this, but, the prize I won got featured in m'video, "Boneman's Studio" which was kind'a a joke 'cause I saw K9's studio video and it was so BIG and so COOL! and Trout was jumpin' around and having ever so good a time!
So I made a video of my studio, complete with three of the four dogs but no cats.
Oddly enough, once I'm in there painting, ever once and a while I'll look down and even though there ain't enough room fer 'em all, there will be all four dogs and two cats curled up in various places in the room.

Kind want to tell everybody
Goldfish bowl (wee fish)
a baby lamb (ewe)
a girl horse (mare) (That's grrrl for K9)
some herons (egrets)
and a moose (not Bullwinkle, even though I'm a big fan.
So, repeat that two more times and end with an ear hopping along the ground and you have:

Wee Fish Ewe A Mare Egrets Moose
Wee Fish Ewe A Mare Egrets Moose
Wee Fish Ewe A Mare Egrets Moose

and a hoppy new ear!

david santos said...

Nice posting, thank you


I wish you a good end of 2007 and a good year of 2008.

sparringK9 said...

ghey! grrrrerhahahahaha

merry christmas aunty belle! i call on ya in a few days. mebbe come by yore garden again for a photo op. you still have ol trouble the burro? was that his name? i forgot.

whatever. merry christmas. yore my favorite aunt.

Lady Prism said...

Merry Christmas!!!

Love you Aunty!!

darkfoam said...

and a merry christmas to you, belle
xo

Mayden' s Voyage said...

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Merry Christmas Aunty~
and hugs too :)
Much love to you and yours :)