by Scott Shaffer

Created on: December 24, 2008

Tis this night before Christmas

We call it Christmas Eve

And what a sorry state of affairs

As we watch a widow grieve

We feel the pulse quicken

As the phone rings in the hall

And the mother of a soldier

Awaits her sons or daughters call

We see the father stirring

In an easy chair tonight

His dreams are filled with fears of failure

And loss of job may be his plight

The person on unemployment

That is awaiting a check today

Can not put on the smile that is wanted

And lift up a heart that is gay

We see the child looking longingly

At a commercial on his or her TV

And we see them wishing lustily

Could that gift possibly be for me?

Tis a Christmas in America

Where the times are getting hard

We can't afford a phone call

Or to send that Christmas card

Our check isn't in the mail

Nor is our job or our future secure

Gone are the days of old Lang seine

Gone are the days of Christmas's pure

We think back on the days of our Grandma's

As we sat upon their laps

And we think of our relatives gone by

How we miss our uncles and Paps

Yet we alone are being blamed

The government is our friend

It is the fault of the voter for the depression

And it is for us to come out of it in the end

But who pays for those Christmas gifts

That won't be under the tree this year

Why I heard that old saint nick

Had to lay off 6 of his reindeer

So turn to your fellow man on this day

And realize we are all in the same boat

For it is only the good will to all men on this day

That will keep this nation afloat.

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