Tuesday, December 20, 2005

"Suddenly It's Christmas"

I have a new favorite songwriter, Loudon Wainwright III (He wrote the theme song of "M.A.S.H.").  He's the type of singer who makes me want to write songs for myself.  Here are the lyrics to one of the songs he's written, appropriate to the season:

                                                    Suddenly It's Christmas

                                         Copyright ©1993 Snowden Music, Inc.

Suddenly it's Christmas,
Right after Hallowe'en.
Forget about Thanksgiving;
It's just a buffet in between.
There's lights and tinsel in the windows;
They're stocking up the shelves;
Santa's slaving at the North Pole
In his sweatshop full of elves.

There's got to be a build-up
To the day that Christ was born:
The halls are decked with pumpkins
And the ears of Indian corn.
Dragging through the falling leaves
In a one-horse open sleigh,
Suddenly it's Christmas,
Seven weeks before the day.

Suddenly it's Christmas,
The longest holiday.
When they say "Season's Greetings"
They mean just what they say:
It's a season, it's a marathon,
Retail eternity.
It's not over till it's over
And you throw away the tree.

Outside it's positively balmy,
In the air nary a nip;
Suddenly it's Christmas,
Unbuttoned and unzipped.
Yes, they're working overtime,
Santa's little runts;
Christmas comes but once a year
And goes on for two months.

Christmas carols in December
And November, too;
It's no wonder we're depressed
When the whole thing is through.
Finally it's January;
Let's sing "Auld Lang Syne";
But here comes another heartache,
Shaped like a Valentine.

Suddenly it's Christmas,
The longest holiday.
The season is upon us;
A pox, it won't go away.
It's a season, it's a marathon,
Retail eternity.
It's not over till it's over
And you throw away the tree.

No, it's not over till it's over
And you throw away the tree;
It's still not over till it's over
And you throw away the tree.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I throw away the tree on Christmas Day...

Anonymous said...

This sounds familiar. I like the lyrics. : )
Angela

Anonymous said...

Well I will agree with the songwriter...the "season" does seem to drag on a bit....and when it finally gets here....we are all ragged out and glad it is over..when it should be...we were happy it got here...wreaths and ornaments will give way to Valentines....and the left over Christmas will be piled in the corner at 70% off....sheesh....oh well...Merry Christmas anyway....Ora

Anonymous said...

Suicide is painless??  I have to tell you that the attempts are definitely NOT!!  That theme song music makes me uncomfortable these days.

Russ