Christmas In Baghdad

I'd bet that when Loudon Wainwright III wrote this during the first Gulf War, he had no idea how prescient he was with the line, "Here we go again"!

It appears on Loudon's Social Studies CD, but I much prefer this acoustic version — possibly an NPR recording.

Christmas Morning

By Loudon Wainwright III

Well, the banks and the schools and the post office are closed
You can park where you please and you won't get towed
And the streets are empty and the stores are finally closed
It's Christmas morning

He got a tie and she got a book
They weren't supposed to peek but they took a little look
Tell me how long will it take for the dinner to cook
It's Christmas morning

There are so many presents underneath the tree
A few are for you and the rest are all for me
And we gotta tip the super and the doormen, can't you see,
It's Christmas morning

Christmas morning finally has come
It has meaning for each and every one
Christmas morning – I cannot believe
Just last night was Christmas Eve

In the Rockefeller Center the big tree is shining bright
Skaters skate beneath it in the winter light
Like a picture on a Christmas card everything looks right
It's Christmas morning

And the homeless who have nothing will ask on Christmas day
For us to give them something, God we wish they'd go away
Though there is no place for them to go, they have no place to stay
On Christmas morning

Lying in a hospital dying in a bed
With AIDS – "He deserved it," I have heard it said
Deck the halls with boughs of something, soon he will be dead
It's Christmas morning

Christmas morning finally has come
It has meaning for each and everyone
Christmas morning – I'm afraid to say
Life goes on on Christmas day

And the Prince of Peace was born on a Christmas day
In the little town of Bethlehem not so far away
From where a multitude has gathered in a war-like way
On Christmas morning

So we watch the buildup here we go again
There is sand, there are camels but where are the wise men?
Are they in Baghdad? Are they in Washington?
Christmas morning

There are those who go to church they kneel down to pray
For loved ones who have left to serve so far away
And for a Middle Eastern baby born on that very day
It's Christmas morning

Christmas morning finally has come
It has meaning for each and everyone
Christmas Morning — I'm afraid to think
This time we are going to the brink

A week from today we begin a brand new year
Let us all be hopeful, men and women of good cheer
And resolve to fight against stupidity and fear
It's Christmas morning

And as awful as the world can be we are still alive
And if we're very careful we might well survive
There are cures and solutions and there is compromise
It's Christmas morning

Christmas is for children I have heard it said
That's why King Herod hated the babe in the manger bed
They all came to worship and adore the child instead

Well, the banks and the schools and the post office are closed
You can park where you please and you won't get towed
The streets are empty and the stores are finally closed
It's Christmas morning