John Prine Christmas
Pretty paper
Pretty ribbons of blue.
(spoken) man oh man,
I just love christmas
Its just so darn neat.
I kinda wish every day was christmas,
Except christmas eve and the fourth of july.
We wouldnt want to miss out on the fireworks, would we?
When I was a kid, we used to get the christmas catalog from montgomery wards in chicago.
Sometimes wed get it as early as late august.
It was the big book of wishes, hopes and desires.
My three brothers and I were allotted twenty-five bucks a piece, including tax.
So Id make up a different christmas list every night
From the first of september til the twenty-forth of december.
Matter of fact, let me present you with my christmas credentials.
When I was three years old, at least thats what my mother told me,
I ate an entire ornament. I ate a big red one, I thought it was an apple.
They kinda freaked out and was gonna take me to the hospital
But they couldnt stop me from laughing so they just left me alone.
So I guess I still got that christmas in me all the time, you know?
One year, I got a wooden roly-poly for christmas,
You know the things you knock down and they bounce right back up.
They made em out of wood back then, thats how old I am.
Nowadays, they make em out of plastic.
My mom says they just dont make em like that anymore. and I says, no ma they dont.
Then there was the year I came home only eave from the army,
From germany to marry my highschool sweetheart on the day after christmas.
My little brother billy, who was twelve at the time,
Had just gotten his first job so he was able to afford to buy some christmas presents
For his brothers and his mom and dad out of his own pocket.
Billy had a job selling subscriptions for the chicago tribune.
He told me this guy named rocky would pick him up in a station wagon,
Him and some other boys, and hed take em out to some strange neighborhood
And drop em off and he gave them this whole spiel to give their potential customers.
Supposedly their little brother had won a free trip to our nations capital washington, d.c.,
But he couldnt go on the trip if his older brother wouldnt accompany him
So if you would please buy a subscription to the chicago tribune then my little brother will be happy.
Wow, what a shyster! some peoplell do anything to get to the whitehouse.
Then there was the year that my mom and dad gave me my first guitar.
Ah man it was gorgeous, I still got the thing.
It was a like aqua blue. kinda dark aqua blue with a cream colored heart. was a silvertone from montgomery wards. the model was called kentucky blue and man when I saw that sitting under the tre
Ust couldnt wait.
First year so I didnt know how to play it,
Id just stand in from of the mirror with a string around my neck with that guitar and Id try to look like elvis.
Then my brother dave taught me a couple of chords,
Now Im here in your living room singing and talking to you.
Its funny how things work out.
So-a whynt you go find a stranger and extend your hand to em.
If you see somebody looks like they aint doin quite as well as you, slip em a buck,
specially if they dont ask for spare change.
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song performed by John Prine
Added by Lucian Velea
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