Christmas As I Knew It

One day near Christmas when I was just a child Mama called us together, mama tried to smile She said, "You know the cotton crop hasn't been too good this year There's just no spending money and well at least we're all here" I hope you won't expect a lot of Christmas presents? Just be thankful that there is plenty to eat That's quite a blessing, it'll make things a little more pleasant And us kids got to thinking how really blessed we were At least we were all healthy and best of all we had her Roy cut down a pick apples tree, and we drug it home Jack and me Daddy killed a squirrel and Louise made the bread Reba decorated the tree with popcorn strings before we went to bed Mama and daddy sacrificed 'cause this Christmas was lean, but After all there was the babies Tom and Joanne Babies need a few things I whittled a whistle for my brother Jack and though we fought now and then When I gave Jack that whistle, he knew I thought the world of him Mama made the girl's dresses out of flour sacks And when she ironed them down You couldn't tell that they hadn't come from town A share cropper family across the road didn't have it as good as us They didn't even have a light, and it was way past dusk And mama said, "Well, I bet they don't even have coal oil or beans to boil Let alone apples and oranges and such" Me and Jack took a jar of coal oil 'nd some hickernuts we'd found We walked to the share cropper's porch and set them down A poor old ragged lady eased open the door She picked up the coal oil and hickernuts and said "I sure do, thank you" and quickly closed the door We started back home, me and Jack And about halfway we stopped, looked back In the share cropper's window at last was a light So for one of the neighbors and for us, it was a good Christmas night Christmas came and Christmas went Christmas that year was heaven sent And Daddy put on his gum boots Waited for the thaw Back home in Dyess, Arkansas