BALSAM FIR
Free Download
It was winter. It was cold. The ground was a carpet of snow and ice and we were living in
the month of December. I had been touring for the last two years and about to head out for
another six months across North America. I took a job at a Christmas tree lot. Jenni took a
job at a diner. I'd get up around eight, layer myself head to toe, step outside, fire up
the van and head off to the lot. Jenni would be miles ahead of me. Two hours before I'd even
open my eyes, she'd be serving up eggs over easy, pouring coffee and wiping tables.
that girl at the diner
she's looking real fine
she's a tall tall order
one of a kind
serves it up
slice of rye on the side
and there's a blue collar boy
sittin on a stool
the yolk from his eggs are beginning to pool
here's the sound of coffee pouring
look's up
that smile on her face
it's real not fake
and she'll look you in the eyes
she got nothing to hide
a treasure for a poor boy to find
i am working at the tree lot
twelve hours a day
ten under the table
one twenty's okay
if you're lucky on the rent
and gasoline
stays under a dollar
the shifts are long
but i dont mind
the other lot worker
he's strange but he's kind
and the boss always shows up
with a bottle of rum
(and we're singing)
merry christmas sir
we're selling balsam fir
all the way from the coast
that's what i was told
and we'll tie it to your roof
give you a fresh cut
they were cut three weeks ago
and two weeks ago today
they travelled three thousand miles
down the canadian railway
n' you can take one home
ten dollars a foot
meanwhile in that diner
all the way across town
she's stacking the chairs
she's shutting it down
looks up
watches snow
fall to the ground
forty in tips
plus an hourly wage
won't get you rich
keep you turning the page
if you're lucky with life
if you're lucky
i'm sittin in a shack trying to keep warm
these trees ain't movin'
sold four this morn
got three hundred left
six days to go
merry christmas........
it's nine o'clock
it's cold it's dark
that girl from the diner
eventually pulls up
opens the door
it's warm
inside
the snows coming down
as we drive through the streets
past blinking lights
and nativity scenes
it's a winter wonderland
Copyright 2008 Cam Penner ASCAP/SOCAN
