WinterFolk, by O'Hooley & Tidow (2024)

1.

Winter's comingWe live a shorter dayThe sun is huntingFor a place to stayAnd Jack Frost's fingersAre in the wind againRagged robin is see-sawin'In one half of a coconut shellHe can't find the bacon rindHunger makes his redbreast swellNow is the time for fire and wineFire for body and wine for the mindWe will sing and play till the break of dayAnd we will sing Jack Frost awayCold October bowls me overDamp November makes me sneezeThen December cruelly sends The winter frost to freeze my kneesWinter brings us to the singersAnd the drinkers, glass in handRoll up smokers, cards and jokersListeners all who sit and stand

2.

When you were the last polar bearAnd I was a small patch of snowWere you lonely?Did you find me?A gentle footprint, carefully chosenMoving slowly towards the snowI blindly waited, urging you forwardTonight we don’t have to be aloneAnd there is nothing left to see for miles and milesWhen the tide comes inAnd never goes outWhen the tide comes inWhen I am the last polar bearAnd you are a small patch of snowAs the North Star lights our meetingI watch as you melt in my hand

3.

Look at the heaven we have madeAnd the hell for someone elseLook at the baubles shining brightGlass dangling like our livesLook at the lovers we have lostAnd the words we’ll never sayWho gave me all this fearAnd all this love to give awayLook at the stars up in the skyAs we switch the lights back onLook at the child who’ll never seeLook at what we have becomeRemember someone you have lovedBut hold a candle for the hateThat burns inside us allI don’t care what it means I’m not concerned if it’s wrong I just want to be little and spend Xmas with my mumShe is the flower that I trod onOn the way to buy this cardA computer written poem Telling me about my heartShe is the piece of plastic I wrapped up For a child to undress He is the shadows in the darknessThe object of my distressWe shall all be silencedWe shall all disappearAnd there’ll be nothing and no-oneAnd now the party is overReunited with our halvesWe spent the night avoidingBut we can never break apartAnd so we’re driving home this XmasWith nothing but our fearsKeeping us togetherWell at least until next yearAnd the Xmas bells are ringingWith the sounds of breaking glassAnd he’s laughing at herHe’s mocking her, he’s making her feel smallDoes she want to be little?Does she want to be small?Well one more Xmas with himOne more Xmas that’s all

4.

Once I was a frozen childWrapped my little heart in snowNow near forty winters oldStill searching for a hand to holdWinter folk, summers will unfoldMay there always be a hand to holdMigrating, displaced from homeUnsettled within our soulsBoat, bank, debt or bedOur need to feed or to be fedIn the winter of the hoursIn the winter of your dayThe stranger lights a candleAnd welcomes you to stayMay all your Christmases be realAnd know that it’s ok to feelFamily could be one good friendAnd no-one having to pretendWinter folk, summers will unfoldThere will always be a hand to hold

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n this body it’s hard to be aloneSeasons pass like strangersStrangers are all I knowCalling meThat little voice is calling meAnd I can feel a change in meFebruary Broken groundMother Nature’s fingersReaching for my ownLate NovemberYou

7.

I carried my love from the spring to the winterI carried her ’til I heard her first cryI cradled her close, against my warm bosomBut Annie died on the night she was bornWhitethorn, my children you holdWhitethorn, cradle and graveHeadstone, berries in winterSorrow, your thorns from my bloodSo fertile are we under this dark skyBarren the fields, raped of their stockPregnant the cure for all my ambitionA condition it seems more often than notEach day brings less food to the tableEach passing year, there’s more mouths to feedAnnie was spared the hunger of childhoodRelief, like cold water, mixed with my griefWhitethorn, bring me my childrenWhitethorn, to cradle at lastBerries, red are the bruisesWhitethorn, the night will turn black

8.

Alles schläft, einsam wachtNur das traute hoch heilige PaarHolder Knabe im lockigen HaarSchlaf in himmlischer Ruh Silent night, holy nightAll is calm, all is brightRound yon virgin, mother and childHoly infant so tender and mildSleep in heavenly peace

9.

And we'll sing hallelujahAt the turning of the yearAnd we work all day in the old-fashioned wayTill the shining star appearsA man is like a rusty wheelOn a rusty cartHe sings his song as he rattles alongAnd then he falls apartA man is like a briarHe covers himself with thornsHe laughs like a clown when his fortune's downAnd his clothes are ragged and tornA man is like a three stringed fiddleHanging upon the wallHe plays when somebody scrapes on the bowOr he can't play at allA man is like his fatherHe wishes he never was bornHe longs for the time when the clock won’t chimeAnd he won’t be here anymore

10.

Lulay lulay, my tiny child Too soon you'll know the world so wild Yes all too soon you will be grown And I'll bide here alone, alone The rushing bellows you shall ride And the light of the North Star will be your guide But yet awhile, I'll have you stay Lulay my tiny child, lulay. For you shall run in meadows green And sport with otters all in the stream And you shall chase the dapple deer And swim with salmon in the waters clear To pluck the small birds from the sky On the tail of the South wind, you shall fly And take the high hills for your home Blood of my blood, bone of my bone. And when at last your course is run Joy of my joy, my little son Beneath the sky you'll stand alone Flesh of my flesh, bone of my bone. Yes you shall stand on the coal black sand To cross o'er the waters of the Western land But now I have you at my breast Lulay my sweet one, gently rest

11.

It was Christmas Eve babe In the drunk tankAn old man said to me, won't see another oneAnd then he sang a song‘The Rare Old Mountain Dew’I turned my face awayAnd dreamed about youGot on the lucky one Came in eighteen to oneI've got a feelingThis year's for me and youSo happy ChristmasI love you babyI can see a better timeWhen all our dreams come trueThey've got cars big as barsThey've got rivers of goldBut the wind blows right through youIt's no place for the oldWhen you first took my handOn a cold Christmas EveYou promised meBroadway was waiting for meYou were handsomeYou were prettyQueen of New York CityWhen the band finished playingThey howled out for moreSinatra was swingingAll the drunks they were singingWe kissed on the cornerThen danced through the nightThe boys of the NYPD choirStill singing ‘Galway Bay’And the bells are ringing outFor Christmas dayYou're a bumYou're a punk You're an old slu*t on junkLying there almost dead on a drip in that bedYou scumbag, you maggotYou cheap lousy fa*ggotHappy Christmas your arseI pray God it's our last

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