[NARRATION]



The old man stood there thinking 

While staring in that old toy shop 

With its carousel still turning round 

In front of a music box clock 



For what good's a clock without a chime 

A useless thing that just keeps time 

Recording moments that come and leave 

But this clock's chimes struck midnight 

Upon a lost christmas eve 



And when the final chime had spoken 

And the twelfth bell had finally rung 

The indecision in the father was broken 

He now knew what had to be done 



So he got into a yellow cab 

And prayed that it might lead 

Through all this snow and streetlight glow 

To a past he might retrieve 



When the taxi dropped him off 

At the boarding house hotel 

It was a rundown building 

With a musty, rundown smell 



And he asked for his son 

From the hotel's night desk clerk 

Who said his son was not there 

He was not back from work 



When the father said that was impossible 

The clerk replied, "i'm not here to debate 

But he works at the hospital, just down the block 

If you want you can sit here and wait 

But he never returns till real late" 



Then the father tried asking another question 

But the clerk went back to watching his tv 

Which was also playing, "how the grinch stole christmas" 

And the father mused, "this movie has no sympathy, 

Well, at least not when it comes down to me" 



Once outside he saw the hospital's entrance 

And went to information by the front door 

Who confirmed that his son had a job there 

And worked up on the seventh floor 



So he took the elevator up to that floor 

Which was marked "maternity" 

And the man knew in his heart that this was a mistake 

For his son working here could not be 



But the nurse on duty reconfirmed that he did 

And since her rounds were about to begin 

If he would like to follow her 

She would gladly take the father to him 



So he followed her to a large dark room 

That to him seemed unusually empty 

Except for several incubators glowing on the right 

Each with a trembling baby 



These infants were all extremely frail 

And obviously in incredible pain 

And this sight cut deep into that father's soul 

And he asked the nurse, please, to explain 



"these children were born to mothers 

Who were addicted to crack cocaine 

And these children are born in complete withdrawal 

For that drug is still deep in their veins 



We can give them no other drugs to ease their withdrawals 

Since they are born premature and quite frail 

And any form of pain killer 

Could easily cause their small hearts to fail" 



"and what does my son do here?" 

The father asked, "he is not a patient, i assume" 

The nurse did not say a single word 

But nodded to the far left corner of the room 



And there the father saw his son 

Who looked like himself when he was a younger man 

Rocking back and forth in a rocking chair 

A trembling infant held in his hands 



And in his arms the child did not cry 

But slept to silent lullabies 

And his son rocked that newborn back and forth 

Until finally, a dream was caught 

But still at his rocking, his son faithfully kept 

Till that poor child's trembling had also, finally, left 



Then the nurse whispered softly 

Into the father's ear 

Something that a blind man could see 

But the father needed to hear 



Whispered to him in this room 

Filled with mankind's misbegotten 

Something that the father had known once 

But somehow had forgotten 



She said, "it is this way with each of us 

We all need to be held, at least twice 

Once upon the day that we are born 

And once more when we leave this life 



Your son has been coming to this place 

Since as long as i've been working here 

He's never missed a single day 

In nearly twenty years 



He always arrives promptly on time 

But a time card he does not keep 

For he never leaves this maternity room 

Until every last child is asleep" 



Then the nurse noticed the father 

Trying to choke back the things he now felt 

So mentioning she had to continue her rounds 

She quietly excused herself 



So he was now alone in the darkness 

Between the past and future caught 

Not knowing what to do 

As his mind flooded with so many thoughts 



Some beauty comes too early 

While its moment never waits 

And some beauty is always there 

But never seen, till it's too late 



Look! there is a moment 

It has just slipped away 

And so we lose our lives 

In such ordinary ways 



Where do we get our dreams from? 

Where do we get our faith? 

Is it something that we are born with 

Or is it something for which we must wait? 



The mist of things we once believed 

The childhood truths for which we grieve 

And in our lives could we have missed 

Those that in the dark, the angels kiss 



[WHAT CHILD IS THIS?]



What child is this 

Who laid to rest 

That i now find here sleeping? 

Do angels keep the dreams we seek 

While our hearts lie bleeding? 



Could this be christ the king 

Whose every breath the angels bring? 

Could this be the face of god, this child, the son i once carried? 



What child is this 

Who is so blessed he changes all tomorrows? 

Replacing tears with reborn years 

In hearts once dark and hollow 



Could this be christ the king 

Whose every breath the angels bring? 

Could this be the face of god, this child, the son i once carried? 



In the dead of the night 

As his life slips away 

As he reads by the light 

Of a star faraway 



Holding on 

Holding off 

Holding out 

Holding in 



Could you be this old 

And have your life just begin? 



Reading by the light of a lost christmas day 

It begins 

Reading by the light of a lost christmas day 



Tell me how many times can this story be told 

After all of these years it should all sound so old 

But it somehow rings true in the back of my mind 

As i search for a dream that words can no longer define 



Reading by the light of a lost christmas day 

And the time 

Reading by the light of a lost christmas day 



And the time and the years 

And the tears and the cost 

And the hopes and the dreams 

Of each child that is lost 

And the whisper of wings 

In the cold winter's air 

As the snow it comes down 

And visions appear everywhere 



Reading by the light of a lost christmas day 

In the air 

Reading by the light of a lost christmas day 



In the dead of the night 

As his life slips away 

As he reads by the light 

Of a star faraway 



Holding on 

Holding off 

Holding out 

Holding in 



Could you be this old 

And have your life just begin 



Reading by the light of a lost christmas day 

It begins 

Reading by the light of a lost christmas day 

It begins 

Reading by the light of a lost christmas day 

It begins 

Reading by the light of a lost christmas day 

It begins