Life begins and life it ends
all on this night of winter's woe
hanging to their sacred pain
the sisters scurry to and fro

I await the child who's born
wait to hold his blanket form
I can fear the painful cries
deep inside where I cannot go

[chorus]
have you seen the child i'll hold
blanketed against the coid
leaving by that very door
only a fool could ask for more
can you please make his cries be heard
kill his hunger with peaceful words

outside the walls the winter falls
blanketing the countryside
the poor stay poor and the rich they hide
the poor have children and the rich preside

willie he taunts me when he's juiced
that I am the father of his child
I toss and turn the moral loose
am I alone in pacing these halls

and what shall I name this child of mine
is it connor or brian or bridget devine
hit former life a secret now
be it criminal or saint with sacred vow

these banal forms of colonial pride
though naked he came from the maker
well dress him in what clothes he likes
and lower him in his cradle

© 1984 John S. Hardy Music