CHRISTMAS EVE CAN KILL YOU
(Dennis Linde)

The Everly Brothers - 1972


The winter's flaking snow is brushing through the pinewood trees
I stuck my hands down deep inside my coat
I think of years ago and half remembered Christmas trees
And faces that still warm me with their glow

The cold and empty evening hangs around me like a ghost
I listen to my footsteps in the snow
The sound of one man walkin' through the snow can break your heart
But stopping doesn't help, so on I'll go

And Christmas Eve can kill you
When you're trying to hitch a ride to anywhere

The icy air I'm breathin' is all that keeps me on my feet
I feel like I've been walking all my life
A car goes running by, the man don't even turn his head
Guess he's busy being Santa Claus tonight

The saddest part of all is knowing if I switched with him
I'd leave him stumblin' ragged by the road
I'd ride that highway to the arms of my sweet family
And forget about the stranger in the cold

And Christmas Eve can kill you
When you're trying to hitch a ride to anywhere

And as I walk I'm singin' to myself, Oh Silent Night
Hoping I can save those other souls
Oh, God forgive the man who drives right by the other man
Have pity on the stranger in the cold

'Cause Christmas Eve can kill you
When you're trying to hitch a ride to anywhere


(Transcribed by Bill Huntley & Mel Priddle - August 2005)