Ric Allendorf

Lyrics

First snow of winter, November of ’73
Two older brothers, a little baby sister and me
Mom wrapped us tight in snow pants and boots
Like miniature, multicolored army recruits

We headed for the hill with our sleds in tow
Little kid legs made it hard to step through the snow
Back in the house, Dad was testing out lights
Our bedrooms would transform by the first star of night

And we didn’t need to feel the winter in the air
To know Christmas was waiting in a crawlspace under the stairs

In a musty old footlocker from Dad’s Army days
A stack of glass ornaments distorting my cold face
Piles of tinsel like silver spaghetti
Snow from a spray can, get the window panes ready

I'd slip under the pipes behind a plywood panel
Trip over hockey sticks, broken shovels and flannels
Grown-up worries would never find me in there
It's my well-kept secret, so quiet and rare

And I didn’t need to feel the winter in the air
To know Christmas was waiting in a crawlspace under the stairs

Watergate, John & Yoko,
A postage stamp for Love
Is it reindeer, or is it Skylab
shining up above?

Almost fifty years later, more distant than ever
Mom and Dad are gone, I’ve tangled all my tethers
We divided the house inside boxes of stuff
Sitting in my basement, there's never room enough…

For an echo of a song from a season of peace and prayer
But I know Christmas is waiting in that crawlspace…
Yeah I know Christmas is waiting in that crawlspace…
My Dad saved Christmas in a crawlspace under the stairs.