Paul Shapera
Christmas In The City
Katy:
Four years ago Christmas as the Woodshire Hotel
In room 318 a broken lamp fell
A man left his family for a woman he loved
And waited here years but still, she’d not come
In 110 a hooker was staying alone
Her night off in style, eating cake with a spoon
And in room 200, just one story more
My mother was lying there dead on the floor
It's Christmas time
It's Christmas time
It's Christmas time in the city
In 310 a man sat alone with his cat
His mind slowly slipping like his weathered grey cap
He couldn't remember his home or his kids
Or the name of the cat, or how long it had been
The maid last night walked in a room where she gasped
Her husband and brother in bed wearing masks
And in room 200, just one story more
My mother was lying there dead on the floor
It's Christmas time
It's Christmas time
It's Christmas time in the city
Up there, the clouds cannot take
And they burst and they shatter and break
And they fall apart slowly, disappear without sound
All that’s left snow falling down to the ground
My stepfather left her, took everything so
I stole a big score to keep her afloat
A bag full of money I brought back but when
I opened the door I saw next to the bed
The pill case was empty, not even a note
But I just can’t blame her, I wish I had known
I wish she had stayed here, just one Christmas more
I wish I had never walked out of that door
It's Christmas time
It's Christmas time
It's Christmas time in the city