THE SNOW LOOKS AWFUL PRETTY
by
Tom Powers

Submitted by Peter K.

Well, hi there buddy, how’s your dogs?
Yeah, freezin? Them red clothes
Don’t look too warm, you got a chilly place
You’d better push them whiskers up and cover up your nose.
That North West wind will freeze it off your face
Here, smoke this butt, and warm it - what?
What do I want this year? Well, let me see, what would it be?
Well, brother, listen here I want a job to do
‘Till I can catch my breath
And watch the morning coming through the blind
Without that fear that grips you till it scares you most to death
And gets you so you nearly lose your mind.

That’s all I want for Christmas. I don’t want no mistletoe
I want a job, I want some place I know I’ve got to go
Instead of tramping through these slushy streets
I hate this snow. What? - No, I’m only raving
But it gets you when you see
The winter coming on you. Well, good-bye
We’ll be down there for Christams dinner my two kids and me
Salvation turkey, spuds, and hot mince pie
That’s all they’ll get this year - and that’s no lie.

Hello, sir, - Yes, it’s pretty cold
This church, though, breaks the wind
This grating’s kind of dry, too, underfoot
I think I’ll stop a minute till I get my collar pinned
Up closer round my neck. They sure have put
A lot of men to work with shovels. My name’s on the list
I went this morning, but the rolls were full
I tried to get my name in, early yesterday, but missed
I guess it’s better if you’ve got a pull.

Gee, ain’t that nice, that music and that window’s lit up, too
The colours, say, I don’t see how they make them, like they do
It’s started snowing harder. Gosh, this is a heavy fall
Oh yes, it does look pretty, as you say, but that ain’t all
There’s lots of folks, I guess that wouldn’t kick it, just for now
The angel’s wings would stop their moulting lots could tell you how
They’ve thought and planned, and tried to save
The little that they had to hold out, somehow, till the Spring.

Yeah, times is pretty bad. I guess those other folks,
Like you that think this snow looks good,
Don’t have to think of worn out soles or how they’ll get some wood
Or how much medicine will cost to stop the baby’s croup
Or if it’s best to spend your dime on coffee, bread, or soup
Or whether that old coat could be cut down for little Joe
Or whether little Helen’s shoes are good enough to go
Once more, up to the Clinic where they try to keep her well.
Oh yeah, the snow looks pretty but there’s lots, I guess, could tell
How they watched those first falling flakes with a load upon their mind
As they tramp around the city after work of any kind.

Unemployment sounds an awful nice and easy word to say
But when you’re the one it’s speaking of it sounds the other way
One day you hear a rumour that a job’s about to start
Big construction, way out yonder by the shore, so you take heart
But it’s far, and there’s no carfare so, you’re early on your way
Tramping hard that slippery pavement long before the break of day
And you’re tired when you get there and you’re dying for a feed
And the foreman says, “No, buddy, we’ve got all the men we need.”

Yeah, the snow looks awful pretty and the pavement’s hard and long
And your footsteps, on your way back home tap out a little song
“It ain’t because I’m lazy, I was never known to shirk
I did my job as best I could, I used to love my work.”
I can’t go back and tell ‘em and listen to ‘em cry
For they jest can’t keep on hoping as week by week goes by.

It’s harder too, with Christmas comin’ nearer every day
To see those kids write letters and to know that, what they say
To Santa Claus, won’t reach him and even if it did
Their stockings will be empty.It’s tough, when you’re a kid
And tougher when you’ve got ‘em and have to see their eyes
Look at you, Christmas morning while something in ‘em dies
I just can’t stand to watch ‘em and see ‘em learn that we
Ain’t in on all this business that they can’t have no tree
You can’t explain it to ‘em and I just can’t stand the sight
Of little stockings hanging up there limp, all Christmas night

I’m getting soft, I know it but who wouldn’t, when it’s cold
And kids can’t understand it no matter how it’s told
Oh, all the fight’s gone out of me. I’ve got no guts or pride
For my babies they are starving and my little wife has died
And someone’s got to help us ‘cause I’ve done the best I could
And stealin’ ain’t no good to me. I couldn’t, if I would

But someone’s got to help us ‘cause I’ve done the best I can
I’ve tried to keep my courage up. I’ve tried to be a man
Yeah, the snow looks awful pretty with a bracing wind that’s keen
But it makes the blood freeze in your heart, if you get me, what I mean.