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This day a year ago, he was rolling in the snow,
With a younger brother in his father's yard;
Christmas break, a time for touching home,
The heart of all he'd known;
And leaving was so hard.
Three thousand miles away,
Now he's working Christmas Day,
Making double time for the minding of the store;
Well, he always said he'd make it on his own,
He's spending Christmas Eve alone;
First Christmas away from home.
She's standing by the train station,
Pan-handling for change,
Four more dollars buys a decent meal and room;
Looks like the Sally Ann place after all,
In a crowded sleeping hall,
That echoes like a tomb.
But it's warm and clean and free,
And there are worse places to be,
At least it means no beating from her dad;
And if she cries because it's Christmas Day,
She hopes that it won't show;
First Christmas away from home.
In the apartment stands a tree,
And it looks so small and bare,
Not like it was meant to be;
Golden angel on the top,
It's not that same old silver star,
You wanted for your own;
First Christmas away from home
In the morning they get prayers,
Then it's crafts and tea downstairs,
Then another meal back in his little room;
Hoping maybe that the boys
Will think to phone before the day is gone;
Well, it's best they do it soon.
When the old girl passed away,
He fell apart more every day,
Each had always kept the other pretty well;
But the kids all said the nursing home was best,
'Cause he couldn't live alone;
First Christmas away from home.
In the common room they've got the biggest tree,
And it's huge and cold and lifeless,
Not like it ought to be;
And the lit-up flashing Santa Claus on top,
It's not that same old silver star,
You once made for your own;
First Christmas away from home.
The YouTube video above features an excellent cover performance of a variant by Jody Hale of Too Good Arm and Grand Falls-Windsor, NL.
From Wikipedia:
Sally Ann — The Salvation Army works in 118 countries. It is sometimes colloquially referred to as the Sally Ann in Canada and the Sally Army in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. In Australia, the full name is rarely used, with the slang abbreviation The Salvos displayed even on their shop fronts.
