Bill Anderson: Po' Folks Christmas

(Bill Anderson)

There's a whole lotta people lookin' down their noses at me
'Cause I didn't come from a wealthy family
I guess I learned to take it for most of the year
But every December when Christmas drew near
And all the other families were out spreadin' cheer
We was sittin' home being po' folks.

Our Christmas shopping was thumbin' through the new catalog
Lookin' and a wishin' and a wantin' everything we saw
Little toy trains and little toy boats
And sister kept lookin' at the little girl's coats
We all sat down and wrote Santa a note
But Santa don't come to see po' folks.

And we wadn't nothing but po' folks
Po' folks livin' way in the country
We never heard the jingle of the jingle bells
Ho, ho, ho, we was po, po. po'
And if we had Christmas well we just made it ourselves.

Daddy took a hatchet and daddy chopped a pine tree down
The only decorations were the ones we made or found
Brother saw some holly in the rich man's yard
He picked it up fast and ran home hard
And mama knew he stole it but bless her heart
Christmas ain't easy on po' folks
And it ain't no time for whipping po' folks.

--- Instrumental ---

I remember one Christmas it was blowing
And a snowing mean
Wadn't nothing in the kitchen
But a few of mama's homecanned beans
Some ladies from the church brought a basket of food
Mama kinda smiled and she said that's good
But why don't you all just take it to the folks
That live down the road
They ain't got as much as we do, huh
Why they're just po' folks.

She only kept a chicken and enough
To make some homemade bread
But you'd've thought we was feastin'
From the blessings that my daddy said
And later when kids was tucked in tight
And the fire wadn't nothin' but a flickering light
You oughta heard my mama sing Silent Night
Cause that's what you do when you're po' folks
And we wadn't nothin' but po' folks.

Christmas time when you're po' folks
The Lord sure must've loved us po' folks ha, ha
He made a passel of us
Everybody at my house was po' folks
Why most of the time we was po'
We couldn't even pay attention, mercy
Christmas time when you're po' folks...