I got the boxes down from the attic With the tree up in the room An unwrapped every ornament Covered in pages from last year's Sunday Tribune Just about every one of them Reminds me of you 'Cause knick-knacks and flashbacks And yester-year's news Oh, it's that time again For the memories of loved ones, family, and friends But this Christmas I know won't compare To back when you were here I guess there's always last year You were laughing by the light of the fireplace Every time I close my eyes The best days of my life Those cold winter nights And even though I realize There will never be another December like that But I'm trying to be thankful for what we had Oh, it's that time again For the memories of loved ones, family, and friends But this Christmas I know won't compare To back when you were here I guess there's always last year Found a picture of you in the snow In a bad Christmas sweater Next to letters you wrote Don't you know you're the reason I love this season so Oh, it's that time again (It's that time again) This Christmas is just not the same without you here I guess there's always last year Guess there's always last year

Wrapping paper everywhere Stacked up dishes, but who cares They can wait until tomorrow now It's you and me, and this old couch The Christmas tree in our living room Fills the room with pine perfume And coloured lights dancing on the walls While Nat King Cole sings, "Deck The Halls" Don't you get the sense tonight That for now the world is right And as another Christmas ends My mind drifts and once again I'm thinking like a six-year-old Only 364 days to go Max got his bike I swear, that kid He's got it parked right by his bed And Jenny sure loves her puppy too I'm not sure just who walked who Thanks for my robe, no that's ok It looks better on you anyway What is it about this time of year That makes our troubles disappear 'Cause don't you get the sense tonight That for now the world is right And as another Christmas ends My mind drifts and once again I'm thinking like a six-year-old Only 364 days to go We can't avoid it No way around it Before too long, we'll be Either back to work back to school Or just back to reality Don't you get the sense tonight That for now the world is right And as another Christmas ends My mind drifts and once again I'm thinking like a six-year-old Only 364 days to go (Oh, 364 days to go) Be here before you know it

If I could write a letter to me And send it back in time to myself at 17 First I'd prove it's me by saying "Look under your bed There's a Skoal can and a Playboy No one else would know you hid" And then I'd say I know it's tough When you break up after seven months And, yeah, I know you really liked her And it just don't seem fair But all I can say is pain like that is fast and it's rare And, oh, you got so much going for you, going right But I know at 17 it's hard to see past Friday night She wasn't right for you and still you feel like there's a knife Sticking out of your back and you're wondering if you'll survive it You'll make it through this and you'll see You're still around to write this letter to me At the stop sign at Tomlinson and 8th I always stop completely, don't just tap your brakes And when you get a date with Bridget Make sure the tank is full On second thought, forget it That one turns out kinda cool Each and every time you have a fight Just assume you're wrong and dad is right And you should really thank Ms. Brinkman She spends so much extra time It's like she sees a diamond underneath And she's polishing you 'til you shine Oh, you got so much going for ya, going right But I know, at 17 it's hard to see past Friday night Tonight's the bonfire rally but you're staying home instead Because if you fail algebra, mom and dad'll kill you dead But trust me, you'll squeak by and get a C And you're still around to write this letter to me You've got so much up ahead You'll make new friends You should see your kids and wife And I'll end by saying have no fear These are nowhere near the best years of your life I guess I'll see you in the mirror when you're a grown man P.S. go hug Aunt Rita every chance you can And oh, you got so much going for you going right But I know, at 17 it's hard to see past Friday night I wish you'd study Spanish, I wish you'd take a typing class I wish you wouldn't worry and let it be Hey, I'd say have a little faith and you'll see If I could write a letter to me To me

Well he yelled out from the back row look here preacher man We all know you're new here but you need to understand It don't really scare us when you yell and shake your fist You see we already know that hell exists Its six months short of thirty years when the boss man lays you off No thinking you no pair of shoes no shiny new gold watch Its payments you cant make on a house that you cant sell See a man don't have to die to go to hell No you don't have to die to go to hell So tell us bout them angels and how they fly around and sing Tell us how to get there cause we all want to be Restin in the arms of Jesus no shame or pain or tears There's hell enough to go around down here Its a place out by the airport where the girls dance just for you And all you feel is drunk and broke and lonely when their through Its waking up with nothing but that stale tobacco smell See a man don't have to die to go to hell Nah you don't have to die to go to hell Its every other weekend and Wednesday with your kid And knowing that he'll hate you when he finds out what you did Cause you'd all still be together if you loved his momma well There ain't no end to stories we can tell Yeah a man don't have to die to go to hell So tell us bout them angels how they fly around and sing