Now why this man's soul was bleeding 
The angel had to understand 
So invisible, he stood by him 
And then gently touched his hand 
Which caused the man to stand there still 
Despite the winter's cold 
And while he stood there in that trance 
The angel read his soul 
It seemed the man was not always like 
The man he had become 
And that angel wondered how that change had happened 
And when it had begun 
The man had been born to a kind and religious family 
And raised in the midwest 
And all throughout his childhood 
This man, clearly, had been blessed 
He grew up believing, among other things 
Man was made in the image of god 
He went to school, observed all rules 
While working very hard 
He had always tried to help others 
Excelled at nearly every task 
And when he'd graduated high school 
Of course, he was the first one in his class 
And in his eighteenth summer 
When it was time for him to leave 
He had offers from several colleges 
All of them ivy league 
And at college in all his studies 
He always received straight "a"s 
And when he tried his hand in theater 
He got the lead in the senior play 
It appeared to nearly everyone 
There was no talent that he lacked 
And for three years on the football team 
He was, the star quarterback 
And there he also met the girl 
Who did become his wife 
With her, his world was now complete 
He had the perfect life 
When they had graduated college 
They were wed in a ceremony quite grand 
Then they moved to new york 
In a dream they seemed caught 
Where all had been perfectly planned 
She decorated their park avenue apartment 
In a 1920's art-deco style 
And six months after they had moved in 
She told him, they would soon be having a child 
And after their first ultrasound 
He knew they were having a son 
Their lives could not have been better 
And they had only just begun 
Together they arrived early at the hospital 
On the delivery date 
The father was taking no chances 
And did not want to risk being late 
But while waiting outside the delivery room 
He could tell that something was going wrong 
For too many doctors were rushing in 
With none coming out for too long 
When her own doctor finally came out 
With several nurses at his side 
He said that his wife had started hemorrhaging 
And despite their best efforts, she died 
Then in an effort to console him 
A nurse gave him his newborn to hold 
But from the way the child felt limp in his arms 
He knew there was still more bad news to be told 
The doctor then gave the prognosis 
As gently as anyone could 
But before he could finish explaining 
The father only too well understood 
The child had been cut off from oxygen 
For minutes, which is far too long 
The damage was now irreversible 
His brain permanently malformed 
He'd never hold a job, 
Learn to read or ever talk 
And it would be a miracle 
If the child even learned how to walk 
And with those words the father felt 
His entire world falling apart 
And he stumbled for the words to express 
The tearing inside of his heart 
He cried out, why did god have to take her 
While she was still so young 
And then as if to cut him deeper 
Leave this thing here as his son 
"please explain to me god's wisdom 
How could he decide 
To take from me my precious wife 
While leaving this alive 
There is no reason for this life 
Why does he even exist 
And if he had never been born 
There is no way he'd have ever been missed 
If man is made in god's image 
Then something here is surely amiss 
For there is nothing of god 
Nothing of god 
Nothing of god 
Nothing of god 
Nothing of god in this" 
And then he asked for the child 
To be placed in a state run home 
And after he had signed the papers 
He walked into that night alone 
And in this world he found unkind 
He built a wall around his mind 
And every year he'd add new parts 
Until it had also enclosed his heart 
He kept his job and paid his debts 
As he slowly became a silhouette 
Of a man walking among the tombs 
While living his life within his wounds 
He distanced himself from all his friends 
Even his sisters and brothers 
And as time it went by, he developed his eyes 
So they could only see the flaws in others 
With this final glimpse, the angel stepped away 
And the man shook himself out of his trance 
Then continued his walk back towards his home 
And few would have given his soul half of a chance 
And the angel himself felt helpless 
As he watched that old man there 
So he did what even humans do 
And he quickly said a prayer 
And as the prayer flew to his lord 
The angel did decide 
To carefully follow the old man 
And stay closely by his side 
For on this night can one deny 
The gift of a more sympathetic eye 
To cast upon our fellow man 
And on this night to understand 
The frailty of childhood dreams 
Like fireflies over summer streams 
And if one dared to remove time's veil 
Could one retrace those childhood trails? 
But whispers in the winter's wind 
Told of rescued dreams, forgiven sins 
And who among us shall be deemed 
To rescue some forgotten dream? 
So on this night of christmas eve 
As once again the spirits weave 
Its snowswept dreams and colored lights 
With bits of magic into each life 
And as the snow comes gently down 
Its soul intent to reach the ground 
To cover scars the world still feels 
Perhaps to give them time to heal 
For as men invest in money 
And professors in what they know 
God invests in mercy 
Like winter invests in snow 
[Instrumental]