The old man stood there thinking 
While staring in that old toy shop 
With its carousel still turning round 
In front of a music box clock 
For what good's a clock without a chime 
A useless thing that just keeps time 
Recording moments that come and leave 
But this clock's chimes struck midnight 
Upon a lost christmas eve 
And when the final chime had spoken 
And the twelfth bell had finally rung 
The indecision in the father was broken 
He now knew what had to be done 
So he got into a yellow cab 
And prayed that it might lead 
Through all this snow and streetlight glow 
To a past he might retrieve 
When the taxi dropped him off 
At the boarding house hotel 
It was a rundown building 
With a musty, rundown smell 
And he asked for his son 
From the hotel's night desk clerk 
Who said his son was not there 
He was not back from work 
When the father said that was impossible 
The clerk replied, "i'm not here to debate 
But he works at the hospital, just down the block 
If you want you can sit here and wait 
But he never returns till real late" 
Then the father tried asking another question 
But the clerk went back to watching his tv 
Which was also playing, "how the grinch stole christmas" 
And the father mused, "this movie has no sympathy, 
Well, at least not when it comes down to me" 
Once outside he saw the hospital's entrance 
And went to information by the front door 
Who confirmed that his son had a job there 
And worked up on the seventh floor 
So he took the elevator up to that floor 
Which was marked "maternity" 
And the man knew in his heart that this was a mistake 
For his son working here could not be 
But the nurse on duty reconfirmed that he did 
And since her rounds were about to begin 
If he would like to follow her 
She would gladly take the father to him 
So he followed her to a large dark room 
That to him seemed unusually empty 
Except for several incubators glowing on the right 
Each with a trembling baby 
These infants were all extremely frail 
And obviously in incredible pain 
And this sight cut deep into that father's soul 
And he asked the nurse, please, to explain 
"these children were born to mothers 
Who were addicted to crack cocaine 
And these children are born in complete withdrawal 
For that drug is still deep in their veins 
We can give them no other drugs to ease their withdrawals 
Since they are born premature and quite frail 
And any form of pain killer 
Could easily cause their small hearts to fail" 
"and what does my son do here?" 
The father asked, "he is not a patient, i assume" 
The nurse did not say a single word 
But nodded to the far left corner of the room 
And there the father saw his son 
Who looked like himself when he was a younger man 
Rocking back and forth in a rocking chair 
A trembling infant held in his hands 
And in his arms the child did not cry 
But slept to silent lullabies 
And his son rocked that newborn back and forth 
Until finally, a dream was caught 
But still at his rocking, his son faithfully kept 
Till that poor child's trembling had also, finally, left 
Then the nurse whispered softly 
Into the father's ear 
Something that a blind man could see 
But the father needed to hear 
Whispered to him in this room 
Filled with mankind's misbegotten 
Something that the father had known once 
But somehow had forgotten 
She said, "it is this way with each of us 
We all need to be held, at least twice 
Once upon the day that we are born 
And once more when we leave this life 
Your son has been coming to this place 
Since as long as i've been working here 
He's never missed a single day 
In nearly twenty years 
He always arrives promptly on time 
But a time card he does not keep 
For he never leaves this maternity room 
Until every last child is asleep" 
Then the nurse noticed the father 
Trying to choke back the things he now felt 
So mentioning she had to continue her rounds 
She quietly excused herself 
So he was now alone in the darkness 
Between the past and future caught 
Not knowing what to do 
As his mind flooded with so many thoughts 
Some beauty comes too early 
While its moment never waits 
And some beauty is always there 
But never seen, till it's too late 
Look! there is a moment 
It has just slipped away 
And so we lose our lives 
In such ordinary ways 
Where do we get our dreams from? 
Where do we get our faith? 
Is it something that we are born with 
Or is it something for which we must wait? 
The mist of things we once believed 
The childhood truths for which we grieve 
And in our lives could we have missed 
Those that in the dark, the angels kiss 
What child is this 
Who laid to rest 
That i now find here sleeping? 
Do angels keep the dreams we seek 
While our hearts lie bleeding? 
Could this be christ the king 
Whose every breath the angels bring? 
Could this be the face of god, this child, the son i once carried? 
What child is this 
Who is so blessed he changes all tomorrows? 
Replacing tears with reborn years 
In hearts once dark and hollow 
Could this be christ the king 
Whose every breath the angels bring? 
Could this be the face of god, this child, the son i once carried? 
In the dead of the night 
As his life slips away 
As he reads by the light 
Of a star faraway 
Holding on 
Holding off 
Holding out 
Holding in 
Could you be this old 
And have your life just begin? 
Reading by the light of a lost christmas day 
It begins 
Reading by the light of a lost christmas day 
Tell me how many times can this story be told 
After all of these years it should all sound so old 
But it somehow rings true in the back of my mind 
As i search for a dream that words can no longer define 
Reading by the light of a lost christmas day 
And the time 
Reading by the light of a lost christmas day 
And the time and the years 
And the tears and the cost 
And the hopes and the dreams 
Of each child that is lost 
And the whisper of wings 
In the cold winter's air 
As the snow it comes down 
And visions appear everywhere 
Reading by the light of a lost christmas day 
In the air 
Reading by the light of a lost christmas day 
In the dead of the night 
As his life slips away 
As he reads by the light 
Of a star faraway 
Holding on 
Holding off 
Holding out 
Holding in 
Could you be this old 
And have your life just begin 
Reading by the light of a lost christmas day 
It begins 
Reading by the light of a lost christmas day 
It begins 
Reading by the light of a lost christmas day 
It begins 
Reading by the light of a lost christmas day 
It begins