Home for Christmas Day (by Stephen Larkin from McNeely Villas but now in Philadelphia)
Steve Larkin
It’s seventeen years since I’ve spent Christmas in Letterkenny town
I’ve made a new home in a new land now and it’s well I’m settled down
I wonder how much it’s changed since the time that I lived there
When we sat on the bank railing watching girls pass by, in front of the market square.
On Christmas Day the town was dry, there was not a drop to be found
Except in every establishment on the drinkers underground
There’s a gathering not to be missed, as traditional as Turkey and Ham
It’s to sneak yourself in the back door for the Christmas morning dram
It was only a couple of hours but on a special kind of day
Great craic with friends and neighbours, some returned from far away
No man short on style nor funds in the Christmas morning crowd
And the drink tasted ten times better when you knew it wasn’t allowed
We used to host a party on Christmas, later in the day
For them who finished their dinner and could, it was an excuse to slip away
We had a fire, music, drink and food and video games to play
We partied till the wee hours with friends and neighbors, including Dempsey and Stephen and Kay
I spend each Christmas in America now as my kids are not yet grown
And I often think of the times I had, which these boys will never have known
Maybe a few years from now, when my boys will be making their own way
I’ll pack a bag and travel light and be home for Christmas Day