Over the Rhine - First Snowfall lyrics

The Christmas decorations Look ragged and rusty A little sooty with coal dust Santa’s missing an eye The neon sign flickers On the cinder block tavern By the Salvation Army And the plumbers supply The old downtown mission Has John 3:16 painted In all capital letters Above cans full of trash But the paint is all peeling Broken gla** on the sidewalk Glitters like chandeliers Somebody smashed And my soul feels as empty As a brown paper bag The drained bottle inside it Bought with bummed change 40 ounces of liquor For 30 pieces of silver And your temporary suicide Has all been arranged It’s like an angel starts singing An old gospel song In that part of town where No angel belongs But what is this music That falls on my ear It’s the very first snowfall Of a very long year I’m so far from home And all that’s familiar Every prodigal knows How this story goes Was I just runnin’ from what’s Too dark to mention Or were angels escorting me God only knows So help me Maria We heard the same call Our hearts felt as free As a dove newly flown When a big city beckons Ah you just can’t imagine You’re left with no choice Yeah, you just have to go It’s like an angel starts singing An old gospel song In that part of town where No angel belongs But what is this music That falls on deaf ears It’s the very first snowfall Of a very long year There’s two stray dogs runnin’ In Newport, Kentucky They’ve got a secret No one else knows This old dirty city Is cleansed of its sin We’re all light-hearted lovers We’re all beautiful beggars We’re all innocent children As soon as it snows It’s like an angel starts singing An old gospel song In that part of town where No angel belongs But what is this music Are these God’s silent tears? It’s the very first snowfall Of a very long year