A Christmas song plain and not so simple. Extra thanks to KJ Braithwaite for reimagining it as more fully a folk song.

Lyrics

I hit the sack, exhausted by a day too long.
The night went black and suddenly I heard a song.
I rubbed my eyes and looked out on a desert land.
To my surprise, saw shepherds far across the sand.
Was this a dream or had I simply gone insane?
I thought I heard an angel proclaim:

Welcome to the manger where no one is a stranger
And though there may be danger love has the final say.
Welcome to the stable where love is ever able.
No matter what your label, let nothing you dismay for love is on the way.

The sick are healed, restored to their communities.
Love is revealed in how we treat the least of these.
A loaf of bread upon a table set for all.
The hungry fed, the jailed set free, the prophet’s call:
We still have time to build a world of love and care
And I thought I heard the heavenly host declare:

Welcome to the manger where no one is a stranger
And though there may be danger love has the final say.
Welcome to the stable where love is ever able.
No matter what your label, let nothing you dismay for love is born today.

The morning light woke me to reality
But with new sight. Somehow I could finally see
The task ahead: not to let our hatred win.
We must instead offer hope where fear has been
And when we’re sure that we could never get that far
That’s the moment we’ll look up and see the star and it will say:

Welcome to the manger where no one is a stranger
And though there may be danger love has the final say.
Welcome to the stable where love is ever able.
No matter what your label, let nothing you dismay for love is here to stay.