15 DECEMBER 2007, Page 51

A Christmas Song

Why is the baby crying On this, his special day, When we have brought him lovely gifts And laid them on the hay?

He's crying for the people Who greet this day with dread Because somebody dear to them Is far away or dead, For all the men and women Whose love affairs went wrong, Who try their best at merriment When Christmas comes along, For separated parents Whose turn it is to grieve While children hang their stockings up Elsewhere on Christmas Eve, For everyone whose burden Carried through the year, Is heavier at Christmastime, The season of good cheer.

That's why the baby's crying There in the cattle stall: He's crying for those people. He's crying for them all.