My mother said, "I'm a survivor
I pull together Christmas every year"
"Something has to last," she said
"Once a year let's have the past"
And then one year to reach up high
To hang an angel from the tree
Became a painful thing
"Besides, she's lost her wing," my mother said

"Things fall apart but they never leave my heart"
Good morning, good night
It's Christmas
"Things fall apart but they never leave my heart"

My boyfriend said, "It's really sweet the way you go for Christmas cheer"
I said, "We can't afford the tree"
He said, "Love is free"
So we trimmed the cactus with my earrings that we'd meant to pawn
There wasn't any snow
But there was rain
He licked me like a candy cane
And then one day he said, "I can't stand in your way, it's wrong"
"Way of what?" I asked, but he was gone

The party was a huge success
"But where should we go next?" they said
They killed a tree of 97 years
And smothered it in lights and silver tears
They all got wrecked
They laughed too loud
I started to feel queasy in the crowd
I caught a cab back to my flat
And wept a bit
And fed the cat