First Snowfall Lyrics - Blood Oranges In The Snow - Over The Rhine

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 glass 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