Jack Brown: Music
December Shorts And Sandals
The song pretty much tells the story.
Where I grew up, we never had white Christmas
In fact, it rarely ever snowed at all.
I could walk out my front door, head south three blocks more
And wade into the Gulf of Mexico.
But now I live where cold and white-capped mountains
Come gleaming through my window every fall.
It’s Currier and Ives outdoors, but sometimes I sit longing for
December shorts and sandals, after all.
It’s not that I don’t like the colder climate
I celebrate each snowflake as it falls.
I drive right up that mountainside and ski and play and slip and slide
And marvel at the beauty of it all.
And then I’ll see some headline from my hometown
With photo in full color underneath
The holiday parade is going, but instead of sleet and snowing,
It’s December shorts and sandals by the beach.
I guess I’m one who’s never, ever satisfied
For when I was a little boy, my eyes would open wide
At TV football in the snow in Bloomington and Buffalo
While morning fog gave way to sun outside.
I guess it’s true about that grass that’s on the other side.
Whether it be winter green or covered up in white.
So much of what I once dreamed for, I’ve now achieved but still want more.
What silly thoughts to have at Christmastide.
This time of year, I should be celebrating
Gifts given and received this blessed dawn.
From Christmas present, Christmas past, Christmas future coming fast
And loved ones near and far and long since gone.
I guess it’s really not about the weather.
It’s nostalgia, not the temperature or clothes.
I loved the leafy live oak trees, but some years all the pipes would freeze.
It’s funny how I rarely think of those.
So tonight, when all the guests are gone, and family phone calls made and done,
I think I’ll take a walk out in the cold.
And make an angel in the snow, and dress him up from head to toe
In December shorts and sandals, and drink a toast to new and old.