The winter's flaking snow is brushin' through the pinewood trees
I stuff my hands down deep inside my coat
I think of years ago and half remembered Christmas trees
And faces that still warm me with their glow
The cold and empty evening hangs around me like a ghost
I listen to my footsteps in the snow
The sound of one man walking through the snow can break your heart
And stopping doesn't help, so on I'll go
And Christmas eve can kill you
When you're trying to hitch a ride to anywhere

The icy air I'm breathin's all that keeps me on my feet
I feel like I've been walking all my life
A car goes runnin' by; the man don't even turn his head
Guess he's busy bein' Santa Claus tonight

The saddest part of all is knowin' if I switched with him
I'd leave him stumbling ragged by the road
I'd ride that highway to arms of my sweet family
And forget about the stranger in the cold
And Christmas eve can kill you
When you're tryin' to hitch a ride to anywhere

And as I walk I'm singing to myself 'O Silent Night'
Hopin' I can save those other souls
Oh, God forgive the man that drives right by the other man
Take pity on the stranger in the cold
'Cause Christmas eve can kill you
When you're tryin' to hitch a ride to anywhere