Where Did My Christmas Go?

[Verse 1]
The tree lit, but no one counting days
Stockings that stay folded
Gifts bought out of habit, not excitement
No snow, just slush in the gutters
I spend all my time working
Beating the magic out of myself
Until even the lights look tired

[Pre-Chorus]
Every song tells me it’s bright
But I feel the gloom closing in tonight

[Chorus 1]
Decked halls and jingling bells
Empty laughter, quiet hells
All this joy, it’s on display
I keep the season, it slips away

[Verse 2]
Footsteps echo where none should run
The fire burns, but the warmth is gone
Cups sit full upon the table, still
A quiet house that remembers how it feels
Bulbs in windows flicker like ghosts
Every ornament whispers what I’ve lost
Giggles that once filled these halls
Now hang in corners, thin and small

[Chorus 2]
Decked halls and jingling bells
Empty laughter, quiet hells
All this joy, it’s on display
I keep the season, it slips away

[Verse 3]
Tiny footprints in the morning frost
A chair pulled out, but no one’s lost
Paper scattered from gifts long gone
Phantoms linger where humor shone
Bells that rang in years before
Murmur low through the empty floor
I reach for ghosts that used to stay
But Christmas drifts quietly away

[Chorus]
Decked halls and jingling bells
Empty laughter, quiet hells
All this joy, it’s on display
I keep the season, it slips away

[Violin Solo]

[Chorus - Powerful]
Decked halls and jingling bells
(bells)
Empty laughter, quiet hells
(hells)
All this joy, it’s on display
(as you see)
I keep the season, it slips away
(so very far away)

[Outro]
Frost coats the steps out on the walk
I leave the season lined with chalk
Bulbs blink weakly, dim and small
Christmas passes without... us... all

Low-key CHRISTMAS-core dark pop-rock, trip-hop, bittersweet holiday, ironically upbeat, sexy percussion, male baritone