Xmas Dream

Another Christmas Dream ©Brian Hooper, this version January 2009

I dreamed I saw the Christ-child, he was lying in a manger,
There were wise men, there were shepherds and a sheep;
And curled up in the corner there I dreamed I saw a donkey,
He was tired out and so he'd gone to sleep.
Into this peaceful picture came a man in uniform;
He was carrying a sabre and a gun;
And the tears ran down his face as he kneeled in that place
And prayed to God to pardon what he'd done.

I dreamed a man came in there with slaves all on a chain
And he turned his face to Christ and set them free;
And he asked that little baby then to free him from the pain
Of a captive in his own captivity.
He faded from the scene as in came emperors and queens
Waiting patiently to kneel before God's bed;
Some spoke clearly, some just mumbled,
but each one there was humbled
As they promised they would follow where He led.

In my dream there came all kinds of people, liars, cheats and thieves,
Dealers in all kinds of grief and sorrow,
Come to ask forgiveness for the life of yesterday
And blessing for a better life tomorrow.
You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one
Dreaming of our blessed Saviour's birth;
Listen to the child, and bring those dreams alive,
Peace and love and joy in all the earth.

I originally wrote this, in November 2007, because Radio Solent were asking for Christmas songs. I still don’t know if they played it, but at least they put it on their website. I’d sent them a copy of “It Is Written”, but I suspect they thought it too religious, and anyway it’s about Advent rather than Christmas, and hasn’t got any bells in it.......

This song draws heavily on the central theme of “Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream”, and I make no apology for that; there are very few genuinely new ideas around, after all.

This revised version leaves out the chorus, which I decided was a bit naff (it had bells in it), and there are some other minor changes to the words but not the sentiment.

A - - - / - - - E / - - - - / - - E7 A /

E7 - A - / B7 - E E7 / A - D - / E7 - A -