The winter's flaking snow is brushin' through the wiry 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 breathing's all that keeps me on my feet I feel like I've been walking all my life A car goes running by; the man don't even turn his head Guess he's busy being Santa Claus tonight The saddest part of all is knowing if I switched with him I'd leave him stumbling ragged by the road I'd ride that highway to the 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' Hoping I can save those other souls Oh, God forgive the man who drives right by the other man Take pity on the stranger in the cold Cause Christmas Eve can kill you When you're trying to hitch a ride to anywhere Yeah Christmas Eve can kill you When you're trying to hitch a ride anywhere