Mark Lowry Lyrics
"How Did We Live Before Christmas?"

How Did We Live Before Christmas?

by Mark Lowry

Christmas comes but once a year,
But what if it came more often?
It would bankrupt the economy,
Snow would surely wreck the ecology,
Kids would sing Jingle Bells till we're up a tree
And drive us to an early coffin

Christmas is a yearly thing,
and I'm really glad that it's so
If it came around every other week,
we'd be so tired we could hardly speak
Our checkbooks would be up a creek
And we'd have to shorten ole Santa to just one "Ho!"

Yes, once a year it rolls around,
on the 25th day of December
Bringing cheery songs with cheery rhymes,
and shopping sprees that pass the time
We have to stand in those weary lines,
and there's always someone I forget to remember

But think with me for just a while,
of a time before there was Christmas
The time before the angels sang,
the time before the wise men came
The time before we knew His name
How did we live before Christmas?

The days before the stars so bright,
the years before that Silent Night
Before the Savior brought the light,
How did we live before Christmas?

Did little children ever sing?
Did silver bells refuse to ring?
Did Hosannahs ever crown the king?
How did we live before Christmas?

Did winter's chill make faces glow?
Did lovers kiss 'neath mistletoe?
Try as I might, I'll never know
How did we live before Christmas?

A virgin bore the blessed gift of Christmas long ago
All heaven wrapped in swaddling clothes
Pure Deity from head to toe
A baby boy with heaven's glow
How did we live before Christmas?

So, Christmas isn't gifts and toys
Or waiting on St. Nicholas
Christmas is a Savior's birth
A gift from heaven sent to earth
To show the world just what it's worth.
How did we live before Christmas?