You decorate a tree
You throw it in the yard
— John Prine, “All the Best”
The tree is down and outside. There are still plenty of needles to deal with, but the majority of the annual christmas tree life-cycle is over. As I was hauling it out of the house, a familiar christmas meme kept running through my head.
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
How lovely are your branches!
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
How lovely are your branches!
In beauty green will always grow
Through summer sun and winter snow.
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
How lovely are your branches!
But, as memes are wont to do, it began to mutate:
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
Ubiquitous are your needles!
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
Ubiquitous are your needles!
In oriental rugs, on hardwood bare,
Like a barber’s floor after cutting hair.
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
Ubiquitous are your needles!
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
The city no longer takes you!
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
The city no longer takes you!
So in my yard for months you’ll sit,
And we’ll compost you, bit by bit.
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
The city no longer takes you!
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
Why must we always have one?
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
Why must we always have one?
My family likes it, and that’s enough
For me to overlook this other stuff.
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
And so, next year we’ll have one.
Happy new year.
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