Sure is pretty here tonight; excitement in the air,
Busy shoppers hustle home through Central Park.
The tree must be ten stories tall in Rockefeller Square
A million lights are sparkling in the dark.
It’s a fast-paced life I’m living–it’s first class all the way!
Fancy office, fancy parties, fancy things.
“I’m shooting for the works” is what my friends all heard me say
And now I dine with presidents and kings.
Oh, it’s glamorous all right, success and all the rest
And maybe it’s this little skiff of snow,
But tonight I’m kind of lonesome for a little place out west
And a cowboy down the road I used to know.
I bet an opal moon shines on the Eastern Slopes tonight,
The hills lie still beneath a snowy shawl.
Chores are done, the porch light’s on, a fire crackles bright,
Maybe Ian’s singing at the Longview Hall.
It’s the symphony for me tonight, champagne and caviar.
Oh, the swirl and sway and sparkle of this place!
But you know, I kinda long to hear a cowboy’s soft guitar
And feel a warm Chinook upon my face.
Where’d she go, that little girl who used to live in cowboy boots,
Made sure each year that Rudolph got some hay.
She’s not gone far–just dresses now in silk designer suits
And is living life the New York City way.
Sure is pretty here tonight; excitement in the air,
A dab of French perfume, my cab is here.
But in the swirl and sway and sparkle, I say a little prayer–
May it be Christmas in Alberta for me next year.
Christmas in Alberta is excerpted from West Word Ho by Doris Daley