Trans-Siberian Orchestra An Angel Came Down Lyrics

An angel came down
One night to the earth
A mission from God
To find out the worth

Of everything that
His children had done
Since that winter night
The birth of His son

And then a sound filled the night
In the cold winter air
And in the midst of his flight
It was holding him there

And as he looked toward the earth
For the source of this sound
On that cold winter night
It was pulling him down

To bring something back
This angel was told
That no one could touch
But angels could hold

So on that night
When the sky had cleared
Among all the stars
An angel appeared

And then a sound filled the night
In the cold winter air
And in the midst of his flight
It was holding him there

And as he looked towards the earth
For the source of this sound
On that cold winter night
It was pulling him down

* * * Poetry * * *

In an old city bar
That is never too far
From the places that gather
The dreams that have been

In the safety of night
With its old neon light
It beckons to strangers
And they always come in

And the snow it was falling
The neon was calling
The music was low
And the night
Christmas Eve

And here was the danger
That even with strangers
Inside of this night
It was easier to believe

For it was into this bar
That I happened to wander
To stare into a glass
And my universe ponder

So I walked up to the counter
Shook the now off my coat
Then I ordered a whiskey
That I used like a moat

But an old man soon joined me
And asked if I knew the time
One word led to another
And somehow I didn't mind

Then he offered a drink
From a bottle 'neath his coat
And he smiled a little smile
As it trickled down my throat

And I felt myself relaxing
Here among the ghosts that failed
Then the old man topped my glass off
And began this little tale

In the moments of our lives
Both the joyous and the tragic
If the truth is to be told
We are all pursuing magic

And the magic that we seek
As we're sure you have discovered
Can be found in certain places
Far more easily than others

In the sand beneath the Sphinx
In the dreams of candlelight
But the surest place of all
Is in the forgiving world of night

And of all the nights throughout the year
That come and gently leave
None hold the dream of magic
Like the evening, Christmas Eve

And so it's on this night
With its promise deep within
As the snow now starts to fall
Our story does begin

* * * Full Story of Christmas Eve and Other Stories * * *

It was Christmas Eve and the Lord looked down from above at all His children. It had been nearly two thousand years since the birth of His son and turning to His youngest angel the Lord said: "Go down to the earth and bring back to me the one thing that best represents everything good that has been done in the name of this day."

The angel bowed to the Lord and spreading his wings, descended from heaven to the world of man, all the while contemplating his mission. So much had been done in the name of honoring the birth of the Christ Child. For this day, wars had temporarily ceased, cathedrals had been built and great novels had been written. With so little time, what could he possibly find to represent all this?

As he soared above the earth, he suddenly heard the sound of church bells below. Their tone was so beautiful that it reminded him of the voice of God.

Looking down, he saw a small church whose bells were ringing out the carol, Silent Night. As the final note died away, it was replaced by one lone voice singing inside the church. It was shortly joined by another until a choir of voices rose throught the night.

Enchanted by the magic of what he was hearing, the angel found himself listening until the song was finished. As he resumed his flight through the night, he was delighted to hear these sounds everywhere, from the largest cities to the smallest villages. He heard melodies from massive orchestras and in the voices of single soldiers alone at their post. And any place where he heard these songs, he found hope in the hearts of men.

Grasping a song out of the air, he held it in his hand (angels are able to do this) and thought that maybe, these songs could be the one thing that best represented Christmas. They seemed to give voice to man's greatest joys as well as hope to those deepest in despair.

But, though at first glance it appeared to be the answer he sought, his heart told him that this music alone was not enough. There had to be something more. So, he continued his flight through the night until he suddenly felt the touch of a father's prayer on its way to heaven. Once again looking downward, he saw a man who was praying for his child whom he had not heard from in a long time and who would not be home that Christmas. Seizing upon the prayer, the angel followed it until it reached the lost child.

She was standing on a corner, in a quiet snowfall, looking very small in a very large city. Across from her was an old city bar, the kind that only the lost seemed to know how to find. The patrons of this establishment rarely looked up from their drinks and so seemed not to notice the young woman.

Now, the bartender in this bar had been working in there longer than anyone could remember. He believed in nothing except his bar and his cash register. He had never married, never took a vacation and as a matter of fact, had never been seen out from behind his counter by most of his patrons. He was there when they arrived and he was still there when they left. He gave no credit and for seventy-five cents, served shots of un-watered whiskey to people who used their drinks like a moat around their lives. For them, he provided a safe, unchanging world.

Suddenly, the door opened wide and into this world walked a small child. The bartender could not remember the last time that a child had been in this place, but before he could ask the child what he was doing there, the child asked him if he knew that there was a girl standing across the street. Turning back to the child, the bartender asked him how he knew this. The child replied: "That on this night of all nights, if one could be home, they'd be already there.

The bartender looked back toward the young woman as he reflected on what the child had said. After several seconds of thought, he slowly went over to the cash register and removing most of the money, came out from behind the bar and followed the child across the street.

Everyone in the bar watched as he spoke with the girl. After a few moments, he called over a cab, put the girl inside and told the driver: "J.F.K. Airport." As the cab pulled away, he looked around for the child, but the child was gone. And what was stranger still, even though he own tracks leading from the bar were still clearly marked in the snow, the child's were nowhere to be found.

Returning back inside, he asked if anyone had seen where the child had gone, but like himself, no one had, for they also had been watching the departing cab. And then, some would later say that the most miraculous thing of all happened, when for the rest of the night, no one paid for a drink.

Later that night, the angel returned back to heaven and placed in the Lord's hand, the wish of a soul for the happiness of another. And as the heavenly host looked on, the Lord smiled. - Merry Christmas!