Thorns in the Straw

Since the day the angel came
It seemed that everything had changed
The only certain thing
Was the child that moved within
On the road that would not end
Winding down to Bethlehem
So far away from home

Just a blanket on the floor
Of a vacant cattle-stall
But there the child was born
She held him in her arms
As she laid him down to sleep
She wondered, will it always be
So bitter yet so sweet

And did she see there
In the straw by his head a thorn
And did she smell myrrh
In the air on that starry night

Then the words of ancient seers
Tumbled down the centuries
A virgin shall conceive
God with us, Prince of Peace
Man of Sorrows, strangest name
Oh Joseph there it comes again
So bitter yet so sweet

And did she see there
In the straw by his head a thorn
And did she smell myrrh
In the air on that starry night

Til against a darkening sky
The son she loved was lifted high
And with his dying breath
She heard him say Father forgive
And to the criminal beside
Today with me in Paradise
So bitter and so sweet

And did she hear angels sing
Not so far away
Til at last the sun rose blood red
In the morning sky

And did she see there
In the straw by his head a thorn
And did she smell myrrh
In the air on that starry night

It was so clear that night
North star, north star, clear that night
Did they believe in paradise, paradise
So bitter and so sweet