‘Twas the night before Christmas
in the town of Chitose
It was so quiet, it seemed
almost ghostly.
The streets were all empty,
not a person in sight
It appeared that everyone
had gone home for the night.
The bars were closed, their
lights all turned out
Where were the GIs that
were usually about?
Masako in her kimono and I
in my uniform
Had just ventured out in the
season’s worst snowstorm.
When down the street we heard
such a clatter
We ran to see what might
be the matter.
The sound seemed to be coming
from somewhere in town
And yet there didn’t seem to
be anyone around.
The snowflakes kept falling as we
trudged through the snow
As the storm and the
wind continued to blow.
When what to our wondering
eyes should appear
A neon sign flashing…..
Nippon Beer.
We entered the bar door as
quick as could be
And were surrounded
by the men of good old Trick 3.
I knew in a moment
they were having a party
As they greeted us with
cheers, hale and hearty.
So I whistled and shouted
and I called them by name:
Hey Jimmy, Hey Lou!
Hey Jonsey, Hey Jesse!
Hey Gerry, Hey Tiny!
Hey Nick, Hey Gary!
When over the shouts
there came such a rumble
It sounded like the whole place
was about to crumble.
As snowflakes swirl
as they drop from the sky
To the door we all ran
in the blink of an eye.
And what to our astonishing
eyes did suddenly appear
None other than Papasan Santa
and a sleigh filled with Nippon Beer.
Now out of the sleigh he made
a quick dash
And into the bar he
flew like a flash.
He was dressed in OGs,
combat boots on his feet,
and the pile hat on his head
made his uniform complete.
A duffle bag of goodies he had flung
on his back,
And he looked like a peddler
as he began to unpack.
His eyes-how they shined,
His whiskers-how white
His cheeks were all rosy,
He was a Christmas delight.
A bottle of Nippon he held
tight in one fist,
Off came the cap in only
one twist.
As he took a great swig
from his bottle of beer
You could feel the bar
fill with holiday cheer.
He spoke not a word as
he gave each one a gift
And to all away from home
a holiday lift.
After the gifts were presented and
there were no more
He shook each of our hands and
fled to the door.
As he stepped out into the
cold wintry night
I heard him exclaim
Merry Christmas, Sayonara to all
and to all a good night.
