All they wanted was a shelter, Just a place to call their own, But there wasn't room to house them In there overcrowded town: For it seems the Welfare Service Was the short that soon breaks down So don't sing alleluia And don't sing gloria! They were strangers. Galileans, And the man a carpenter. Though not quite the helpless people Who are permanently poor, No one beckoned them to enter As they knocked from door to door. So don't sing alleluia And don't sing gloria! She was pregnant, more's the pity, And her time was not far off. It's the awkward complication That upsets a planner's graph: If it wasn't so pathetic It would make the angels laugh. So don't sing alleluia And don't sing gloria! As we know, they found a lodging In the backyard of an inn: Not the best accommodation She could have her baby in-- But it's all a God can hope for When he's up against our sin. So don't sing alleluia And don't sing gloria! But to know that his salvation Is an all embracing care; But to see what Christ is doing And to find a way to share: Is to sing our hymns and carols As a challenge to despair. Alleluia, alleluia Alleluia, gloria!