The Gift
Garth Brooks Lyrics

A poor orphan girl named Maria
There was once a girl named Maria who did not have parents or money.

Was walking to market one day
She was traveling to the market.

She stopped for a rest by the roadside
Maria became tired and needed to rest by the road.

Where a bird with a broken wing lay
She found a bird on the ground whose wing was injured.

A few moments passed till she saw it
It took some time for her to notice the bird.

For it's feathers were covered with sand
The bird's feathers were dirty and hidden by sand.

But soon clean and wrapped it was traveling
After she cleaned the bird and wrapped it, they continued their journey together.

In the warmth of Maria's small hand
The bird was warmed by the touch of Maria's hand.

She happily gave her last peso
Maria gave all of her money joyfully.

On a cage made of rushes and twine
Her money was used to make a cage for the bird.

She fed it loose corn from the market
Maria fed the bird with corn sold at the market.

And watched it grow stronger with time
Over time, she saw the bird grow stronger and healthier.

Now the Christmas Eve service was coming
As Christmas Eve approached, preparations for the church service were underway.

And the church shone with tinsel and light
The church was decorated with tinsel and lights.

And all of the townfolk brought presents
Everyone in the town brought gifts to celebrate.

To lay by the manger that night
The presents were left by the manger to honor the birth of Jesus.

There were diamonds and incense and perfumes
Many different valuable gifts were present such as diamonds, incense, and perfumes.

In packages fit for a king
The gifts were wrapped beautifully and suitable for a king.

But for one ragged bird in a small cage
Despite all of these fancy presents, there was one small bird in a modest cage.

Maria had nothing to bring
She had no fancy gifts to offer.

She waited till just before midnight
Maria waited until just before the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve.

So no one could see her go in
She entered the church without anyone noticing.

And crying she knelt by the manger
Maria kneeled next to the manger and cried.

For her gift was unworthy of Him
She felt that her small bird was not worthy to offer as a gift to honor the birth of Jesus.

Then a voice spoke to her through the darkness
In the silence, Maria heard a voice speak to her.

Maria, what brings you to me
The voice called out to Maria and asked her what had brought her to the church.

If the bird in the cage is your offering
The voice acknowledged the bird in the cage as her offering.

Open the door, let me see
The voice requested to see the bird and asked her to open the cage.

Though she trembled, she did as he asked her
Although Maria was scared, she obeyed the voice's command.

And out of the cage the bird flew
The cage was opened and the bird flew out.

Soaring into the rafters
The bird flapped its wings and soared up into the rafters of the church.

On a wing that had healed good as new
The bird's wing had healed completely and it was now fully healthy.

Just then the midnight bells rang out
As soon as the clock struck midnight, the bells began to sound.

And the little bird started to sing
The little bird began to sing.

A song that no words could recapture
It was a beautiful song that could not be put into words.

Whose beauty was fit for a king
The bird's song was incredibly beautiful and fit for a king.

Now Maria felt blessed just to listen
Maria felt grateful to be able to listen to the bird's song.

To that cascade of notes sweet and long
The sound of the bird's song was long and sweet, like a waterfall of music.

As her offering was lifted to heaven
Maria's modest offering of the bird was honored and lifted up towards heaven.

By the very first nightingale's song
The bird's song was so beautiful that it was lifted up to heaven by the first nightingale's song.