The Gift
Garth Brooks (Holiday) Lyrics

A poor orphan girl named Maria
Maria was a young girl without parents or money

Was walking to market one day
She was going to the market to buy something

She stopped for a rest by the roadside
She took a break by the side of the road

Where a bird with a broken wing lay
She found a bird that couldn't fly because its wing was hurt

A few moments passed till she saw it
She didn't notice the bird at first but then she did

For it's feathers were covered with sand
The bird's feathers were dirty

But soon clean and wrapped it was traveling
She cleaned the bird and wrapped it up, and then she took it with her

In the warmth of Maria's small hand
She held the bird in her hand, keeping it warm

She happily gave her last peso
She cheerfully gave all of her money

On a cage made of rushes and twine
She bought a cage made of natural materials, such as reeds and string

She fed it loose corn from the market
She gave the bird some corn that she bought at the market

And watched it grow stronger with time
She looked after the bird, and it got better and stronger

Now the Christmas Eve service was coming
It was almost Christmas Eve

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

And all of the townfolk brought presents
Everyone in town brought gifts

To lay by the manger that night
They put their gifts by the manger

There were diamonds and incense and perfumes
Some of the gifts were expensive and luxurious

In packages fit for a king
The gifts were wrapped up nicely

But for one ragged bird in a small cage
Maria didn't have a nice gift for the baby Jesus

Maria had nothing to bring
She didn't have a gift to give

She waited till just before midnight
She waited until late at night

So no one could see her go in
She didn't want anyone to see her

And crying she knelt by the manger
She cried as she knelt by the baby Jesus

For her gift was unworthy of Him
She felt that her gift wasn't good enough

Then a voice spoke to her through the darkness
Someone spoke to her from the darkness

Maria, what brings you to me
The voice asked her why she was there

If the bird in the cage is your offering
The voice asked if the bird was her gift

Open the door, let me see
The voice told her to let the bird out of its cage

Though she trembled, she did as he asked her
She was scared but she followed his instructions

And out of the cage the bird flew
The bird flew out of the cage

Soaring into the rafters
The bird flew up into the high parts of the church

On a wing that had healed good as new
The bird was healthy now

Just then the midnight bells rang out
The church bells rang at midnight

And the little bird started to sing
The bird started to sing a beautiful song

A song that no words could recapture
The song was so beautiful that it couldn't be described with words

Whose beauty was fit for a king
The song was fit for a king's ears

Now Maria felt blessed just to listen
Maria felt lucky to be able to listen to the song

To that cascade of notes sweet and long
The song was made up of a long series of beautiful notes

As her offering was lifted to heaven
The bird's song was like a gift to Jesus

By the very first nightingale's song
The bird's song was like that of the first nightingale ever created