No Christmas in Kentucky

By Phil Ochs

G                                C
Christmas shoppers shopping on a neon city street
  D                            C               G
Another Christmas dollar for another Christmas treat
        G                              C
There's satin on the pretty dolls that make the children glow
        D                         C             G
While a boy walking ragged in the cold Kentucky snow
         G          C               G
No, they don't have Christmas in Kentucky
                      C             D
There's no holly on a West Virginia door
        G           C                   G
For the trees don't twinkle when you're hungry
        C                  D                  G
And the Jingle Bells don't jingle when you're poor

There's lots of toys for children when then Christmas time is near
But the present for the miners is a stocking full of beer
In the dark hills of Kentucky there's one gift that may be found
The coal dust of forgotten days that's lying on the ground
No, they don't have Christmas in Kentucky
There's no holly on a West Virginia door
For the trees don't twinkle when you're hungry
And the Jingle Bells don't jingle when you're poor

Let's drink a toast to Congress and a toast to Santa Claus
and a toast to all the speeches that bring the loud applause
There's not enough to give, no, there's not enough to share
So let's drown the sounds of sorrow with a hearty Christmas cheer
No, they don't have Christmas in Kentucky
There's no holly on a West Virginia door
For the trees don't twinkle when you're hungry
And the Jingle Bells don't jingle when you're poor

Have a merry, merry Christmas and a happy new year's day
For now's a time of plenty, and plenty's here to stay
But if you knew what Christmas was, I think that you would find
That Christ is spending Christmas in the cold Kentucky mine
No, they don't have Christmas in Kentucky
There's no holly on a West Virginia door
For the trees don't twinkle when you're hungry
And the Jingle Bells don't jingle when you're poor

Notes:

Chords supplied by James Barnett