He could have stayed there the entire night 
For to him music was the voice of god 
For it never needed translation 
And could lift up lives that were often quite hard 
But then he heard a different kind of music 
From somewhere else close by 
And he followed the trail of those new notes 
Till he found himself outside 
The notes led him to a blues bar 
That was right next to the hotel 
And the angel watched some lonely people enter it 
And wondered if this 
Was where all the lonely people did dwell 
Then another guardian angel 
Who happened to be near 
Told him about the old blues bar 
And whispered in his ear 
"here the tragically beautiful 
And the beautifully tragic 
Drift through this night 
In a last quest for magic 
Their faces are masks 
That so artfully disguise 
The wounds in their hearts 
The scars in their eyes 
Now these scars in their eyes 
Never hurt, never bleed 
But like cracks in a mirror 
They distort all they see 
For when the heart's an open wound 
Its greatest threat, i fear 
Is that the salt rubbed into it 
Does come from one's own tears 
Now there are many places on this earth 
That one thinks that god has forgot 
But one can often find an angel or a saint 
Where one assumes angels and saints are not" 
And then the other angel reminded him 
Of their lord's point of view 
"you'll know them not by how they appear 
You'll know them by what they do" 
So when the next patron went inside 
The angel followed him undetected 
But what he found within that bar 
Was not quite what he expected 
There was an old piano player there 
Playing with a honky-tonk sound 
And everyone who entered that place depressed 
That piano player turned their night around 
And one by one he'd draw each person 
Out of their self-imposed cage 
And before they realized it 
He had them singing on the stage 
Just another night in new york city 
Snow comes down looks real pretty 
Don't know how but suddenly there you are 
With jelly roll morton playin' for the bar 
Inside here, lights are low 
But each song has its own glow 
As he floats them through that smokey air 
You just can't believe he's really there 
How old is he? 
Cannot say 
But claims he taught cab calloway 
And on this night i somehow believe him 
Knows every song that christmas got 
Even ones my brain has dropped 
Just him and that old fir tree 
All lit up this night 
Electric blue 
Just another night in new york city 
Snow comes down looks real pretty 
Can't believe but somehow there you are 
Talking with strangers sittin' cross the bar 
Suddenly, all are laughin' 
This night's smart, always craftin' 
Building bridges nearly everywhere 
Hits a wall, it just builds a stairs 
Outside colored lights they bleed 
For snow is white and colors need 
As it just comes down like pure salvation 
It offers all its amnesty 
And makes your neighbor different see 
By the light of that fir tree 
And this old bar 
Electrified in blue 
I gotta drop dead simple 
Childhood view of salvation 
Perhaps that's how it was always meant to be 
And the more i add up all this information 
It seems it all comes down in the end to you and me 
And you look around till you find a phone 
Then you call your mom and everyone at home 
And the bar looks on and they start to cheer 
When you talk to folks you haven't seen in years 
And the snow comes down 
And the children play 
And they pray to god 
It never goes away 
And a childhood prayer 
Should never be denied 
And the night rolls on 
Till it's carolized 
Carolized 
Carolized 
Carolized 
Carolized 
And on this tree 
The lights are done 
But the colors here are down one 
I guess it kind of fits the situation 
Ornaments still shining bright 
Watch them glitter in the light 
Just this old fir tree and me 
All lit up this night 
Electric blue