It was on this day in Thirty one, That our City got this present; A Douglas fir, nearly 20 feet, in Rockefeller Center. Just simple workmen giving thanks- Not a single one percenter!
There was just a hint of tinsel and no lights upon that tree. Tiffany did not mold Glass stars for common folks to see. On that Inauguration day No speeches certainly.
The stand was simply two by fours Formed in a simple cross The Evergreen a symbol of Everlasting life, of course. A tiny hint of sacred amidst Secularity.
Those were dark days in our nation with so many in distress. Was it faith or Optimism The workers were trying to express? Perhaps they are one and the same Just in a different dress.
Tonight we light a grander tree And the mayor makes a speech. These are days when a better life seems just beyond our reach. No longer called a Christmas tree, Divorced now from that Faith I feel like something precious died And weβre left with just the Wraith.
12/05/1931 Workmen ***** the first Christmas tree in what will become Rockefeller center