Verse 1

Bettina, it's the third night shift you've taken in a row
Somebody had to hold the floor and you said you would go
There's tinsel on the nurses' station, crooked, taped in place
And a paper star above bay four that somebody's daughter made
The monitors keep better time than any choir I know
And you go room to room to room and you keep the lamp low

Chorus

Candles in the ward tonight, small and holding on
You are the quiet in the corridor when everything goes wrong
Nobody writes a carol for the ones who work the day
So here's one, Bettina — merry Christmas anyway

Verse 2

You learned the names of everybody's people on the phone
You said nobody in this building ought to do it on their own
At four you eat a cold thing standing up beside the sink
At five you laugh at nothing 'cause it's easier than to think
And when the sun comes up on twenty-five you take your coat
And you drive home and you sleep and you come back and you go

Chorus

Candles in the ward tonight, small and holding on
You are the quiet in the corridor when everything goes wrong
Nobody writes a carol for the ones who work the day
So here's one, Bettina — merry Christmas anyway

Bridge

Somebody is going home this week because you stayed
They will never know your name and that has never made you wait

Outro

Candles in the ward tonight, and one of them is you
Merry Christmas from the whole shift, from bay one to bay two