Christmas in July
My dad had a dream of being a cowboy, a skiing cowboy. He was born and raised in Denver Colorado and rode the Eskimo Club Ski Train from Denver to Winter Park in the 1940s. In the summer he worked on a cattle ranch in Fraser. Fraser is up in God’s country at over 8,500 ft above sea level, more than 3,000 feet higher than the mile-high city itself, with long winters, and short, but heavenly summers. Seems ironic now that thirty-something years later, my mother, a divorced single-parent, would end up raising her daughters in Grand County, his former stomping grounds. When I would talk to him over the phone he always talked about his glory days, skiing Winter Park and working on a ranch in the Fraser Valley. When I got the call that he had passed away on his Tennessee farm the first thought that crossed my mind was “I’ll bet he’s skiing right now”. He passed in July and the following November I took his ashes to Colorado and under a clear blue sky I let them fall on a snow-covered ski trail at the top of Berthoud Pass.
Christmas In July
They’re forecasting snow tonight high in these Tennessee hills
It’s 80 degrees in the shade but I swear I feel a chill
A phone call brings bad news
I knew then that it was true
He had hitched a ride on those storm clouds passin’ through
I’ll bet he’s skiing right now
Cold air blowing up the back of his jacket
Sliding fast down the side of that mountain
In his leather gloves and cowboy hat
I’ll bet he’s skiing right now
There’s no more just talking about it
It’s an early Christmas in July in Tennessee
A young boy in Denver
Kicking a can up the street
A train through the mountains riding the rails of a dream
Lookin’ for the next big surprise
The one that would light up my eyes
To remind me that I’m alive
I’ll bet he’s skiing right now
Cold air blowing up the back of his jacket
Sliding fast down the side of that mountain
In his leather gloves and cowboy hat
I’ll bet he’s skiing right now
There’s no more just talking about it
It’s an early Christmas in July in Tennessee
Listen to the song here Christmas in July
©2015 Elk Mountain Music ASCAP Trisha Leone Sandora, Mickey Sandora