Above was mentioned the C. Fox Smith poem called "Christmas Night" with sailors dealing with a Christmas gale, and part of it does work quite well with the tune to "Christmas Day in the Morning." I've edited the poem down some and you can hear my current rendition on my website: Click here for lyrics and MP3 Sample!

Here are the revised lyrics and chords (copy and paste into WORD/TIMES/12 to line up chords:

By Cicely Fox Smith, from RHYMES OF THE RED ENSIGN, edited by Cicely Fox Smith, published by Hodder and Stoughton, London, © 1919, pp. 71-72.
Adapted for singing by Charlie Ipcar, 12/26/08
Tune inspired by "Christmas Day in the Morning"
Key: F (5/C)

Christmas Night

C-------------G-C-F---C----------F
We shipped a sea on Christmas night,
----C-----------------------G-----------Gm
On Christmas night, on Christmas night!
-------C----G-C-----F---C--------------F
From stem to stern the decks flowed white –
----C---------------------------G-----C
On Christmas night till the morn-ing!
-------F-----------------------C
"One more like that," our mate did say,
F-----C-----------------------G--------Gm
"And she'll not live till the break of day,"
----C----G---C-----------------F
So deep she rolled, so ill she lay –
C----------------------------G-----C
All the night long till the morn-ing!


The night so black, the gale it screamed,
On Christmas night, on Christmas night!
Like gushing wounds her swing-ports streamed;
On Christmas night till the morning!
All ice the yard to which we clung,
The frozen shrouds shrill carols sung,
Like harps the twanging backstays rung –
All the night long till the morning!

We called "All hands!"; we hove her to,
On Christmas night, on Christmas night!
It was the best that we could do,
On Christmas night till the morning!
But hang on all, to wait and pray
That nothing more would be carried away,
So she might last till the break of day –
All the night long till the morning!

C------------------------------F
Then one big roaring sailor-man
--C------------------G-------Gm
A sort of rambling yarn be-gan,
--C-------------------------------F
A-bout a place nigh Wexford town,
-----------C-------------G--------Gm
With the river Slaney flowing down
---------F--------------------------------C
By the farm where he was born an' rared;
-----------G-------Gm--------F---------C
"An' my old mo-ther, well, she's not he'rd
---F-----------------C
A word o' me this many a year . . .
-----G-------Gm--------F--------C
But I've got stuff and I've got gear
----------F-----------------C
Stowed in my sea-chest all for her –
G---------------------F---------C
I can just see them old eyes stare:
--F-----------------C
A branch o' coral like a tree
F------C-------------------G-----Gm
Them Blacks dive after in Fee-jee,
---C-------------------------------F
A Spanish shawl and a carved fan,
---C-------------------G-----Gm
A little tea-set from far Ja-pan,
--------F----------------------C
That's blue and white, and wee and small,
---G----------Gm--------F
If this black gale don't break 'em all!" . . .


The long night passed and that great gale,
On Christmas night, on Christmas night!
Went down at dawn, so we made sail,
On Christmas Day in the morning!
We sent the yards to the masthead,
The watch sung out to wake the dead!
"Them tea-things is all right," Dan said –
On Christmas Day in the morning!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble