When I was a boy, I started ramblin
I left my mountain home, and mother dear
She held me close, to her breast, then she made this last request
Call me on the phone just once a year
Don't forget to call collect on christmas
That's the last words I heard my mother say
While I'm waiting here alone, I'll be sitting by the phone
I just want to hear your voice on christmas day
So every year on christmas, I would call her
I'd tell her I'd be home, before too long
But this year, when I called, there was no anwser there at all
I knew right then there must be something wrong
Don't forget to call collect on christmas
That's the last words I heard my mother say
While I'm waiting here alone, I'll be sitting by the phone
I just want to hear your voice on christmas day
The ones who found her, said she tried to call the doctor
Where she laid, she had been reaching for the phone
But in my heart, I knew that she, had been reaching out for me
The one who went away and left her all alone
Don't forget to call collect on christmas
That's the last words I heard my mother say
While I'm waiting here alone, I'll be sitting by the phone
I just want to hear your voice on christmas day