Lyrics Page
This Christmas (Father Of The Fatherless)
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Oct 7, 2026 updated
Verified editorial review
Song Meaning
TobyMac tells a true-to-life story in “This Christmas (Father Of The Fatherless).” Leaving an orphanage, nine-year-old Jonnie says he never got his Christmas wish, and later he shows a drawing of a man standing outside the door: “I see him in my dreams / He comforts me when I can't sleep.” The chorus becomes a prayer: “Father of the fatherless / Be with your sons and daughters this Christmas.”
The second verse is the weekend that follows. Playing “big brother for the weekend,” the narrator asks if Jonnie believes in angels, sings with him on a “midnight clear,” and watches it start “snowing blessings.” By the third verse it has changed more than a weekend: “Big brother turned dad in a couple weeks... that little man went and stole my heart.” A parenthetical line carries the point: “You ain't livin' 'til you choose to give / Love and joy and peace to one of His.”
James 1:27 is quoted in the middle of the song, and Psalm 68:5, “A father to the fatherless,” is the source of the subtitle. A clip of “Joy to the World” ends the middle section before the story resumes.
Lyrics Verified by Editorial Team
That’s what he said when we left the orphanage
Nine years old, but Jonnie was an old soul
Gonna spend his first Christmas in a real home
Then he showed me a picture he made the night before
A drawing of a man standin’ outside the door
He said, “I see him in my dreams
He comforts me when I can’t sleep”
Father of the fatherless
Be with your sons and daughters this Christmas
This Christmas
“Believe in angels?”
He asked starin’ at the sky
I said I do and saw a sparkle in his eye
Big brother for the weekend, respondin’ to the season
I took the chance that givin’s better than receivin’
Two nights, a new family, some holiday cheer
We laughed and sang
Came on a midnight clear
We gave, received, and as we headed to a close
We looked to the heavens, and it started snowing blessings
Father of the fatherless
Be with your sons and daughters this Christmas, this Christmas
(You ain’t livin’ ‘til you choose to give
Love and joy and peace to one of His)
Father let us not forget
The children who are all alone this Christmas, this Christmas
(You ain’t livin’ ‘til you choose to give
Love and joy and peace to one of His)
[James 1:27]
Religion that God our Father
Accepts as pure and faultless is this:
That we look after orphans and widows in their distress
Merry Christmas everyone
Joy to the world
The Lord is come
Let Heaven and nature sing
Let Heaven and nature sing
Let Heaven and nature sing
Big brother turned dad in a couple weeks
Some gifts give more than you could ever dream
Started out as a plan just to do my part,
But that little man went and stole my heart
Father of the fatherless
Be with your sons and daughters this Christmas, this Christmas
(You ain’t livin’ ‘til you choose to give
Love and joy and peace to one of His)
Father let us not forget
The children who are all alone this Christmas, this Christmas
(You ain’t livin’ ‘til you choose to give
Love and joy and peace to one of His)
Let Heaven and nature sing
Let Heaven and nature sing
[x2]
From me and mine, to you and yours…
Merry Christmas
This year, reach out and love somebody, y’all