Tonight the whole house wears a crown of light, And every generation gathers bright. We pass the pies, pull chairs into a ring— Then test how much we know of what we sing. Who knows the words? Who names that carol first? One uncle hums; the room prepares to burst. We deck the halls with wildly muddled lines And send five golden geese through silent pines. Till laughter shakes the tinsel on the tree And Grandma wipes her eyes against her knee. No prize could match this merry, bright refrain: The songs go wrong. We sing them all again.