"Christmas Shoes" song...

[SidDithers]

anyone else agree that this is the worst, most depressing Christmas song of all time?

"Sir I wanna buy these shoes for my Momma please
It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size
Could you hurry Sir?
Daddy says there's not much time
You see, she's been sick for quite a while
And I know these shoes will make her smile
And I want her to look beautiful
If Momma meets Jesus, tonight."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0a_Y1wAJ2MU

That's freakin' awful. Some kid's mom is just about to die, and he's out buying her shoes so she can look beautiful for Jesus. :banghead:

Sid

[rurallib]

1. I finally heard that song on the radio for the first time Saturday

damn near pulled the radio out of the dash.
Shoulda worked for universal health care, kid.

[chemenger]

2. Every time that song is played, it makes Baby Jesus cry.

It's that bad.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

3. Patton Oswalt's rant on it is not to be missed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq10bz3PxyY

[SidDithers]

5. Christ! I'd forgotten all about that routine...

thanks for the most excellent reminder :applause: :applause:

Sid

[Yavin4]

9. "Look, I'm singing in a Christian rock band...."

"Ladies, make no mistake, I will lay the fucking pipe into you."

[Gidney N Cloyd]

10. "Back at the La Quinta."

[Throckmorton]

4. This song caused my son to have a breakdown at school

It seems that the school he attended in the 4th grade wanted to sing it at their winter concert. This was the first christmas after his mother had died. Neither he, nor I, had ever heard of that song before that fateful date. It is even refered to in my house as "That Goddamn Song" when it plays on the radio.

It was an awful week, and I hate that song.

[nolabear]

8. I'm sorry. I remember that time from my childhood.

My mother died not long after Christmas when I was small, and I had a bit of a breakdown while reading "The Littlest Angel". Not that I think kids should, or can, be protected from everything, but it hurts anyway. The important thing is to be there when it does and prove that people are there for you when you're in pain and it's okay to go to them.

The song WE hated was that dreadful "Honey" by Bobby Goldsboro.

[gratuitous]

11. Okay, that's another one for the banned list

No, not "Honey," but "Summer - The First Time" by the esteemed Mr. Goldsboro.

[LeftishBrit]

13. Another horribly sentimental though less depressing song by Goldsboro...

is 'Watching Scotty Grow':

There he sits with a pen and a yellow pad,
What a handsome lad, that's my boy,
BRLFQ spells mom and dad,
But that ain't too bad, that's my boy.

You can have your TV and you nightclubs,
And you can have your drive in picture show,
I'll stay here with my little man near,
we'll listen to the radio,
Biding my time and Watching Scotty grow.

Making a castle out of building blocks,
And a cardboard box, That's my boy,
Mickey Mouse says it's thirteen o'clock,
Well that's quite a shock! That's my boy.

In four short years I've gone from rags to riches,
And what I did before that I don't know,
So let it rain on my windowpane,
I got my own rainbow,
And we're sitting here shining watching Scotty grow.

Riding on daddy's shoudlers off to bed,
Old sleepy head, that's my boy,
Got to have a drink of water and a story read,
A teddy bear named Fred, that's my boy.

What's that you say momma come on and keep you feet warm,
Well save me a place I'll be there in a minute or so,
I'll think I'll stay right here and say a little prayer before I go, Me and God watching Scotty grow.
Me and God watching Scotty grow.


I first heard this as a child, and my interpretation of it was very influenced by a recent trip to Canada. There, I had heard (though without much understanding of the context) about a political murder committed by the FLQ. I honestly thought the first verse was about this organization: 'FLQ, that's Mum and Dad!' I suppose nowadays I'd have been placed on a no-fly list for turning a sentimental country song into a tale of terrorist parents! Less sensationally, I also thought that the third verse said, 'Mickey Mouse says it's thirteen above' - most conversations in a Canadian winter being about how many degrees it was 'above' or 'below'.

[tigereye]

15. I always liked that Goldsboro song at the time- despite it's sentimentality

Christmas Shoes, on the other hand - :puke:

[LeftishBrit]

14. I am very sorry to hear that.

And it's a pretty insensitive choice for a school concert.

[Throckmorton]

18. Yes, I thought so too

Having taken two elementary school children through the process of losing their mother, I can say with some authority that having their mother "Look Beautiful for Jesus" was just about the last thing on their minds.

[gratuitous]

6. Humans can abuse ANYTHING

Think of this fucking song next time somebody tries to sell you on that "free speech" idea. There's a time and a place for censorship, and by golly this is it!

[UrbScotty]

7. Sad, but beautiful.

I can't listen to that song without crying.

If you want a bad Christmas song, I'd suggest 'Last Christmas' by Wham!

[LeftishBrit]

12. A dreadful song...

fortunately I've never heard it on the radio in England! I learned it either from DU or another international group that I'm on.

And the singer sounds so smug about his act of charity in helping to buy the shoes, instead of worrying about the larger issue of a sick woman living and dying in poverty, and what will happen to her child when she dies.

There are some pretty horrible maudlin songs that we do hear from time to time: not specifically Christmas ones, but such as Bobby Goldsboro's 'Honey'; the dreadful 'Hello This is Joanie' from the early days of telephone answering machines; and 'Terry' by the Ramshackles, all about a boy who is killed in a motorbike accident and the remorse of his girlfriend who 'was untrue on the night he died'. I usually like 1960s pop songs, but definitely not that one!

[tigereye]

16. how about Last Kiss - I thought that was so romantic when I was in high

school. :crazy: I still like the Pearl Jam version.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0B-hJ_gotc

[Stevenmarc]

17. Well Jesus did have a thing for washing feet, why not gild the Lilly with a fabulous pump

[cbdo2007]

19. Yes, I hate this song. If I don't hear it this year - it will be one of my Festivus miracles.