I hate the song "Christmas Shoes". And apparently 82% of you feel the same way. No, I have not seen the movie or read the book. So other than the song itself I have not real framework for the story. But based on the song alone here's what I gather...There's a kid with a sick mom. She's going to die. So instead of comforting her as she dies he decides she won't be able to get into heaven unless she's well dressed. (Some women's ministry programs operate on this same premise. Just saying.) So he goes out to Footlocker on Christmas Eve. Instead of selecting a nice, sensible Hush Puppy, he selects some red, crystal encrusted Dior heels for about $450. He gets up to pay for the shoes, and even though he knocked over a 7-11 on his way over, he doesn't enough coin for the bling. So he deviously cons the guy behind him in line out of some mad cash. He buys the shoes. He shoves the receipt in his pocket. And laughs all the way home. He's taking them back the day after Christmas and pocketing the proceeds.
That's the way it should be anyway. I mean, seriously, people! Who wrote this song? Nobody, I mean N.O. O.N.E. ends up with a Christmas this ridiculously tragic. I don't know if there are world religions that offer divine merit based on footwear, but maybe that's what they were thinking.
I toyed with putting the song and video to "Christmas Shoes" up today. But I wouldn't want you to think I endorse such behavior.
Instead I'm putting up something pretty spectacular to get the "Christmas Shoes" chorus out of your head.
(Could you hurry please? Daddy says there's not much time...) (and yes, I wrote that from memory and I have no excuse for myself)
So, what's your least favorite Christmas song?
Thanks to Marni for the clip!
OMG! You nailed it. Every time that song is on I start to lose it. What kinda father lets his son go out in snow without any money for some shoes??? Btw, from what I know, they don't put your shoes on in the coffin. You are barefoot and bare-butt in the ground. So his little shoe adventure would be for not.
ReplyDeleteStacy, I feel so close to you right now. :)
shhhhhh......a local church is doing there annual christmas program based on this song.........
ReplyDeleteMy husband refuses to listen to the song...in fact he turns the radio off if they play it...he thinks it a big ol sack of Crap!
ReplyDeleteI will admit the 1st time I heard it I cried....but then it was totally overplayed and the sappy kids at the end totally ruin it!
At the risk of sounding contrary, I don't hate the song. I just think that is has been so overdone, that I don't want to hear it again for ten years. After that, I can hear it once a year, and that is it. Really, the first time I heard it, I thought it was touching, but I can only hear touching so many times in a short period of time before survival instincts kick in and I feel a need to mock it so that I don't get all depressed over a fictional character in a song. I can't go from "Christmas Shoes" to "Holly Jolly Christmas", you know?
ReplyDeleteYes, every time that song comes on the radio I nearly injure myself to change the station. It's been done to death and it's pointless. I think the Lord probably prefers nice feet- just a guess. I love that you brought this out in the open. I love your wit and sarcasm. You speak what many are thinking. No pressure.
ReplyDeleteLove it!
ReplyDeleteLove it!
Love it!
I'm with you babe.
Nikki
What i hate most about the song is that even at the mere mention of it . . . I GET IT STUCK IN MY HEAD!!! i've been mad at Jon a couple of times this season over this already - haha.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the song-erasing clip . . . thoughtful of you.
and now...
wv: skingl - that special tingle you get crawling over your skin when you hear the chorus for "Christmas Shoes"
Wow, how cute and funny are the guys in that video? But then again, I went to a choir concert in college just so I could "bump into" my future husband... I heart guys in tuxedos singing together!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, my beef with the Christmas Shoes song comes from a whole other direction. I worked with kids in poverty. Buying shoes for their dying mom is exactly the kind of thing a kid would do. And I know lots of kids that were pretty much on their own at 7 or 8 years old. I could tell you lots of tragic Christmas stories that are not fabricated. But what about the dude-in-line's reaction? Sure kid, I'll pay for those $9.98 shoes. Boy, what a good person I am. Gee, I love this time of year. WHAT??? Wouldn't you at least see if this kid had a way to get home or see if you could talk to his dad and see if the family needed anything else? Like groceries? Or help with medical bills? Referrals to other services? But that's the social service agency worker coming out in me. That wouldn't make a good tear jerking song.
Thanks Stacy. I needed to vent about that....I honestly hope this song does minister to others even if I can't stand it. But I think we (we meaning myself included, here!) are way too apt to pat ourselves on the back for helping others in very easy ways during Christmas and forgetting about a world in need the other 11 months of the year.
Apparently I've been under a rock, because if I've heard this song, I didn't pay attention. But if I was dying, the last thing I'd want is shoes, particularly if he buys some like your picture. Just massage my bare naked feet, please. I don't want blingy stilettos to hobble to the bathroom. Guess I'd better go you-tubing to find this song.
ReplyDeleteMy beef with the song is that is was made specifically to make people CRY. I really hate songs like that. I hate to bag on SCC but his Cinderella song is like that. And any song that talks about babies growing up and moving away and blah, blah.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, i LOVE those guys! I saw them on the news last night and really dig the Toto part at the end.
I'm so glad someone other than me despises that song. I turn the radio station every time it comes on. I just don't like it because it tries to make me feel all sad and sorry for this imaginary little boy whose mother is dying. There's enough sadness in real life. I don't need someone to write a ridiculous song to make me feel sad. It just seems like a cheap attempt to toy with my emotions.
ReplyDeleteAmen, sista...preach it! I turn the station everytime I hear that song start.
ReplyDeleteAs a kid I was traumatized by the song...Little Drummer Boy. Every stinking Christmas at church, the same family instigated the addition of that song into the Christmas program someplace. I get an eye tic everytime I hear the song, now.
~Lois
Oh Christmas Shoes...it's just so wretched. And dumb. If your mother is dying, are you really going to be at Wal Mart shoe shopping? And someone tell that little boy that "you can't take it with you" so what's the point of bumming money off of innocent strangers who are just trying to finish up their last minute shopping and don't have time to stand at the register and cry over such a sad story??
ReplyDeleteI feel better. And so not alone anymore in my disdain against the song (and video, and book, and God-knows what else). Thanks for starting this cozy little support group...
wv: lacatert--not having tert.
I LOVE Christmas music, but my love is tainted by songs like "Christmas Shoes." I cannot stand it and much like the previous commenters, my husband despises the song so much that he too will turn off the radio. Unfortunately, it is catchy and now, thanks to SFL, I have the dang song stuck in my head..."sir can you buy these shoes for my mother pleeeease..." ahhh
ReplyDeleteother songs that are equally dreadful: Dogs/Cats/any animal barking/meowing a Christmas song.
Yeah, my least favorite Christmas song is definitely "Christmas Shoes". I almost punched my television when I learned that they had made a TV movie based on the song.
ReplyDeleteDo you remember the song "Dear Mr. Jesus"? It was an equally sad song that always seemed to be played a lot around Christmas in the 80s. "Christmas Shoes" reminds me of that song.
Incidentally, my least favorite Christmas song used to be "The Little Drummer Boy" until I heard Josh Groban sing it. It is my favorite now. Seriously. Go buy his Christmas album if you don't own it. Right now. I'll wait . . . .
Isn't it awesome?!
Oh thank-you. I thought I was one of the few Christians who dispised this song and always felt bad about it.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, isn't there a better way to get the point of "true giving" across? Blech.
My husband and I are grown ups and like to be mature about this sort of thing. So we writhe around & make gagging sounds anytime "Christmas Shoes" comes on. Even if his mom is in the car and loves it. The first time I heard it I threw up a little bit in my mouth. Ungckh...
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful videoclip. I love it!
ReplyDeleteMy community was too rural to access the Christian radio station, so I only heard it a year or two ago. It took me a good 15 trieds to get through it without crying, because I kept picturing how I would feel if my mother was dying... But then I saw the book. And the DVD. And the sequel And the sequel to the sequel. Exactly.
wv: boxist: referring to discrimination or prejudice against boxers.
I have a very strong dislike for the "Christmas Shoes" song too. I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way.
ReplyDeletei personally think that song is rather sweet. along with the story behind it. and yes, Stacy, there are many people with tragic thing happening to them around the Christmas season.
ReplyDeleteAutumn,
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting and thank you for commenting. I understand that you like the song, and that's great. Maybe I came across too strong so I appologize for that.
To clear the air, I am not suggesting that tragedy does not happen during Christmas. Suffering is always a part of life. I have never shied away from addressing painful curcumstances in life on my blog. Never would I mock someone's pain.
The song I refer to in the post is not based on a true story. Based on asking SFL readers what they wanted me to address during Christmas this song - and my reader's distaste for it- was mentioned several times.
Stacy
Good post. I do not hate this song, I just think that it is really overplayed. Sometimes I feel bad for that little boy though. Poor kid. I do wish that the song said what kind of shoes he was buying though. I bet he was buying his mom a nice pair of Ugs. Classy and warm but gosh they are expensive.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I really love almost all Christmas music. It really sets me in the mood for the season.
Good post and I loved the video.
Great post as usual. Yeah, that song drives me crazy. As well as Barry Manilow, Barbra Streisand and Niel Diamond capitalizing on Christmas songs.
ReplyDeleteI tried to listen to that song when it came on the radio to give it a chance, but I just couldn't do it. It's just too syrupy, throw-upy sweet. Blagh.
ReplyDeleteI also do not like "Mary Did You Know?" I think it's because I've heard it sung badly too many times at the military chapel growing up.
I do love the song Breath of Heaven. Now that is a good one!
OOOOOHHHHHH I loathe that song too!!
ReplyDeletethis leads me to address the book "I'll Love You Forever". Seriously, what kind of mother climbs into her sons bedroom when he is MARRIED and rocks him! Creeps me out. That poor daughter-in-law.
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to piggyback on Stacy's response to Autumn. Tragedy and pain: bad. God knows we all have our share of both. My beef with the song is the blatant emotional manipulation. Snopes.com has a word for it: glurge.
ReplyDeleteteamstrand, that book creeps me out too! My mother in law gave it to my husband some years back and I was all..."sick, throw it out!"
ReplyDeleteStacy, today, just now, I found another Christmas song I hate. It's by Bruce Springsteen and he's butchering "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". He sounds like he's getting his prostate checked.
wv:shaporbi--Sharpay's foreign exchange student friend on High School Musical 3.
Oh my GOSH! That Video Was fantastic!!! Now, I'm going to have to go listen to Toto.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Christmas Shoes makes me want to poke my eardrums out with pipecleaners.
Great Post!
ok, that video was stinkin' awesome!! who doesn't love Toto??
ReplyDeletewhile i'll admit the "christmas shoes" song is pretty sappy and awful, i had to change the station the other day to keep from crying uncontrollably and running my car into something.
my mother passed away when i was fifteen. christmas day that first year was exactly 8 months to the day that God took her home. and she loved christmas music. she would start playing it at the first cold front. it could be in august (granted, this is texas) and it would play on.
sometimes it just hits me. it wasn't necessarily the whole song, just a song about a dying mom at christmas. it just got me the other day. most times, though, i can't stand it for the exact same reasons you can't.
didn't mean to get all downer with my comment, but i think i just needed to get it out. thanks for allowing that.
oh, and i don't think i really have a least favorite christmas song, though i have a beef with "baby, it's cold outside". doesn't no mean NO!!??? i'm just sayin'.
wv: pronsisk - yeah, that's about how i feel.
marie,
ReplyDeletesee if you can find mark lowry's version of mary did you know. he's the one who wrote it, after all. and it's pretty good.
wv: dedist - the person i go see to get my teeth cleaned when i'm stuffed up.
I am soooo tired of the Christmas Shoes song! Very overplayed on the radio. However, I can't STAND "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer!"
ReplyDeleteThanks for the song you posted. It's a keeper!
oh...i'm am speechless. i've lived w/the guilt of loathing this song silently, while others around me weep to the tearfull human videos, dramatizations, etc. i'm set free. shn
ReplyDeleteWell, you know how I hate that dang song, but I love Straight no Chaser. I bought their Christmas Spirits album about a month ago. Like the Christmas in Indiana song.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to lie. I just spent a good half hour watching Straight No Chaser videos on YouTube. It's possible I have found a new addiction. Thank goodness I finished my Biology final before I found this song.
ReplyDeleteAlso, does anyone know if the black guy is available? I think I'm in love....
Too bad I just checked out the SNC website, and found out that Jerome (the black guy) is a good 14 years older than me, which wouldn't be too bad, except he listed his favorite song as "I Believe I Can Fly." I'm not okay with that.
ReplyDeleteIt's okay, though, as I have found my new soul mate, and his name is Mike Luginbill.
I'm probably being overly dramatic, but I feel that it is my duty as woman.
I love the song Christmas Shoes! Apparently no one else does but I liked the book and the movie, too! and I love that's it catchy b/c I can sing all night at work and no other song will overtake it! :D
ReplyDeleteThe other day, my sister and I were listening to Christmas music in my van while our husbands were out in the snow cutting down a Christmas tree when this song came on. We were making fun of it and then, all of the sudden, the car battery died. We thought that might have something to do with our making fun of the Christmas Shoes song... Don't worry, we got a jump and were able to make our way out of the snowy forest.
ReplyDeletei LOVE that straight no chaser video! and i feel the same way you do about the christmas shoes song... if they never played it on the radio again that would make me very happy :)
ReplyDeleteLOVE this post! and definitely do NOT like that song! it truly is the worst christmas song. what happened to the classics?! geez. It should be taken off of the playlists at radio stations. really. haha
ReplyDeletealso, my other least favorite christmas song - the little drummer boy. AWFUL. pa rum pa pum pum. ugh gross. haha
Thanks for the fun YouTube video, Stacy. Me and my office got quite the kicked out of it.
ReplyDeleteI heart this group/song that you put up in lieu of Christmas Shoes. Is it a good thing I have never heard of THAT song!?
ReplyDeleteI agree with the disgust over this song. I also strongly dislike The Gift, and they play Christmas in the Northwest here all the time, and I hate it.
ReplyDeletethis leads me to address the book "I'll Love You Forever". Seriously, what kind of mother climbs into her sons bedroom when he is MARRIED and rocks him! Creeps me out. That poor daughter-in-law.
I find that book somewhat creepy, too. My husband and I call it the stalker mom book.