Christmas shoes

hearing the very first note alone of this song makes me want to claw out my eyes. i hate it song with a passion. here's why:

i'll throw in the specific quotes to explain why this song makes me wish I were situationally deaf.

Christmas shoes.
by newsong


"standing right in front of me was a little boy waiting anxiously. pacing 'round like little boys do"

did you ever think that maybe he just had to pee? because i know boys pace around for that reason more often than any other. thats it. song's over!
nope.

"his clothes were worn and old, he was dirty from head to toe."

clothes don't make the man... or in this case... boy. it's a cover-up. don't judge this boy by his clothes. kids destroy clothes all the time.

"when it came his time to pay
i couldn't believe what i heard him say
sir, I want to buy these shoes for my mama, 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
i know these shoes would make her smile
and i want her to look beautiful if mama meets Jesus tonight"

little boy,
1. don't ask people to hurry when you're the only one holding up line telling your life story. you should be counting out your money. be patient.

2. if your mom has been sick so long why haven't you saved up before now?

3. Jesus doesn't care about what kind of shoes your mom is wearing.

4. He does care if you're a liar.

"he counted pennies for what seemed like years"


again, kid... you asked HIM to hurry??
ever heard of coinstar?

"the cashier said, "son, there's not enough here"
he searched his pockets frantically
then he turned and he looked at me"

man in line,
turn around! act like u don't see him!! or pretend you forgot to grab a musical Christmas card for your aunt lucielle and step out of line. fake a call or text for goodness sake!
you must look wealthy if this kid automatically looks to you for a handout!

"he said mama made Christmas good at our house
though most years she just did without"

she can do without again!!

"tell me sir, what am i going to do,
somehow i've got to buy her these Christmas shoes"

no you don't! this is like a gateway action that leads straight to a lifetime of panhandling!

"so i laid the money down, i just had to help him out"

tooting your own horn too much, sir??

"i'll never forget the look on his face when he said
mama's gonna look so great"

shoes won't bring your mom back, kid.
no amount of therapy will bring the 4 minutes and 50 seconds of my life back everytime I hear this stupid and depressing song.

"i knew I'd caught a glimpse of heaven's love
as he thanked me and ran out"

at least he thanked you but I still think you should have followed the kid or at least interrogated him!

"I knew that God had sent that little boy
to remind me just what Christmas is all about"

here's the part that irritates me the most...
that little boy did not = Jesus.
yes, maybe this dude thought he was showing compassion by buying the kid shoes... which is nice of him whether the boy is truthful or not... but all of that generosity and love goes out the window when you write a song (and later a movie gets made) detailing the whole event.
what a nice guy. such a nice wealthy guy.
a nice wealthy guy who needs to read matthew 6:3-7. (this is your cue. go look it up)