The Christmas Shoes (song)
Encyclopedia
"The Christmas Shoes" is a Christmas
-themed song by the Christian vocal group NewSong
. The song was released as a bonus track on their 2000 album Sheltering Tree,
and it reached No. 31 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs
chart. "The Christmas Shoes" spent one week at No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and No. 42 on the Hot 100
chart.
is standing in line at a checkout stand for some last minute shopping on Christmas Eve
, but is not feeling the spirit of the holiday. The customer in front of him is a little boy dressed in worn, old clothes whose only item is a pair of women's shoes. The boy tells the cashier that he wishes to buy the shoes for his ill mother so that she may look her best when she meets Jesus later that night, because she is dying from cancer. The cashier informs the boy that he does not have enough money to buy the shoes, which prompts the boy to ask the narrator for help saying that although his family is too poor to make do with Christmas, his mother still made the best of celebrating it. The narrator pays for the shoes, and as the boy thanks him and walks away, the narrator finally realizes that the little boy helped him understand the true meaning of Christmas.
released their own version, which peaked at No. 39 on the country chart.
. The book became a made-for-TV movie released in December 2002.
Comedian Patton Oswalt
has deconstructed the song's themes and message in multiple stand-up comedy routines. One routine included comedy band Hard 'n Phirm
performing the song, with Oswalt stopping them to comment on the lyrics or the message.
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
-themed song by the Christian vocal group NewSong
NewSong
NewSong is a Contemporary Christian Music group that was founded in 1981, at Morningside Baptist Church in Valdosta, Georgia. They have had eight GMA Dove Award nominations. They are the founders of the Winter Jam Tour Spectacular, the United States' largest annual Christian music tour. It began in...
. The song was released as a bonus track on their 2000 album Sheltering Tree,
and it reached No. 31 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart. "The Christmas Shoes" spent one week at No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and No. 42 on the Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart.
Content
The narratorNarrator
A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
is standing in line at a checkout stand for some last minute shopping on Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
, but is not feeling the spirit of the holiday. The customer in front of him is a little boy dressed in worn, old clothes whose only item is a pair of women's shoes. The boy tells the cashier that he wishes to buy the shoes for his ill mother so that she may look her best when she meets Jesus later that night, because she is dying from cancer. The cashier informs the boy that he does not have enough money to buy the shoes, which prompts the boy to ask the narrator for help saying that although his family is too poor to make do with Christmas, his mother still made the best of celebrating it. The narrator pays for the shoes, and as the boy thanks him and walks away, the narrator finally realizes that the little boy helped him understand the true meaning of Christmas.
Cover versions
A year after NewSong's version, country music girl group 3 of Hearts3 of Hearts
3 of Hearts was an American country music trio composed of Blaire Stroud, Katie McNeill, and Deserea Wasdin, all natives of Fort Worth, Texas. Signed to RCA Records in 2001, the trio released its debut album in July of that year. Two of its singles entered the U.S...
released their own version, which peaked at No. 39 on the country chart.
Song in media
In 2002, Donna VanLiere took the story and the theme of the song and produced a novelization which was published in 2002 by St. Martin's PressSt. Martin's Press
St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in the Flatiron Building in New York City. Currently, St. Martin's Press is one of the United States' largest publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under eight imprints, which include St. Martin's Press , St...
. The book became a made-for-TV movie released in December 2002.
Comedian Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor and voice actor. He is best known for portraying Spencer Olchin in the popular sitcom The King of Queens, voicing Remy from the film Ratatouille and Thrasher from the Cartoon Network original series Robotomy.-Early life:Oswalt was born...
has deconstructed the song's themes and message in multiple stand-up comedy routines. One routine included comedy band Hard 'n Phirm
Hard 'n Phirm
Hard 'n Phirm is a comedy/parody musical duo based in Los Angeles. The members are Chris Hardwick and Mike Phirman. They began performing at UCLA in 1994, but broke up, only to reform 7 years later. After the huge success of their song "Rodeohead" , they released their first and only album to...
performing the song, with Oswalt stopping them to comment on the lyrics or the message.