I’m sure you’ve heard this song on the radio by now. Personally, I can’t drive when it plays because it makes me misty-eyed. Now, I know not everyone is going to like and that’s fine. But I didn’t think it was as hated as I found when I was trying to find a copy of the video that didn’t have the CBS promo on it the whole song. As an example, I give you…this guy. [Warning: language is a bit stronger than you usually see on this blog.]
Now if this guy happens to come across this blog, please don’t think I’m picking on you because of this. If I were, I’d go after the name or your hair–although if youcan have hair that long and flowing and still look like a dude, which most guys couldn’t pull off, you go, dude. If you want to get back at me, let me help you. I’ve learned today that I’m probably the only guy in America who didn’t think the new Knight Rider didn’t suck. Not that I didn’t have my own issues with it that I’ll get into another time, but have at me. And congradulations not worring about who you offend by saying “Merry Christmas”. With the anti-Christmas crowd on the move this year, it’s nice to see people against the grain.
Why I chose this is…well, it’s actually the first one I came up to, so you win! Your prize is to have me tell you why your wrong. Not about hating the song; I’m not going to change your opinion about that. Of course, if you think this is the worst Christmas song ever, you’ve never heard “Dominic the Donkey”. Allow me to put you through the torture my father does to me at Christmas. (For some reason he likes this song.)
http://odeo.com/episodes/23719270-Lou-Monte-The-Italian-Christmas-Donkey
I can’t get the player to work, so let that open in a new window, and let’s move on. Or save yourself the torture and just move on.
While I’m not here to proclaim Newsong’s “Christmas Shoes” the best Christmas song ever, I do want to address the major complaint the guy has about this song, which boils down to five words:
It’s not about the shoes!
I’ll say it again. It’s not about the shoes. Frankly, he could be trying to buy…well, what do you think he should have tried to buy his dieing mom? How old is this “little boy”, do you think? Ignore the video: that kid hardly looks as dirty as the singer makes the kid sound. The kid has to be…what? Seven? Eight? And he’s not exactly the cleanest kid the guy’s seen, apparently. For whatever reason, this kid wants to buy his mom shoes. However, it could be a necklace, a bracelet, perfume, naked pictures of Matthew Mconohowyouspellhisname. Doesn’t matter. It’s not about the shoes.
The truth is we really don’t know the backstory of this kid and his mom. All we know is “daddy says there’s not much time”. Now if we assume we have a 7-8 year old here, I’m not sure he realises that when mommy heads to heaven she doesn’t take her outfit with her. How many shows has this kid seen where a dead character is wearing what he or she died in? Sure we know that it’s only to save on the wardrobe/animation budget, but would youknow that at seven? Also, could these shoes have been something that his mom had wanted, maybe seeing it on TV or in a newspaper ad? I think we can tell the kid is poor. I mean really poor, not the “poor” that have satellite widescreen TV. He’s (literally) dirt poor. They can’t afford a beautiful pair of shoes; they take what they can get at the thrift store or through a charity. But it’s not about the shoes.
The shoes are not the subject here. The mom isn’t. The kid isn’t. All three are just an end to a means. So what is the song about? It’s about the man. As in the man the singer plays as in this story. The story is told from his perspective, and it’s all about his attitude.
Think back to how this story begins. He’s trying to finish up his last bit of Christmas shopping, and he’s really not in the spirit. Would that surprise you? Just look at how the stores, or rather the shoppers, get as Christmas approaches. Heck, look what happened during Black Friday this year! If you think this is the last you’ll hear about injuries or death at the store due to fights or being trampled for the latest sale, you aren’t paying attention. Everybody pushing around, most of the stuff on your list is probably gone by Christmas Eve (although we don’t know just how close to Christmas day he was), shoppers are irritable due to other shoppers, their crying kids, or being too caught up in the commercialism. This is the frame of mind our “hero” is in when the song starts.
So while he’s all caught up in his own concerns, here comes this little kid. This dirty little kid, with his jar of pennies. We’re not sure if dad’s in the car, by the door or wherever else his son asked him to stay because he wants to be a big boy. (Seven.) Or perhaps he went on his own because his dad is at the hospital. (At least we know there is a dad. A lot of kids won’t have a father this Christmas, which makes the fact that some of them have an abusive scumbag for a dad even more irritating! We need more GOOD dads who are ACTUALLY THERE! Like mine.) And what does he want with these pennies? To buy a new skateboard? To buy some cheap novelty that isn’t worth anything? No, he want to buy the one thing that he thinks will make his mom happy in her condition. And he’s seven (or maybe eight). This is all he thinks will make his mom happy; to get her something she’s been wanting, or that he thinks she would like to have. This is not stated in the song, but why else would you decide on shoes?
(This is where I feel like noting that the kid probably isn’t saying the same thing over and over. The refrain may be used once, but the song itself is repeating what was said to the cashier. The kid only asks the singer what he should do, because mom always made Christmas good even though they didn’t have a lot, and he wants to make it up to her considering her condition. Sadly, I can relate to this part, although I wouldn’t call myself truly poor. I may not have satellite, but I do have cable, my own car, and this computer. And way too many comics and Transformers.)
So while our “hero” has been thinking only of himself, the kid is thinking about his dieing mother, regardless of what we may think about the chosen gift. Now note this: Jesus (remember him?) would constantly speak in parables. Here, Newsong is telling a parable, but in song. Think of the “human analog” they often use in Mythbusters. (You do watch Mythbusters, right? It’s friggin awesome!) Well, here the singer is the analog–for US! WE are the guy/gal who is so caught up in Christmas shopping, people asking for charity, and commercialism disguising itself as “Christmas spirit”. We’re the one impatient in line not caring about the spirit of what Christmas means beyond Christ’s (alleged) birthday, watching kids open presents (only to ignore them later to play in the box), and getting stuff for yourself. This kid is thinking only about his dieing mother. He doesn’t care about himself, and isn’t buying just to buy stuff. He’s buying something to make his mom happy. He’s buying out of love, nevermind what it is he’s buying. That’s not important. He’s spending his last dime on somebody more important than him. That’s the real Christmas spirit.
So when this guy pays for the shoes (just as we don’t really know the reason for the shoes other than his dieing mom, we don’t know that he drops the full price, I figured he just made up the difference), it remind him of what Christmas means. Showing love to others, helping those less fortunate, and of course peace and good will to all. That’s why the guy says (well, sings) that God sent this kid, to remind him what Christmas is about. However lame one thinks the gift is, it’s not about the what. It’s about the why.
So next time you listen to this song, don’t think about the gift to his mom. Think about what the gift stands for. Think of what the kid stands for. Think about what, and who, the guy stands for. Will this suddenly change your mind about the song? Probably not. I’m not going to tell you your wrong about hating or liking anything. I’m just trying to get you to understand the message. It’s not about the shoes; it’s about Christmas.
Was that too sappy? How about one more video?
Christmas at Ground Zero (embedding disabled)
Oh, that part about not being wrong about hating or liking anything? That doesn’t apply to Weird Al. Thought you should know that.
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