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| NewSong - The Christmas Shoes |
NewSong - The Christmas Shoes Lyrics and Youtube Music VideosAlbum:
The Christmas Shoes Released:
2000 It was almost Christmas time, there I stood in another line
Tryin' to buy that last gift or two, not really in the Christmas mood
Standing right in front of me was a little boy waiting anxiously
Pacing 'round like little boys do
And in his hands he held a pair of shoes
His clothes were worn and old, he was dirty from head to toe
And 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
And I know these shoes would make her smile
And I want her to look beautiful if Mama meets Jesus tonight
He counted pennies for what seemed like years
Then the cashier said, "Son, there's not enough here"
He searched his pockets frantically
Then he turned and he looked at me
He said Mama made Christmas good at our house
Though most years she just did without
Tell me Sir, what am I going to do,
Somehow I've got to buy her these Christmas shoes
So I laid the money down, I just had to help him out
I'll never forget the look on his face when he said
Mama's gonna look so great
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
And I know these shoes would make her smile
And I want her to look beautiful if Mama meets Jesus tonight
I knew I'd caught a glimpse of heaven's love
As he thanked me and ran out
I knew that God had sent that little boy
To remind me just what Christmas is all about
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
And I know these shoes would make her smile
And I want her to look beautiful if Mama meets Jesus tonigh
Writer/s: CARSWELL, EDDIE / AHLSTROM, LEONARD
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics licensed and provided by
LyricFindThe Christmas Shoes The song tells the story of a little boy with clothes that "were worn and old" buying shoes one Christmas Eve for his sick mother so she'll look good if she "meets Jesus tonight." Founding member Eddie Carswell told us, "it was inspired by this lady who'd actually been in that situation - not exactly the way the story goes, but a very similar story." The song's storyline was inspired by a Christmas story that St. Louis-based radio personality DC Chymes found on the Internet. A NewSong fan, Chymes asked Eddie Carswell to write a song based on the narrative. Eddie and his then songwriting partner Leonard Ahlstrom liked the idea and worked at it on and off for a couple of years without completing the song. "We would read this story, and we knew something was there," Eddie recalled in the band's online biography, "so we kept stabbing at it, kept coming back to it." When the band was recording Sheltering Tree, Eddie pitched the unfinished song, but the producer passed on the cut. With the album complete, NewSong had a meeting with people from their Benson Records label. The suggestion was made about adding a last minute Christmas song, so Eddie played a rough version of "The Christmas Shoes". Their enthusiastic response convinced the two writers to finish the song and the record label to add it. Within a mere week, the second verse and bridge were complete, and "The Christmas Shoes" was on the album as a bonus track. Benson was a Christian record label but it had a mainstream affiliate. When they played the song for their mainstream side, they immediately saw its potential. Eddie recalled to us, "First thing you know it was out and we're getting these unbelievable reports all over the country about it and about how much everybody liked it and what was going on." After NewSong recorded the track, Carswell told a writer friend of his, Donna VanLiere about it. She put together a novella based on the song , which was on the New York Times bestseller list in 2002. It was later made into a TV movie for CBS, called The Christmas Shoes starring Rob Lowe and Kimberley Williams, which was the second highest-rated TV movie of the 2002-2003 seasons. VanLiere has since penned several more books that were inspired by the song, which have spawned a couple more TV movies. Eddie told us that, "it's just been a crazy thing how God's blessed that little song. Just when you think it's all over, something else happens about it. So it's been an amazing song to be a part of." The Christian music group NewSong was originally a 9-member church band for Morningside Baptist Church in Valdosta, Georgia, formed in 1983. This hit the top of the Adult Contemporary chart in 3 weeks. A year later it was the title track of NewSong's holiday album.
