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"The Christmas Shoes" is a Christmas-themed song by the Christian vocal group NewSong. It was written by NewSong group members Eddie Carswell and Leonard Ahlstrom, and St. Louis syndicated radio personality Isaiah "DC" Daniel (of Steve & DC).[1] The song was released through Benson Records as a bonus track on their 2000 album Sheltering Tree, at the urging of DC, who also co-produced the tune in the summer of 2000.[1] It peaked at No. 31 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart[2] spent one week at No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and No. 42 on the Hot 100 chart.[3]
| "The Christmas Shoes" | |
|---|---|
| Single by NewSong | |
| from the album Sheltering Tree | |
| Released | 2000 |
| Recorded | 1999–2000 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 4:50 |
| Label | Benson |
| Songwriter(s) | Leonard Ahlstrom, Eddie Carswell, Isaiah "DC" Daniel |
| Producer(s) | Chris Harris, Isaiah "DC" Daniel |
The song recounts the events experienced by the narrator completing the last of his gift shopping on Christmas Eve. He is waiting in a checkout line but is "not really in the Christmas mood" when he notices a young boy in front of him who wants to buy a pair of shoes for his terminally-ill mother: the boy tells the cashier he wants her to appear beautiful when she meets Jesus. Since he is short on money, the narrator ends up paying for the shoes, which reminds him of the true meaning of Christmas.
One year after NewSong released the song, country music girl group 3 of Hearts released their own version, which peaked at No. 39 on the country chart.[4]
In 2002, Donna VanLiere produced a novelization of the song which was published in 2002 by St. Martin's Press. The book became a made-for-TV movie released in December 2002.[5]
In 2005 Dutch singer René Froger recorded the song for his Pure Christmas album.[citation needed]
Pop-punk band FM Static released a cover of this song in 2008.[6][7]
"Christmas Shoes" frequently polarizes audiences.[8] While it is a staple of radio stations during the Christmas season,[8] it is often criticized for exploiting poverty to generate a sentimental message and for the narrator's self-congratulatory tone after he gives the boy money.[9] The song has been described as poverty porn.[10] Christian commentators have also criticized it for a "malevolent portrayal of God" who "inflicts needless suffering on others to teach some jerk the true meaning of Christmas."[11]
The song has appeared on various "worst Christmas song" lists.[12][13][14][15][9] In 2011, the song was named "The Worst Christmas Song Ever" by Jezebel.com, following a weeks-long survey of commented votes.[16]
Patton Oswalt devoted part of his stand-up performance to the song at the Lisner Auditorium in November 2009, which has since become famous.[12][17]
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[18] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
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