I don’t know why I want to know this, but I do. What are some good songs about, or referencing, shoes?
Here are some of my favorites:
Those Shoes (Eagles)
Pretzel Logic (Steely Dan)
Red Shoes (Tom Waits)
I used to be disgusted
Now I try to be amused
Hell - that used to be my sig!
Only two threads and yet no mention of that most famous of shoe songs, Elvis Presley’s Blue Suede Shoes?
Paul Simon, Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes
Obviously, These Boots Were Made for Walkin’.
“St Louis named a Shoe after Me”, by Tom T. Hall:
“St Louis is famous for its shoes don’t you know
Loafers and sneakers and they’re makin’ them all with soul
Honey I walked so doggone much since you set me free
St Louis named a shoe after me”
Oh wait, you wanted GOOD songs about shoes… sorry about that.
“Old Brown Shoe,” The Beatles
“Bad Sneakers,” Steely Dan
“Boots of Spanish Leather,” Bob Dylan
“Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under,” Shania Twain. Horrible song.
In These Shoes? Kirsty MacColl
Not technically shoes, but definitely footwear:
How bout Fairies Wear Boots?
Oh - if we’re talking about good songs, Beck (Jeff, for you younguns) seemed to have a thang about Led and Spanish Boots.
If you’re talking about bad shoe songs, you can’t forget These Christmas Shoes or whatever the hell it’s called. If Jesus is Lord, I don’t think He’s going to care if you’re wearing fancy shoes when you get to Heaven.
“Flaming Red,” by Patty Griffin:
Quality Shoe, from Mark Knopfler’s record The Ragpicker’s Dream is a fun song on what I think is Knopfler’s best solo album.
My Shoes (The Bobs)
Oooh! Phoebe Buffay, Sticky Shoes:
“Sticky shoes, sticky shoes ,
Always make me smile,
Sticky shoes, sticky shoes,
Next time I’ll
Avoid the pile!”
I am shocked–shocked!!!–that I cannot find the lyrics to the Lemon Pipers’ sublime The Shoemaker of Leatherwear Square anywhere on the web. The same album on which that song appears also includes Shoeshine Boy, so it would seem that the Pipers had their minds on their feet. Or something.
Dusty Boots by Eric Johnson, the folkie, not the guitar wizard.
Walkin’ Blues by Robert Johnson
“Woke up this morning, felt around for my shoes.”
Betty Lou’s Got A New Pair Of Shoes by Neil Young
Bad, I’m Nationwide by ZZ Top
“Sportin’ short dresses, wearing spike heel shoes,
Smokin’ Lucky Strikes and wearing nylons, too.”
Barefoot Fiddler by Johnny Gimble
“Put your shoes on, put your shoes on”
Beverly Hillbillies by Flatt and Scruggs
“Kick your shoes off, set a spell.”
My Old Man by The Smothers Brothers
“My old man’s a farmer, what do you think about that?
He wears a farmer’s shirt, he wears a farmer’s hat.
He wears a farmer’s pants, he wears a farmer’s shoes,
And every Sunday evening, he reads The Farmer’s News.”
She Just Wants To Dance by Keb’ Mo’
“Shuck your shoes and shake your shoulders.”
White Boots by Stevie Ray and Jimmie Lee Vaughn
Benny And The Jets by Sir Elton John
“He’s got electric boots, a mohair suit,
You know I read it in a magazine.”
Brown Shoes Don’t Make It by Frank Zappa and The Mothers
Aaand a random quote from GOK, “He knew not shit from Shinola, and his shoes showed the strain.”
I could go on, but I have a few things I ought to do today.