The Christmas Shoes

The Christmas Shoes, which evokes a huge emotional response in every person who hears it was written by Eddie Carswell of NewSong and released by NewSong in 2000. It rose to the top of Billboard's Adult Contemporary Singles chart on January 6, 2001.

Since then song has been made into a CBS holiday movie starring Rob Lowe. Here are the lyrics to this wonderfully moving holiday song that has also been performed by the group Alabama and Bob Carlisle.

The Christmas Shoes

It was almost Christmas time
There I stood in another line
Trying to buy that last gift or two
I'm really in the Christmas mood
Standing right in front of me
Was a little boy waiting anxiously
Pacing around like little boys do
And in his hands he held
A pair of shoes

And 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 wanna buy these shoes for my Momma 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 will make her smile
And I want her to look beautiful
If Momma meets Jesus, tonight.

They counted pennies for what seem like years
And cashier says son there's not enough here
He searches is pockets franticly
And he turned and he looked at me
And he said Momma made Christmas good at our house
Most years she just did without
Tell me Sir
What am I gonna do?
Some how I've got to buy her these Christmas shoes

So I layed the money down
I just had to help him out
And I'll never forget
The look on his face
When he said Momma's gonna look so great.

Sir I wanna buy these shoes, for my Momma 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 will make her smile
And I want her to look beautiful,
If Momma meets Jesus tonight.

I knew I caught a glimpse of heavens love as he thanked me and ran out.
I know that God had sent that little boy to remind me
What Christmas is all about

Sir I wanna buy these shoes for my Momma 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 will make her smile
And I want her to look beautiful
If Momma meets Jesus tonight

I want her to look beautiful
If Momma meets Jesus tonight

During the holiday season, we often get caught up in the shopping and preparations, the parties and the outings. It's easy to lose track of the true meaning of Christmas. The song The Christmas Shoes is instrumental in bringing all of us back to the reason we celebrate Christmas in the first place - love.

The song tells us about a child's love for his mother, a mother's love for her family, and the common man's love for a fellow human being. The child in the song wants to give his mother a special Christmas gift because he senses that she is preparing to meet Jesus.

Whether the little boy realizes what this really means, he loves her so much that he wants to give her something wonderful to make her smile. He tells the clerk at the store and the stranger as well, that his mother always gave everything she could to care for her family and make their home and life full of love.

This inspires a perfect stranger to help the young boy out. And in doing so, the little boy has given this stranger a wonderful gift without realizing it. He has helped the stranger remember the true meaning of Christmas.