A blog I read regularly - and love - is Mental Multivitamin.
On one of her recent posts, she comments on that Christmas shoes song (I was calling it the "Jesus shoes" song but it's the same one).
I hate that song. Hate, hate, hate it.
(Okay, "hate" is a strong word, but it's one of those songs that just sets my teeth on edge).
Part of it is that I KNOW what it is trying to do: it is trying to make me cry. And I hate that.
Now, do not misunderstand: I am not one of these people "without a drop of water in them" (as Garrison Keillor would say). I have been known to cry over:
That part in A Charlie Brown Christmas where Linus recites the passage from Luke
Some of the diamond ads (and I HATE myself for that; I know they are manipulative)
Tasting a cookie that is an old traditional thing my grandma used to make at Christmas
and, most of all, that moment on Christmas Eve when everyone in the church has a lighted candle (that has been lighted off the "Christ candle" on the advent wreath) and everyone holds up their candles in the darkened church and sings Silent Night, a capella (heck, I am tearing up even THINKING of that).
But I cannot cry over that song. Because I know it wants me to.
I do not like being manipulated emotionally. I don't mind crying over things that are genuinely emotional (like the last thing on my list; it is one of the most beautiful things of this season and one that I look forward to every year)
But another part of my distaste for the song is that in my world, it's bad theology: You are buying shoes for a dying woman so she can have nice shoes to meet Jesus in.
Um, shoes are pretty irrelevant at that point.
Jesus isn't gonna care.
And, for that matter, - as Mmv points out - why not have bought her the shoes earlier, when she could enjoy them. (Oh, yeah - the family is too poor. Um, yeah. Another manipulative point.)
I dunno. Give me Bing Crosby any day over the modern "pop" stuff.
4 comments:
Such, such, such a bad song. I mean, like it's a the musical equivalent of rancid milk. It is just spit-it-out-quick awful. I agree with everything you said. It's poorly written, insipid, and theologically clueless. If you're that poor, shouldn't you be trying to buy a little food instead of shoes for a dead woman? Furthermore, since when do shoes make anyone look beautiful? I can't stand it. I cannot fathom how that group can even sing it with a straight face.
And while I'm on the subject of "Christmas" songs that I hate:
My next most hated one is "Grown Up Christmas List." What's that all about? Okay, I'll stop now. I don't want to take over your comment section with my rantings. I'll go to my own blog for that.
Happy Festivus!!!
Ang
my favorite song is "mary did you know." my most favorite version is the one with kenny rogers and kathy mattea, but i'll live with the wynona version.
and yes, it does make me cry, but for a good reason. there's a line that goes "the lame will leap, the deaf will hear". my mom is deaf. just once i would love for her to hear her grandchildren say "i love you."
ok, i need a hankie now.
Please, count me in!!! It goes under the heading of "What were they thinking?"
Did you know they apparently made a movie about that song with Rob Lowe and Kimberly Williams? I know we all want to put that one in Netflix queue.
The song that makes me teary is "Little Drummerboy"
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