"The Shoe Song_copy" genre: Folk
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	My attempt to purge my anglo-western yuppie guilt after visiting a dirt-poor 3rd world country (Nepal). We were hiking at 16,000 feet and had hired a porter to carry our gear for us. We paid Jangbo $6 per day to carry 40 kilos of stuff. Meanwhile, we were probably wearing the equivalent of the annual GDP of Nepal in new Goretex, fleece, polypro, hiking boots, and other high-tech crap. Our over-abundant goodwill really hit me when I noticed (as I was gasping for air on the side of the trail in the brain-bustingly thin air) that Jangbo had only flip-flops, shorts, and a t-shirt on (and was smoking a no-filter cigarette, just to rub it in). Guilt, nothing like it. Then I went home and found about 20 old pairs of shoes in my closet that I had been meaning to throw out, and I felt even more guilty. So I wrote this song, hoping to make some money off
	CD: on the new Pat Burtis release, due fall 2001   Label: self-released Credits: Words and music by Pat Burtis (c) 2000
	Story Behind the Song See song description for the motivation. We recorded this live at Johnny D's in Somerville, MA on January 20, 2000. I sang it and played the guitar. Shane McLaughlin was on the keyboards. Tim Kelly on bass. And Dave Franz was on the drums. Recorded and mixed by the guys from Wellspring Sound. Lyrics The Shoe Song Pat Burtis © 1998 Well I been to the mountains of eastern Nepal Hired a four-foot man and made him carry it all Then we hiked up high where the peaks grow so tall So I'm standing in the trail wrapped in poly-pro and fleece Got my hundred-dollar shades and a perfect set of teeth And I notice that my porter has nothing on his feet Well I'm a man who believes in equity In inalienable rights, and basic goods for free In the right to own at least one piece of two-ply, Gore-Tex outer-ware by Patagucci So I'm looking at his feet, I think of all I take for granted Of Nikes, McDonald's, and the right to sue, dammit And I feel like the biggest yuppie scum on the face of the planet Chorus 'Cause I got my light hikers, mountain bikers, heavy hikers, soccer strikers Rubber slickers, shit kickers, silky socks and Birkenstocks And flip flops and high tops and downhill boots and shoes for suits And Tom McCanns and Tevas and bowlers and bucs Got more laces and tongues than any man oughta Got more heels and treads than the ocean got water I think we oughta walk barefoot in the snow for a day Well they say that worldly goods can't get you to Nirvana But I've come pretty close with a Porsche and a sauna But since I was in the neighborhood I figured I would check in with my old friend the Dalai Lama Well that wise old Dalai Lama he's a pretty cool guy Didn't make me feel guilty, didn't even ask why Just pulled back his robes, showed me his new Air Jordans, and said: "These are totally fly, dude!" And we sangā€¦ [Chorus] Got 'em under my bed and up in the attic Makes me feel kind of guilty, makes me feel hypocratic I think we oughta walk barefoot in the snow for a day But I've been making light of a pretty big deal Made fun of the Dalai Lama and his holy sacred wheel I even tried to make you laugh when I'm supposed to make you feel really bad So here comes the part where I make you feel guilty Passive aggressively 'Cause I been to the slums of Kuala Lumpur To the lows of India, through the mud of Ecuador I been to Alabama, it's all the same as before 'Cause the haves still have, and the don'ts still don't And the people with the most to give still won't So lets remember that we are all in the same big boat But in the meantimeā€¦ [Chorus to end]

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