Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes! (Songs)

Subject: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: Azizi
Date: 13 May 09 - 07:47 AM

The sub-title for this thread is "Songs & Trivia About Shoes, Boots, Sandals, And Other Types OF Footwear".

The "inspiration" for this thread is this Mudcat thread: BS: ACLU sues over patenting genes .

I started to create a play on words title-something on the order of "AZIZI sews over patten leather jeans". However
a} that thread title didn't make any sense. Why and how would I or anyone else sew over patten leather jeans?

b} there's no such thing as "patten leather jeans" at least I don't think there's any such thing as that.
and

c} for the parody title to fit the pattern of the original thread, I would have to type my name in caps, and if I did that, I'd run the risk of people thinking that I thought too much of myself. And everybody knows that I'm a very humble person. So calling attention to myself wouldn't at all be something I would do.

Besides all of that, the ACLU thread is worthy of serious consideration.

But being in a lighthearted mood, I couldn't let the idea for some fun go by the wayside. Hence this thread.

Please join me in sharing song titles and song verses that mention shoes, boots, sandals, and other types of footwear. Also, please join me in posting trivia information and anecdotes about footwear to this thread.

I'll start out with some random comments in my next posts.

Thanks in advance for your participation in this thread!

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: Mr Happy
Date: 13 May 09 - 07:55 AM

..........perhaps you mean 'Patent Leather'?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_leather

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: Azizi
Date: 13 May 09 - 07:57 AM

Instead of starting this thread I thought about adding some comments to this new BS thread
Music Heels. But I wasn't sure which definition for "heels" the thread starter meant. "Heels" in that title could mean a type of shoe, or it could mean slimy no good musicians or vocalists.

It'll be interesting to see in which direction that discussion goes.

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: manitas_at_work
Date: 13 May 09 - 07:59 AM

Brown Boots

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: SINSULL
Date: 13 May 09 - 08:01 AM

In My Socks With A Gun
These Boots Are Made For Walking
Put My Little Shoes Away

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: Mr Happy
Date: 13 May 09 - 08:02 AM

These boots are made for walking?

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 13 May 09 - 08:04 AM

My daughter brought home a pair of black pleather jeans. "How the heck do I wash them," I asked. "Oh Mom, you just wipe them down... see!" "And the inside," I countered.   "Uuhh..... Oh!"

Not shoes I know, but I had to share.

and this blog spot from someone with the same question

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: SINSULL
Date: 13 May 09 - 08:04 AM

Ole Abner's Boots

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: SINSULL
Date: 13 May 09 - 08:06 AM

Who's Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet?
We'll Pay Paddy Doyle For His Boots

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: SINSULL
Date: 13 May 09 - 08:06 AM

Oh Them Golden Slippers

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 13 May 09 - 08:06 AM

and another one


Apparently a popular question.

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: Azizi
Date: 13 May 09 - 08:07 AM

Thanks, Mr. Happy, for that great segue into this discussion. The truth of the matter is I wasn't sure how to spell "patten leather shoes". And the more I thought about it, I realized that I wasn't really sure what "patten leather shoes" were.

My sense was that they were fake leather. I also thought that the fake leather was usually the color "black" but that these shoes could be sold in other colors. Having done a small bit of research on the matter, I find that search engines lists the spelling "patten" leather as well as "patent" leather. But, at least according to Wikipedia, the word "patten" was the earliest form.

"Pattens were clogs, overshoes or sandals, held on the foot by leather or cloth bands, often with a wooden sole or metal device to elevate the foot and increase the wearer's height or aid in walking in mud. They were worn during the Middle Ages outdoors and in public places over (outside) the thin soled shoes of the day. The word probably derives from the Old French pate meaning hoof or paw.[1] For women they continued to be worn in muddy conditions, until the nineteenth or even early 20th century.

Pattens were worn by both men and women during the Middle Ages, and are especially seen in art from the 15th century: a time when poulaines, shoes with very long pointed toes, were particularly in fashion. Medieval pattens were known by the terms 'patyns', 'clogges', and 'galoches', but the original meanings of these terms are unclear[2]. These terms are usually referred to as 'pattens' for convenience. There are three main types of pattens - those with a wooden 'platform' sole raised from the ground either with wooden wedges or iron stands. The second type has a flat wooden sole, which was often hinged. The third type has a flat sole made from stacked layers of leather. Some later European varieties of these pattens have light wooden inner sections with leather above and below. In earlier varieties of pattens, dating from the 12th century on, the stilt or wedge variety were more common. From the late 14th century the flat variety became increasingly common. Leather pattens became fashionable in the 14th and 15th Centuries[2]. Most pattens were constructed of alder, willow or poplar woods[2].

In 1390, the Diocese of York forbade clergy from wearing pattens and clogs in both church and in processions, considering them to be indecorous "contra honestatem ecclesiae"[3]. Conversely, the famous Spanish rabbi Solomon ben Abraham Ibn Adret, "the Rashba", (ca. 1233-ca.1310) was asked if it was permissible to wear "patines" on Shabbat, to which he replied that it was the custom of "all the wise in the land" to wear them, and certainly permitted.[4] Since shoes of the period had thin soles, pattens were commonly used mainly because of unpaved roads and also the fact that indoor stone floors were very cold in winter. Furthermore, refuse in cities – including the contents of chamber pots – was usually thrown into the street. Unlike clogs, which are usually flat-bottomed, pattens tend to only make contact with the ground through two or three strips of wood. They raised the wearer up considerably, sometimes by four inches or more."..

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: SINSULL
Date: 13 May 09 - 08:12 AM

Shoo Fly Pie?

I'll leave now.

But, as a child we were frobidden to wear patent leather shoes by the nuns because...honest...they reflect your underwear and might excite a boy. I swear that's true. We were also cautioned about stepping across puddles of water for the same reason.

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: Azizi
Date: 13 May 09 - 08:12 AM

Wow!

You guys and gals are fast!!

Thanks for the song examples. Btw, I attempted to do a search for the word "shoe" to see if any "category thread" about shoes had already been done, but I didn't find any.

**

Here's a website with photos of "patent leather shoes". Note the spelling that is used.

http://www.patentshoestore.com/

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: SINSULL
Date: 13 May 09 - 08:15 AM

Blue Suede Shoes

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: SINSULL
Date: 13 May 09 - 08:19 AM

Tan Shoes With Pink Shoe Laces

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: Azizi
Date: 13 May 09 - 08:19 AM

Here's some more information about the word "patten":

"The word could also be used as a term for a wooden soled shoe, that is a chopine or clog, as opposed to an overshoe, until at least the nineteenth century. The word was also used for the traditional wooden outdoor shoes of Japan and other Asian countries.[9] What are in effect snowshoes for mud, as used by wildfowlers, boatmen, and Coast Guards may also be called pattens, or "mud-pattens". These are shaped boards attached to the sole of a shoe, which extend sideways well beyond the shape of the foot, and are therefore a different sort of footwear from those discussed here. They are used to walk on mud on river-banks etc. "Horse-pattens" were used for horses, especially for ploughing muddy fields. The word was also used for ice-skates, as it is in French (patiner, to skate).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patten_(shoe)

-snip-

But here's some information that specifically relates to "patent" (patten?) leather shoes

"Patent leather begins as a superior grade of fine grain leather that undergoes a process to achieve the glossy look. Originally, this was accomplished by applying layers of a linseed oil finish to the leather, gradually creating the sleek appearance. As time went on, plastic finishes were able to produce effects similar to the application of several treatments with linseed oil, with the advantage of considerably less monetary investment on the part of the producer. Over time, the development of synthetic resins further simplified the process and cut production costs even further, making the mass production of patent leather possible.

Today, patent shoes have become a big trend, from patent heels to patent wedges to patent flats. With their glossy finish, patent leather shoes add a touch of elegance to any outfit. That's why a pair of patent leather shoes is an essential part of every woman's wardrobe.

Pair cute brightly-colored patent flats with jeans for an evening out with friends or wear black or brown patent pumps with dress pants to work. Whatever your style, patent shoes are the perfect way to bring real shine to your outfit."
http://www.patentshoestore.com/

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: Azizi
Date: 13 May 09 - 08:32 AM

Okay. So I guess "patent leather" and "patten" shoes are two different things.

But I'm guessing that many of you wouldn't have ever known all that information about "patten" shoes if I had used the word "patent" in my title. I'm glad that something good came from my mistake. I could say that I did it on purpose, but that would be a lie, and I never tell any lies (unless I do for good reasons).

-snip-

Here's a poem from that Wikipedia page on "pattens shoes". This should raise the level of this thread's discourse. I'm posting it partly because I need to redeem myself and partly because Mudcatters are known to be "high brow" and what reeks of highbrow-ness more than an old timey English poem?

From the Middle Period Poems of John Clare (1820s):

"She lost her pattens in the muck
& Roger in his mind
Considered her misfortune luck
To show her he was kind
He over hitops fetched it out
& cleaned it for her foot..."

Subject: Lyr Add: BROWN SHOES DON'T MAKE IT (Frank Zappa)
From: bobad
Date: 13 May 09 - 08:41 AM

Brown Shoes Don't Make It
Frank Zappa

Brown shoes don't make it
Brown Shoes don't make it
Quit school, why fake it
Brown shoes don't make it

TV dinner by the pool
Watch your brother grow a beard
Got another year of school
You're okay, he's too weird
Be a plummer
He's a bummer
He's a bummer every summer
Be a loyal plastic robot
For a world that doesn't care
That's right

Smile at every ugly
Shine on your shoes and cut your hair

Be a jerk-go to work
Be a jerk-go to work
Be a jerk-go to work
Be a jerk-go to work
Do your job, and do it right
Life's a ball
TV tonight
Do you love it
Do you hate it
There it is
The way you made it

A world of secret hungers
Perverting the men who make your laws
Every desire is hidden away
In a drawer in a desk by a Naugahyde chair
On a rug where they walk and drool
Past the girls in the office

We see in the back
Of the City Hall mind
The dream of a girl about thirteen
Off with her clothes and into a bed
Where she tickles his fancy
All night long

His wile's attending an orchid show
She squealed for a week to get him to go
But back in the bed his teen-age queen
Is rocking and rolling and acting obscene
Baby, baby. ..
Baby, baby. . .
Cimmie then cakes, uh!
If I do I'm gonna lose my...

And he loves it, he loves it
It curls up his toes
She wipes his fat neck
And it lights up his nose
But he cannot be fooled
Old City Hall Fred
She's nasty, she's nasty
She digs it in bed
That's right

Do it again, ha
And do it some more
Hey, that does it, by golly
And she's nasty for sure
Nasty nasty nasty
Nasty nasty nasty
Only thirteen, and she knows how to nasty

She's a dirty young mind, corrupted
Corroded
Well she's thirteen today
And I hear she gets loaded

If she were my daughter, I'd...
What would you do, Frankie?
If she were my daughter, I'd ...
What would you do, Frankie?
Check this out
Smother my daughter in chocolate syrup
And strap her on again, oh baby
Smother that girl in chocolate syrup
And strap her on again, oh baby
She's my teen-age baby
She turns me on
I'd like to make her do a nasty
On the White House lawn
Smother my daughter in chocolate syrup
And boogie 'till the cows come home

Time to go home
Madge is on the phone
Got to meet the Gurney's and a dozen gray attorneys
TV dinner by the pool
I'm so glad I finished school
Life is such a ball
I run the world from City Hall

Subject: Lyr Add: HIGH HEEL SNEAKERS (Tommy Tucker)
From: Azizi
Date: 13 May 09 - 08:55 AM

Here's a link to a very short YouTube video of a little girl reciting the children's rhyme
1-2 buckle my shoes
3-4 shut the door
5-6 pick up sticks
7-8 lay them straight.
9-10 a big fat hen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jw5M6fgKGc


**

Here's a link to an audio YouTube of a classic shoe song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8RVamiwAqU
Tommy Tucker - High Heel Sneakers

**

Here's the lyrics to that song:

Put on your red dress, baby
Ya know we're goin' out tonight
Put on your red dress, baby
Lord, we're goin' out tonight
And-a bring along some boxin' gloves
In case some fool might wanna fight

Put on your high-heel sneakers, lordy
Wear your wig-hat on your head
Put on your high-heel sneakers, child
Wear your wig-hat on your head
Ya know you're looking mighty fine, baby
I'm pretty sure you're gonna knock 'em dead

Put on your red dress, baby
Lord, we're goin' out tonight
Put on your red dress, baby
Well, we're goin' out tonight
And bring along some boxin' gloves
'case some fool might wanna fight

Put on your high-heel sneakers, child
Wear your wig-hat on your head now
Put on your high-heel sneakers, baby
Wear your wig-hat on your head
Ya know you're looking mighty good, really
I'm pretty sure you're gonna knock 'em dead

http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/lackawannablues/highheelsneakers.htm

Subject: Lyr Add: YOUR FEET'S TOO BIG (Fats Waller)
From: catspaw49
Date: 13 May 09 - 09:04 AM

Uh Ziz........Nobody would give a turkey if you stepped on whatever ta' hell patten shoes are/were/whatever...I read all your explanations and I ain't buyin' it! (:<))........But I'd be mighty pissed if you stepped on my super shiny patent leather loafers!

And now Sins......You obviously have a foot fetish! Geeziz......But you did miss one of my Old Man's absolute favorites, Fats Waller and "Your Feets Too Big".......one of his many well worn 78's.

Great video

ANOTHER earlier variant with some great Zoot Suits....and I love Zoot Suits!!!

And the lyrics:

[Spoken]
Who's that walkin' 'round here?
Mercy!
Sounds like baby patter!
Baby elephant patter, that's what I calls it!

Say, up in Harlem,
At a table for two,
There were four of us,
Me, your big feet and you!
From your ankles up, I say you sure are sweet,
From there down, there's just too much feet!
Yas!

Your feet's too big!
Don't want ya 'cause your feet's too big!
Can't use ya 'cause your feet's too big!
I really hate ya 'cause your feet's too big!
Yeah!

Da-dee-do-dah, wan-ga-der!
Where'd you get 'em?
Nyah-da-dum!
Your girl, she likes you, she thinks you're nice,
Got what it takes to be in paradise;
She says she likes your face, she likes your rig,
But, man, oh, man, them things are too big!

Oh, your feet's too big!
Don't want ya 'cause your feet's too big!
Mad at you 'cause your feet's too big!
I hate you 'cause your feet's too big!

[Spoken]
My goodness, those are gunboats!
Shift! Shift! Shift!

Oh, your pedal extremities are colossal!
To me you look just like a fossil!
You got me walkin', talkin' and squawkin',
'Cause your feet's too big, yeah!

[Spoken]
Come on and walk that thing!
Oh, I never heard of such walkin'! Mercy!
Your... your pedal extremities really are obnoxious.
One never knows, do one?


Spaw

Subject: Lyr Add: HOODOO BLUES (from Bessie Brown)
From: Azizi
Date: 13 May 09 - 09:04 AM

Here's a blues song that mentions shoes:

HOODOO BLUES
by Bessie Brown

I'm on the war path now, I'm mean and evil I vow,
Some woman stole my man, to get even I've a plan.

Gonna sprinkle ding 'em dust all around her door
Gonna sprinkle ding 'em dust all around her door
Put a spider in her dumplin', make her crawl all over the floor

Goin' 'neath her window, gonna lay a black cat bone
Goin' 'neath her window, gonna lay a black cat bone
Burn a candle on her picture, she won't let my good man alone.

Got myself some gris-gris, tote it up in a sack
Got myself some gris-gris, tote it up in a sack
Gonna keep on wearin' it till I get my good man back

I was born 'way down in Algiers, I wear conjure in my shoes
Born 'way down in Algiers, I wear conjure in my shoes
Gonna fix that woman, make her sing them hoodoo blues.

http://www.luckymojo.com/blueshoodoobrown.html

Here's a comment from that same website:

"In verse 4, "I wear conjure in my shoes" is a clear-cut reference to one method of deploying charms, powders, or wishing-papers; however, it is important to note that | wearing something in the shoe is done for any number of reasons and need not refer to love-rivalry, as in this song. For instance, i have known women who wear violet leaves in their shoes to draw lovers, street prostitutes who wear a mixture of Money Drawing Powder and Law Stay Away Powder in their shoes to turn tricks without being arrested, and folks who place the name of someone they wish to dominate in their shoe so they can rule and have their way by "stepping on them." The zydeco song "Paper in My Shoe" by Boozoo Chavis refers to this practice as well. "

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: Azizi
Date: 13 May 09 - 09:14 AM

Hey, spaw.

So you didn't Learn anything from that post about "pattens"?

I thought I was doing a public favor helpin ya'll to be more erudite.

And, no, I don't wanna step on your uper shiny patent leather loafers.

What you doin wearin Pat Boone shoes anyway?

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: Azizi
Date: 13 May 09 - 09:15 AM

Ha Ha. "uper". I'm so bad (meaning real good) that now I created a new word.

Subject: Lyr Add: PAPER IN MY SHOE (Boozoo Chavis)
From: Azizi
Date: 13 May 09 - 09:37 AM

But seriously, until I read that comment about the Zydeco song "Paper In My Shoe" being associated with hoodoo, I thought that the singer put paper in his shoe to cover a hole in the sole of his shoe (him being poor and all). Hmm. I guess the paper that was put in the shoe had some hoodoo words on it for some reason or another (to get the woman to love him?) Interesting.

Boozoo Chavis' 1954 song "Paper In My Shoe"is considered to be the first Zydeco hit.
http://www.lsue.edu/acadgate/music/history.htm

Here's the lyrics to that song:

PAPER IN MY SHOE
(Boozoo Chavis, 1954)

I got a paper in my shoe
I got a paper in my shoe.

Oh, what your mama don't know.
And what your pap don't like.

Oh, what your mama don't know.
And what your pap don't like.
I got a paper in my shoe.

Mo gain papier dans mon soulier,
Mo gain papier dans mon soulier.

Oh, ca ta mama connait pas,
Et cata pop aime pas.

Oh, ca ta mama connait pas,
Et cata pop aime pas.
Mo gain papier dans mon soulier.

I got a paper in my shoe
I got a paper in my shoe.

Oh, what your mama don't know.
And what your pap don't like.

Oh, what your mama don't know.
And what your pap don't like.
I got a paper in my shoe.

http://www.carlinamerica.com/titles/titles.cgi?MODULE=LYRICS&ID=768&terms=Co

(This page also has a sound file)

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: Mr Happy
Date: 13 May 09 - 09:54 AM

Re: Patent leather shoes

Years ago, I had a girlfriend who worked in the local library.

She told me that a new guideline had been issued at her workplace advising that any female customers wearing patent leather shoes were not to be admitted & that notices were to be placed outside warning of the ban on such footwear.

The reason given was that certain lurkers in the library might stalk women users & see their underwear reflected by the highly polished surfaces of their shoes!!

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 13 May 09 - 09:55 AM

I had to wear paper in the toe of .these patent leathers.

Purchased too big to make them last more than one year.

heel, toe, 1, 2, 3...heel, toe, 1, 2, 3... step, together, step together

heel, toe, 1, 2, 3...heel, toe, 1, 2, 3... step, together, step together turn ...

Turn to your right Tammy... No YOUR right... the OTHER right.

Oh the humiliation.

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 13 May 09 - 10:05 AM

My mom told me that she would keep mad money in her shoe. If in case you got into trouble on a date, (got mad at the young man) the money was there to get you safely home. Enough for either phone call, bus or taxi, depending upon your circumstance.

Is there a song about that?

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: SINSULL
Date: 13 May 09 - 10:06 AM

Shoes in the song not the title????
heh heh
Clementine (hers were Number 9)
and about three million others.

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: SINSULL
Date: 13 May 09 - 10:07 AM

Patrick Spencer:
"Don't care now for your buckled shoes. You'll wet more than your feet."

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: SINSULL
Date: 13 May 09 - 10:08 AM

Dance with the dolly with the holes in her stockin's
Knees keep a knockin' through the holes in her stockin's

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: SINSULL
Date: 13 May 09 - 10:09 AM

All For Me Grog:
My feet are lookin' out for better weather.

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: SINSULL
Date: 13 May 09 - 10:10 AM

Flat Foot Floozie

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: SINSULL
Date: 13 May 09 - 10:17 AM

Jimmy Crack Corn (LOL)

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 13 May 09 - 10:20 AM

snork... Now I need to design a corn and callous sander with the name of jimmy crack.

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: SINSULL
Date: 13 May 09 - 10:23 AM

Chattanooga Shoe Shine Boy

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: Azizi
Date: 13 May 09 - 10:32 AM

I'm going to take the liberty of re-posting a long comment that I wrote about shoes to this thread because I think it fits this thread as well as that other thread:

Subject: RE: Homophobia in Playground Rhymes
From: Azizi - PM
Date: 20 Mar 09 - 10:17 AM

Janie, with regards to your 19 Mar 09 - 11:08 PM post about brogans, I stand (actually sit) corrected.

Within mainstream American culture and African American culture "brogan" shoes are considered insult worthy not because that brand of shoes are inexpensive or "cheap", but because they are considered to be ugly & "country"

In this context "being country" means that the person either lives in a rural area, or they used to live in a rural area and still retains "country ways" or the person supposedly acts and dresses like he or she is from "the country". "Dressing like you are country" means that you dress with no regard for the latest fashions, including shoes. In the United States (and in other countries?)"being from the country" also has long been a short cut way of saying that a person is "stupid". Putdowns of people with "big feet" is a core element of the general putdown of people who are said to be "country", because "country people" supposedly don't wear shoes as much as people who live in the city.

It's easy to find "brogan jokes" by using an Internet search engine like Google. And what becomes readily apparent is that these brogans are jokes in mainstream American culture (meaning Anglo-American culture) and in African American culture. For an example of this insult in African American culture, see this excerpt of Otis Reddings & Carla Thomas' March 1967 song insult song "Tramp":

You know what, Otis?
What?
You're country.
That's all right.
You straight from the Georgia woods.
That's good.
You know what? You wear overalls, and big old brogan shoes, and you need a haircut, Tramp.

http://www.lyricstime.com/otis-redding-tramp-lyrics.html


For an example of a putdown reference to brogan shoes in Anglo-American culture see this sentence in Loyal Jones' book about Country Music Humorists and Comedians:

"He wore large brogan shoes, each on the wrong foot"...
-snip-

The core implication in insults about women wearing "brogans" is that these women are not feminine. "Combat boots" are often substituted for "brogans" in these insults as in this ubiquitous example that was recently posted on best shoe insults
"Your momma wears combat boots."

People might laugh at these taunts, but for a powerful reminder that putdowns can hurt a lot , click Cootie Girl by Beatrice Hogg for a very well written article by a woman who was the victim of taunts throughout her all her school years. Ms. Hogg includes this reference to brogans in that essay:

"At ten, I wore the same shoe size as my mother, seven and a half. My mother thought that a sturdy, brown brogan would be the best shoe for school. The big, heavy shoes made me look like a cartoon character."

-snip-

Ms. Hogg ends her short essay by writing:

"I wish I could say that Cecil Junior High was better, but it was more of the same. I started wearing glasses at twelve and my mother died the summer after seventh grade, when I was thirteen. And don't get me started about puberty. But I survived.

I am now over fifty and I still don't fit in. But what was once weird is now just eccentric. I have friends who are just as unique as I am, and I don't have to ever kick a ball if I don't want to. I shop at thrift stores, buying the discarded clothes of strangers, but I get to pick them. And now, I like my unusual name. Growing up as a Cootie Girl has made me more sensitive, a quality I use in my writing. They may have been laughing at me then, but as a writer, I can have the last word — in print. Cootie Girls Rule! (Stick tongue out here.)"

-snip-

Some may feel that this discussion about "brogans" and about taunting people who are viewed as different is only tangential to the topic of this thread. But I believe it all fits together.

thread.cfm?threadid=119441

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: SINSULL
Date: 13 May 09 - 11:18 AM

Mad Money, in my day, was kept in a tiny crocheted bag inside your bra - enough for cabfare home if a young man tried to get fresh (presumably by reaching for your Mad Money Bag.) I still have a litte pink one somewhere.

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 13 May 09 - 11:44 AM

I guess my mom was too poor for the crocheted bag. Maybe .... oh dear I should't say - Doris Day moment coming up, she couldn't make it stay in her bra. She had nothing else to put in the bra.

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: SINSULL
Date: 13 May 09 - 12:47 PM

It actually loops around your bra strap and then gets tucked in where ever it fits. LOL

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: Joe Offer
Date: 13 May 09 - 01:15 PM

I didn't see it when I read over the thread quickly or when I looked in the Wikipedia article, but I'm wondering about the source of the term "patent leather." I've always assumed that the inventor the process of making high-gloss leather. I assume that "patent medicine" is called such for the same reason - but these are only assumptions, and I haven't seen documented proof that my assumption is true.

As for the idea of patent leather shoes being used by boys as a mirror for viewing girls' unmentionables - I've always heard it attributed to nuns, but I've never heard a nun say it. There was a novel titled Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? that's still in print.

Whatever the case, I've known this factoid about black patent leather shoes since I was young, and I've sometimes caught myself staring at such shoes to see it's true that they reflect things nice young men aren't supposed to see.

Never did see a thing in the reflection. I wonder if silver slippers would work any better...

-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: catspaw49
Date: 13 May 09 - 01:18 PM

So Sins.....uh......You still have a little pink one somewhere? So uh,.........

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: Joe Offer
Date: 13 May 09 - 01:43 PM

I think you're about to get slapped, Spaw....

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: Skivee
Date: 13 May 09 - 02:03 PM

Based on 40 years of applied photo-optical study. IMHO Patent Leather shoes would offer a very poor choice of mirror for glimpsing the forbidden nether regions of unsuspecting schoolgirls. Think for a moment about the right-hand wing mirror on your car-left hand for our friends across the pond.
You know the one...It has the words "Objects In Mirror are closer than they appear to be" embossed into the surface. The reason that those object appear smaller is that the surface of the mirror isn't flat; it's curved, with an outward bulge in the middle*. (An inward curve would magnify the image within a certain range; much like a makeup mirror.)
The greater the outward curve, the smaller an object a given distance from the mirror would appear to an observer.
If you wrap your mirror-shoe around a foot, the curve would be profound; and any view of the object de amour's fundamentals would likely reside only in the mind of the beholder.

It is also stupid to have a blck mirror. Even with a highly polished surface, the light loss would betremendous.
On the other hand, George Patten leather shoes were pretty effective in kicking Nazi ass out of the Ardennes in early 1945.

So, here's the question, you pervs. In your long-gone callow youth, did any of you randy schoolboys ACTUALLY gotten a glimpse of schoolgirls undies by staring intently at their shoes?
To me the whole idea seems much like an urban legend spread by the very nuns who were supposedly guiding their charges toward a proper and chaste life as an example of the lengths those grotty boys will go to because of their evil, sinful nature.


*much like those hyper-excitable schoolboys and library pervs.

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: SINSULL
Date: 13 May 09 - 02:11 PM

I don't know, skivee. Didn't they arrest some perv for gluing a mirror to the top of his shoe and putting his foot under the Ladies Try On Room door? Or did he have a miniature camera...I forget.

Spaw - go take a pill.

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: Will Fly
Date: 13 May 09 - 02:22 PM

Patent leather shoe in libraries was why I became a librarian in 1962...

No, that's not true - but there was, at the time, a rule in the local (all-female) teacher training college that students were on no account to wear stiletto heeled shoes as they made holes in the carpet and cork flooring.

Just for the uninitiated, the easiest way to get a peek up a stranger's skirt - much easier than staring at patent leather shoes - is to be a steward/guide in an English windmill. The ladders are very steep...

And just to stay on topic: from a Scottish song titled "Who's the fou (drunk) now?" - which was incorrectly changed into an English version titled "Who's the fool now?":

Saw the man in the moon, fie man fie,
Saw the man in the moon, who's the fool now -
Saw the man in the moon, kicking off St. Peter's shoon,
Thou hast well drunken, man, who's the fool now?

"Shoon" being a common plural of "shoe" from medieval times well into the 20th century in parts of England.

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: katlaughing
Date: 13 May 09 - 02:25 PM

Jeez! Glad I wasn't around any nuns when growing up. I LOVED my black pat/ten leathers. Every time I got a new pair wI'd sing to my dad when he'd get home at night...Put your little foot/Put your little foot/Put your little foot right there/Do you see my new shoes/etc. My sisters did, too.

Now, I am wondering why don't those kilted men wear them? Watch out for blue-ribboned nether regions, eh?

And, not a song, but another thread which shows just how passionate Mducatters can be about certain Footware

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: catspaw49
Date: 13 May 09 - 03:03 PM

FootWARE? .............uh.......hmmmmm.......Well if that's the case and footWARE is for feet then what assumption can be made about hardware?

I'll go get another pill.............

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: Azizi
Date: 13 May 09 - 03:33 PM

Here's a long excerpt from a post I wrote about how much I loved black patent leather shoes when I was a child:

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Prisoner's Song (Dalhart , et al.)
From: Azizi - PM
Date: 29 Mar 09 - 06:19 AM

...The last verse of The Prisoner Song that was posted in this thread on 13 Apr 00 - 01:18 AM by The Beanster reads:

Now if I had the wings of an angel,
Over these prison walls I would fly,
I'd fly to the arms of my poor darling,
And there I'd be willing to die.

-snip-

However, the way I recall that verse is:

If I had the wings of an angel,
Over these prison walls I would fly,
And if I had the wings of an angel
I'd never never die.

-snip-

I guess that's an example of folk etymology or wishful thinking or both.

**

Here's a link to the Wikipedia for Buster Brown shoes:

Here's an excerpt from that page:

"Since 1904, its mascots have been cartoon characters Buster Brown and his dog Tige. They both appear on the company's television commercials. In the 1940s and 50s the company made a brief foray into the comic book publishing industry, producing comics Buster Brown Comics, which featured the character on the cover, but contained different adventure features, such as Robin Hood."

[Italics added by me for emphasis]

-snip-

I recall my mother receiving free vouchers from the shoe store (distributed by our church) to receive pairs of those sturdy brown & white Buster Brown shoes for my sisters and me. But what we much preferred were the black shiny patin leather Mary Jane shoes.

I looked up information about those Mary Jane shoes, and was surprised to learn that there is a connection between Mary Jane and Buster Brown:

"Mary Jane was a character created by Richard Outcault for his comic strip, Buster Brown, which was first published in 1902. She was the sister of the title character, Buster Brown...

In 1904, Outcault travelled to the St. Louis World's Fair and sold licenses to up to 200 companies to use the Buster Brown characters to advertise their products. Among them was the Brown Shoe Company, who later hired actors to tour the country, performing as the Buster Brown characters in theaters and stores. This strategy helped the Brown Shoe Company become the most prominently associated brand with the Buster Brown characters. The style of shoe Buster Brown's sister wore came to be known by her name, Mary Jane.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Jane_(shoe)


-snip-

Some may think that Buster Brown shoes and Mary Jane shoes have nothing at all to do with "The Prisoner's Song". But the connection between that song, the shoes, and some otherwise forgotten comic book story is very real for me.

thread.cfm?threadid=20334#2599684

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 13 May 09 - 03:46 PM

Boots of Spanish leather
Take off your thirsty boots and rest? for a while??
Shoes of bright green leather..I know where I'm going
something about St. Peter's shoen? Gray Funnel line.
Where are me boots me noggy noggin?? boots?
My boots? Shoes? They are well worn now my stockings they are thin..ROcks of Bawn


mg

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 13 May 09 - 03:48 PM

Did anyone say about the three dollar shoes suit me fine? mg

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 13 May 09 - 04:03 PM

This maybe should be in the music section...mg

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 13 May 09 - 04:16 PM

Wow! Walking down memory lane in both my Buster Brown shoes (for school and play) and my shiny black patent leather maryJanes (strictly for Sunday school and other formal occasions).

I think maybe Spaw took the Wrong pill. Oooh er!

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 13 May 09 - 04:34 PM

From Lily of the Valley..

??? the shoes you wear
THat you can walk up in the air

The shoes I wear are Gospel shoes
And you can wear them if you choose

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 13 May 09 - 05:40 PM

Thinking about the history of shoes I had

Golden Slippers

Buster Brown shoes

My Mary Janes

Saddle Oxfords

Penny Loafers and Bobby Socks

hush puppies

White go go boots

moccasins

platform shoes

earth shoes and toe socks

desert boots

and that list just gets me through high school

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 13 May 09 - 06:16 PM

Don't know the name of it..an Irish and Italian woman are talking about when their husbands will get jobs..

..new bonnets and new shoes..when McGinty??? gets a job..

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: katlaughing
Date: 13 May 09 - 06:40 PM

Oh, dang! I knew it looked wrong! WEAR, okay, Spaw, WEAR!**bg**

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 13 May 09 - 07:33 PM

Moving somewhat farther afield..

Isn't there a song about with his rubber boots on?

I have one called Boats of Peter's River...the fishermen in rubber boots are staying home today..

White stocking day...in Bold Riley

bare feet

Good King Wens...mark my footsteps my good page step thou in them boldly etc.

Star of County Down..with my hat cocked right and my shoes shone bright for a smile from the nut brown Rose

she looked so sweet from her two bare feet...

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 13 May 09 - 07:34 PM

Also something about Peter shoen in Martin said to his man

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 13 May 09 - 07:37 PM

Susie little Susie have you heard the news
The geese are going barefoot because they've no shoes
The cobbler has leather but no last has he
So he can not make them the shoes don't you see

Did someone mention Dick Garby the cobbler?

Subject: Lyr Add: MY MARY JANES (Fergie)
From: Azizi
Date: 14 May 09 - 08:10 AM

Thanks to all who have posted to this thread! I love how eclectic the comments and the song selections are.

**

VirginiaTam, I love Fergies' song "My Mary Janes" (#3 in the list that you posted on 13 May 09 - 05:40 PM). Or, more specifically, I love the photo slide show of different styles of Mary Jane shoes and the first 2:20 minutes of that song. I personally really did not like the faster, remix part of that song.

Here's a portion* of that song's lyrics

MY MARY JANES
(as sung by Fergie featuring I-Threes and Rita Marley)


When I wear my Mary Jane Shoes
I can escape from the blues
The whole world seems a little bit brighter, brighter
My heavy steps get a little bit lighter, lighter

Whoa my Mary Janes
Whoa my Mary Janes
Whoa my Mary Janes
Whoa my Mary Janes

When I wear my Mary Jane Shoes
I'm just like a child - under bruise
From heart to my soles I feel like I'm seven
From my head to my toes it's like I'm in heaven, heaven

Oh my Mary Janes (yeah)
Oh my Mary Janes
Whoa now, Oh now
Oh my Mary Janes (yeah)
Whoa my Mary Janes
Whoa now, Oh now

When I wear my Mary Jane Shoes
I enjoy to spin the ones and twos
Music has another dimension (yeah)
And I can dance with a different perception
Whoa oh oh oh

Oh my Mary Janes (yeah)
Oh my Mary Janes
Whoa now, Oh now
Oh my Mary Janes (yeah)
Whoa my Mary Janes
Whoa now, Oh now


* the lyrics which follow this includes some profanity.

http://artists.letssingit.com/fergie-lyrics-mary-jane-shoes-hq2dhb1

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: Azizi
Date: 14 May 09 - 08:27 AM

I'm curious about the meaning of the phrase "under bruise" in Fergie's song "My Mary Janes". Here's how that phrase is used in that song:

When I wear my Mary Jane Shoes
I'm just like a child - under bruise

-snip-

My guess is that that line means "I'm just like a child with very few of life's scars or bruises.

This guess is based on my admittedly slight knowledge of Jamaican Rastafarian language techniques (Rastafarians being the creators or at least the principle earliest promotors of Reggae music).

Here's a Wikipedia article on Rastafarian vocabulary that provides information about that language:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rastafarian_vocabulary

That article provides examples such as Irie, ital, overstand, and Babylon which are found in Bob Marley's songs and some other Reggae songs.

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: catspaw49
Date: 14 May 09 - 08:54 AM

Hey kat..............uh.......Hmmmmm.........I think mg has it ...............................talking about "rubbers"........ That must be the hardware you were thinking of.................

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: Mr Red
Date: 15 May 09 - 07:28 AM

shoen - Tuetonic plural for shoes. Did linger in English in some areas.

Yer Feets Too Big?
Coalhole Cavalary - clogs figure pretty centrally with their clittering, clattering.

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: mg
Date: 15 May 09 - 11:57 AM

Something in she moves through the fair..lifting her petticoat easy and slow....to buckle her shoe...

Johnny goes to Hilo...a big buck .....with his seaboots on

one of the best lines anywhere...Summer Wages.. so I'll work on the towboats with my slippery city shoes

mg

Subject: Lyr Add: WHEN I AM AN OLD WOMAN (Jenny Joseph)
From: Azizi
Date: 15 May 09 - 12:20 PM

WHEN I AM AN OLD WOMAN
By Jenny Joseph

When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I am tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit.
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and a pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We will have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old and start to wear purple.

@displaysong.cfm?SongID=7756

[footwear in italics for this thread]

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: Azizi
Date: 15 May 09 - 12:29 PM

Here's a hyperlink to a long Mudcat discussion about foot wear:

Why do men wear socks with sandals

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 15 May 09 - 01:31 PM

I think it is a very important topic...a person could not have done certain occupations..logging, fishing..and the suffering they went through with shoes that were broken and didn't fit etc. It still happens of course, here as well as other countires...bad worms etc. get in through the feet..infections...I am surprised they are not mentioned more in songs. mg

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: SINSULL
Date: 15 May 09 - 02:01 PM

Surprised Spaw hasn't brought up knee socks...

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: mg
Date: 16 May 09 - 04:28 PM

fDid we say I'll dance the buckles off my shoes with you my Johnny lad...mg

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: mg
Date: 16 May 09 - 10:36 PM

Badger drive..with their corks on their boots to get over the logs
Cathlamet -- they wash up the dishes and then go and dodge the hobnail boots in Lief Erickson Lodge..

One last time - lace the dogtag on your boot
101st.. wrap him in his poncho strap him with his lace

mg

Subject: RE: BS: Don't Step On My Patten Leather Shoes!
From: David C. Carter
Date: 19 May 09 - 07:56 AM

Townes Van Zandt's "Flyin' Shoes".

Can't remember all of it.

Got it on vinyl,can't play it!

I'll get me glass.