NARRATIVE SONG: New Shoes by Paolo Nutini

Woke up cold one tuesday,
I'm looking tired and feeling quite sick,
I felt like there was something missing in my day to day life,
So I quickly opened the wardrobe,
Pulled out some jeans and a T-Shirt that seemed clean,
Topped it off with a pair of old shoes,
That were ripped around the seams,
And I thought these shoes just don't suit me.

Hey, I put some new shoes on,
And suddenly everything's right,
I said, hey, I put some new shoes on and everybody's smiling,
And it's so inviting,
Oh, short on money,
But long on time,
Slowly strolling in the sweet sunshine,
And I'm running late,
And I dont need an excuse,
'Cause I'm wearing my brand new shoes.

Woke up late one thursday,
And I'm seeing stars as I'm rubbing my eyes,
And I felt like there were two days missing,
As I focused on the time,
And I made my way to the kitchen,
But I had to stop from the shock of what I found,
A room full of all my friends all dancing round and round,
And I thought hello new shoes,
Bye-bye blues!

Hey, I put some new shoes on,
And suddenly everything's right,
I said, hey, I put some new shoes on and everybody's smiling,
And it's so inviting,
Oh, short on money,
But long on time,
Slowly strolling in the sweet sunshine,
And I'm running late,
And I dont need an excuse,
So I'm wearing my brand new shoes.

Take me wondering through these streets,
Where bright lights and angels meet,
Stone to stone they take me on,
I'm walking 'til the break of dawn.

Hey, I put some new shoes on,
And suddenly everything's right,
I said, hey, I put some new shoes on and everybody's smiling,
And it's so inviting,
Oh, short on money,
But long on time,
Slowly strolling in the sweet sunshine,
And I'm running late,
And I dont need an excuse,
So I'm wearing my brand new shoes.

Oh, Hey, I put some new shoes on,
And suddenly everything's right,
I said, hey, I put some new shoes on and everybody's smiling,
And it's so inviting,
Oh, short on money,
But long on time,
Slowly strolling in the sweet sunshine,
And I'm running late,
And I dont need an excuse,
So I'm wearing my brand new shoes.

"New Shoes" by Paolo Nutini tells the story of a sad and depressed man who gets inspired by a new pair of shoes. The story begins on a Tuesday, where the speaker was "looking tired and feeling quite sick". When getting dressed, the speaker notices how his shoes were aged and had seen better days, so he opts to wear a new pair. After he puts on these new shoes, everything begins to look up for him ("and suddenly everything is right")and he begins to see things optimistically. The new shoes gave him an entirely new outlook on life, and inspired him to live life happily ("hello new shoes, bye bye blues!"). This relates to my theme of "Optimism and Inspiration" because of the effect the speaker's new shoes had on him. The new shoes inspired the speaker to be optimistic and live life happily.