Three Sheets to Kishkiyya · Track 62 · middle
Shout at Your Shoes
VOLUME III — being SICK, the small-hours reckoning at the porcelain. The idiom and the song's title hook: "Shout at Your Shoes". Its true history: US/Australia, 20th c. — head down, addressing the ground; the blues of it. Render this beat of the night as the band's affectionate, funny, celebratory tribute — the idiom itself is the chorus hook.
Lyrics
[Intro] Well the neon's buzzing like a hornets' nest And the whiskey's heavy in your breath It’s an old time, 20th century blues From the Sydney docks to the Texas rooms When the barroom spins like a ceiling fan You find a quiet corner like a righteous man And drop your chin to your collarbone [Chorus] And you shout at your shoes Yeah, you give 'em the news Got your hands on your knees in the alley dirt Having a holler at the hem of your shirt It’s a loud conversation you're destined to lose When you bow your heavy head and shout at your shoes [Verse 2] Now your left boot's looking like it did you wrong And you're letting it know with a heavy drawl Ain't no shame in the midnight bend Every rambling gambler needs a floorboard friend Just a long, loud argument with the ground Making that familiar roaring sound [Chorus] When you shout at your shoes Yeah, you give 'em the news Got your hands on your knees in the alley dirt Having a holler at the hem of your shirt It’s a loud conversation you're destined to lose When you bow your heavy head and shout at your shoes [Bridge] The Aussies knew it back in the day Looking down at the dust in a dizzy haze Gravity pulling on your swinging head Talking to the leather with a voice of lead [Outro] So let it out, brother, let it clear your mind Leave the ghost of the liquor far behind Just you and the laces and the morning dew Go on. Shout at your shoes.