A Barefoot Boy With Shoes On

It has been quoted in my family for years and we have no clue from whence it came.

Anonymous Poem

T'Was a winter's day in summer,
And the rain was snowing fast.
A barefoot boy with shoes on
Stood sitting in the grass.
While the organ peeled potatoes,
Lard was rendered by the choir;
When the sexton rang the dishrag,
Someone set the church on fire.
"Holy Smoke!" the preacher shouted.
In the rush he lost his hair.
Now his head resembles heaven,
For there is no parting there.

Any ideas?

Someone's newfoundland born grandmother would recite this:

It was midnight on the ocean,
Not a streetcar was in sight;
While the sun was shining brightly,
For it had rained all the night.
‘Twas a summer’s day in Winter,
And the rain was snowing fast,
As the barefoot boy with shoes on
Stood sitting in the grass.

It was evening and the sunrise
Was just setting in the west;
And the fishies in the treetops
Were all cuddled in their nests.
As the wind was blowing bubbles,
Lightning shot from left to right;
Everything that you could see
Had been hidden out of sight.

While the organ peeled potatoes,
Lard was rendered by the choir;
When the sexton rang the dishrag,
Someone set the church on fire.
“Holy Smokes!” the preacher shouted,
As he madly tore his hair,
Now his head resembles heaven,
For there is no parting there. ♥

2009-11-01 14:06:50 by Susie QZ

Denise reading her poem.

does anyone know the rest of this poem??


"it was summer in the winter
and the snow was raining fast,
a barefoot boy with shoes on
stood sitting in the grass . . . "

This is one version of it...there are probably many more as this type of poem is similar to "one bright day in the middle of the night, two dead men got up to fight"...it's called "amphigouri", or "nonsense verse", and it classic to "folk poetry". You can learn more about it by checking out Wikipedia for "nonsense verse". Meanwhile, here it is:

It was midnight on the ocean
Not a streetcar was in sight,
The sun was shining brightly
And it rained all day that night.

It was summer in the winter
And the snow was raining fast,
While the barefoot boy with his shoes on
Stood sitting in the grass

While the organ peeled potatoes,
Lard was rendered by the choir.
And when the Sexton rang the dishrag
Someone set the church on fire!

“Holy Smokes!” the Preacher shouted
And in the rain he lost his hair.
And now his head resembles Heaven,
For there is no parting there.

you get a star for this one!

2009-07-20 22:22:16 by Taylor R

Price: $9.95

First I was with a friend of mine standing on a corner. This woman I didn't know had a newborn, the child was so cute. I asked if I could watch it for a couple of days, didn't get her name/address anything (I thought this was weird as the dream progressed) but she let me take the child. As I was changing the child, I noticed a new surgery scar and asked my friend about it, she said he had a liver transplant. I thought I better keep him extra safe now. I end up going multiple places and eventually end up with my parents at a mall (they were their younger selves). I went to go buy some shoes because I was barefoot and only had $15 in my purse, the amount I have right now and the same purse I use everyday. I found some shoes that were $10 and looked like little trains but were little boys shoes, I figured it would do since I didn't want to be barefoot. I went to a restaurant with my parents and the little boy. I kept getting up to go to the bathroom and eventually left everyone at the restaurant and walked through the mall. As I was walking, and multiple people were milling around, this guy bumped into me really hard and I began to yell at him (he was Caucasian and a little greasy not sure if that matters) all of a sudden I heard shots and a book someone was holding exploded. I then felt like I couldn't breath as I realized I had been shot from behind in the stomach but didn't feel pain which seemed strange. I saw the man with a gun (an East Asian man) who looked terrified with the gun in his hand and I held my hands up as to say "No, No" he kept going after the guy who bumped into me and I slumped against the wall and proceeded to wake up.
I am a nursing student by the way not sure if that means anything.
Haha, I don't know anyone in the military and do not support the actions of our military oversees so I doubt it has anything to do with that. I believe in non-violence.
I'm not ashamed of anything, I'm a nursing student, mom of three, engaged, and I have a lot of empathy for people. I also am not in the middle of anyone's crap, I have enough of my own. I did get into an argument with my father who has dementia and lives in a nursing home the day before the dream. He tried to blame me for his predicament but it is totally unfounded.

to see a wound in yOur dream,
is symbolic of grief, anger, and distress.
yOu are looking to be healed.
consider the location, size and type of wound.
alternatively, the dream may be metaphor suggests that yOu are "wound up" or tense about some situation.
hope i helped.. ^ - ^

2009-09-02 09:03:21 by sweetnfoxychick

Price: $65.00 $69.99

Quality leather linings with cushioned footbed for all day comfort.
Updated TPR outsole design with comfort sure-grip bottom

I've always thought so. It goes back to my grandmother, and I've no idea how far back before her. Her word on the subject was simple: "Boys go barefoot. Girls wear shoes." She was sending her kids off to school in the days when the only way to get there was to walk. She'd never have let either of her girls out of the house without their shoes, but as soon as spring arrived each year, she'd have my dad go barefoot, and not only on the road to school, but everywhere else as well throughout the spring and summer and into the late fall. The way my dad and my aunts all tell it, almost all the boys went barefoot, but almost none of the girls did.
I know it's a pretty much outdated tradition that's now all but reversed itself, but it's always had a really strong pull on me. In college I always wanted my boyfriends to walk barefoot beside me while I wore my shoes or sandals, and today I'm bringing up my own two boys to go barefoot just like my dad did. It's like it's a matter of pride with me to be the only one in shoes, just like it was a matter of pride for my dad to be the only one barefoot.
Am I just too old fashioned, or do others feel the same way?
I see a wide range of answers here, and some of them really well composed, and really interesting. I'm really sort of tempted to change sides one of these years and loose my own shoes on the first day of spring when my boys loose theirs. I'm just afraid of what my gran might say. Oh well, for this year anyway, I'm keeping my sandals on. Thanks.
http://www.watsonswildlife.com/Norman_Ro ckwell/Scholarly_Pace_by_Norman_Rockwell .htm

It is interesting how trends change. In the US it definitely is now much more common for girls to go barefoot than boys. Whereas it was the complete opposite pre-1940s.

Where I live in New Zealand it is just as common for girls to go barefoot as boys. Most kids go barefoot to primary school and for PE thru high school. However from teen years on, and more so for adults, it is much more common for men to go barefoot. Certainly you can see women going barefoot at the mall or supermarket in summer but men by far outnumber them. Perhaps it is simply that women are more proper and stylish in their dress than most men.

For kids though I don't think gender should make any difference. While bare feet became less common in the US after WWII the gender differences disappeared because boys began to wear shoes. It's funny but the opposite happened in NZ. Looking at old photos of school kids in the 1950s or 60s all the boys are barefoot, but every last girl wears shoes. But now both boys and girls are all barefoot, the gender gap still disappeared but the opposite way. I think it is fine for a woman to be more kept up, better dressed than most males, but girls shouldn't be denied the freedom of running around in bare feet if they want to, they have their whole working lives to wear shoes, and uncomfortable ones at that.

I know many families that have immigrated here from Britain or North America and within days of arrival their kids, both boys and girls, have thrown their shoes in the closet and adopted the barefoot Kiwi style. Forget old fahioned conventions and let kids be kids.

2009-08-03 06:41:55 by suszcza

I dreamt I went into a shoe shop because I was barefoot but the shoes was too expensive for the amount of cash I had but they where the BEST shoes in the shop.
I was willing to go barefoot then wear least expensive shoes.
the friends I was with just put on some really cheap shoes that where too big and high. I didn't like then so carried on being barefoot.

Later on that day I went to a school and saw loads of children boys and girls especially 1 little cute boy that stood out.




Whats all this mean?

Barefoot
To dream that you are barefoot, represents your playful attitudes and relaxed, carefree frame of mind. You have a firm grasp and good understanding on a situation. Alternatively, it mean indicate poverty, lack of mobility, or misunderstanding. You have low self-esteem and lack confidence in yourself. Or you may be dealing with issues concerning your self-identity.


Shoes
In general, shoes represent your approach to life. It suggests that you are well-grounded or that you are down to earth.�It also represents your convictions about your beliefs. If you are changing your shoes, then it refers to your changing roles. You are taking a new approach to life. If your forget your shoes, then it suggests that you are leaving restraints behind you. You are refusing to conform to some idea or attitude. To find shoes in your dream, suggests that you have regained your foothold on life. You are back on the right path again.

To see old and worn shoes in your dream, signifies that through diligence and hard work, you will find success. It may also mean that you have come to grips with accepting who you are.

To dream that you are wearing inappropriate shoes for the activity at hand, denotes that your progress and path in life will be laborious and ill-prepared. It may also indicate that you are heading on the wrong direction and need to reevaluate your goals.

To dream that you are not wearing any shoes, signifies that you have low self-esteem and a lack of confidence in yourself. You may be dealing with issues concerning your self-identity. It also indicates poverty, lack of mobility, or misunderstanding.� Alternatively, it represents your playful attitudes and relaxed, carefree frame of mind. You have a firm grasp and good understanding on a situation. If you dream that you lose your shoes, then it suggests that you may be searching for your identity and finding/exploring who you are.

2009-04-15 10:13:33 by Stargazer☥☮♡☯✌