I was 11 months old, I was just startin' to walk

And daddy always kept, a big stick behind the door

Just in case somebody was to come in

That was drunk on moonshine You know and daddy had to do something about it

Anyway, this woman, we called her old Aunt Boyd

She come in and she was telling mommy about her

Uh, husband, she thinks is going out with this woman in Paintsville So she reared back with that big stick

Showing mommy how she was going

To hit this woman in the head with it

And when she went back with it, she hit me in the head And Mommy said, I cried for 5 days

And she said I, that fifth night

I had a great big knot that show up

Right in the middle of my forehead And, you know, the only thing I remember

I dont remember no pain, but I just remember mommy

And daddy carrying me in this old quilt

That Mommy had made out of overhalls The knots kept getting bigger and bigger

And she took me to the doctor

And that stuff called mesitor, something like that

Mommy said it made both ears

Flat to my face and I aint got very big ears And them, told Mommy

That I would that I was going to die

And that happened like four times

So I didnt walk till I was almost 5

It was, it was kind of a mess Oh, I forgot about the shoes

Well, shoot, I hadnt, Id never had a pair of shoes

And Mommy had went, took me to the hospital

You know, to see what that was If they couldnt do something, but they wouldnt keep me

Because Mommy and Daddy didnt have no money

They just tell em to take me home and let me die, you know

Because there wasnt nothing they could do about

That kind of disease, I guess And, um, mommy told daddy, says, Ted, you take her

Down the street, you carry her down the street"

And said, Let me try this store here

And Mommy went in and told them the story that I was dying That she had to carry me twelve miles to town

And twelve miles back and that I had no shoes

That place, I think it was Murphys 5 and 10

And theyre still there in Paintsville, Kentucky And I think that they told Mommy

That they wasnt in business to give shoes away

Mommy told daddy, says, Carry Loretta on down a little farther

Said, And let me stop in another store" And Mommy went right back to the same store

When the guys back was turned she stole these little red shoes

And I remember on the bigold bridge that went across the river

It went way up high and was Ive always been scared of that bridge

That took me across the big Sandy River

Mommy pulled them out from under

That yellow jacket that she was wearing And she was putting them red shoes on me

And I thought them was the prettiest things I ever saw in my life

And daddy started crying and I wondered why

And he said, Clerie, were not going to make it home And mommy put the shoes on me and daddy took off running

And run all the way ahead tButcher Holler with me

And Mommy never had a chance to carry me any farther

And thats almost twelve miles that daddy run with me But daddy knew that the cops was going to get us

He left Mommy standing and he took off in a dead run

I remember him running but I didnt know what for

And I remember asking mommy, Mommy, why is Daddy running? I remember her hollering, To put your little red shoes away

Honey, when you get home Can you believe that?

So I wrote a song called Put My Little Red Shoes Away

You know, theyre my little red shoes

And I dont want em to get to be dirty