"Barefeet and Bowties"

This is a song about individuality. About granting yourself permission to be eccentric without apology. (And when I write “yourself,” of course I mean “myself.”) There are basic rules and regulations we agree to in order for society to run smoothly, but within the allowable framework, there is considerable leeway.

I choose to be barefoot as often as possible because it feels good. Simple as that. There are books and websites devoted to the health benefits of walking and running barefoot, of “grounding,” and so on. That’s nice, but when I go barefoot I’m not thinking about anything other than the nice feeling of the ground beneath my feet.

The key line in this song is “I won’t apologize for being a good kid.” The media likes to portray the good kid as a geek, a loser, or a mama’s boy. In the Biblical parable of The Prodigal Son, the good kid gets the shaft while the wild child gets the goodies. Any good kid will tell you that in school, it’s the bad boys who get the chicks.

I was a good kid. I’m still a good kid. Maybe that’s not as interesting as the rebel with or without a cause, but it’s nothing to be ashamed of either. Besides, don’t the barefeet and bowties make me at least a little bit interesting?

Barefeet and Bowties

a musical statement of individuality

© 2011 Brian Hutzell

Barefeet and bowties

Living without compromise

And I won’t apologize for being a good kid

I won’t pretend I’m less; I’m not sorry for what I did

Now I’m too old to bloom

Too young to boom

I butter my feet and walk on toast

Isn’t that an unusual boast?

I don’t claim to be the same as most of the other folks

I don’t laugh at their jokes

I’d rather make up my own

Barefeet and bowties

Long hair and blue eyes

A hero in my fantasy, a creature of my fancy

The center of attention in my dreams

Special mention for those scenes

Feeling different, set apart

Jesus and Johnny Appleseed

The Artful Dodger, Boy of Destiny

In barefeet and bowties

Musicalize, evangelize, pilgrimize

I hear the music but refuse to march

I’ll leave my footprints in my own time

Barefeet and bowties

Living without compromise

Sunset to sunrise

And I won’t apologize