Blue Suede Shoes
Producer
Blue Suede Shoes Lyrics
Well, it's one for the money, two for the show
Three to get ready, now go, cat, go
[Chorus]
But don't you step on my blue suede shoes
Well, you can do anything, but stay off of my blue suede shoes
[Verse 1]
Well, you can knock me down, step in my face
Slander my name all over the place
Well, do anything that you wanna do
But, uh-uh, honey, lay off of them shoes
[Chorus]
And don't you step on my blue suede shoes
Well, you can do anything, but stay off of my blue suede shoes
Let's go, cat!
[Guitar Solo]
Ah, walk the dog
[Verse 2]
You can burn my house, steal my car
Drink my liquor from an old fruit jar
Well, do anything that you want to do
But, uh-uh, honey, lay off of my shoes
And don't you step on my blue suede shoes
Well, you can do anything, but lay off of my blue suede shoes
Rock it
[Guitar Solo]
Yeah!
[Bridge]
Well, it's one for the money, two for the show
Three to get ready, now go, go, go
[Chorus]
But don't you step on my blue suede shoes
Well, you can do anything, but lay off of my blue suede shoes
[Outro]
Well, it's blue, blue, blue suede shoes
Blue, blue, blue suede shoes, yeah
Blue, blue, blue suede shoes, baby
Blue, blue, blue suede shoes
Well, you can do anything, but lay off of my blue suede shoes
About
Written and performed by Carl Perkins in 1955 and covered – more popularly – by Presley the following year, the song details just how precious a pair of the eponymous footwear could be.
The inspiration for the song is disputed. In his second autobiography, Johnny Cash claimed that he, while touring with Presley and Perkins, told a story about an airman he met while in the military. The airman would call his standard-issue shoes ‘blue suede’, and insisted that they were not to be scuffed or stepped on. Cash said he encouraged Perkins to pen a song about the shoes, who replied, “I don’t know anything about shoes. How can I write a song about shoes?”
Another story is that Perkins, while on stage, noticed a young audience member scolding his date, telling her not to ‘step on his suedes’, one of which had been scuffed. Amused by the boy’s fixation, Perkins began writing the song later that night.
While the exact story is unclear, two things are certain: the song is iconic, and, whatever you do, lay off them shoes!
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
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