I've got a robe, you've got a robe,
All of God's children got a robe.
When I get to heaven goin' to put on my robe,
goin' to shout all over God's heaven, heaven, heaven.
Ev'rybody talking 'bout heaven ain't goin' there;
heaven, heaven,
goin' to shout all over God's heaven.
I've got shoes, you've got shoes,
all of God's children got shoes.
When I get to heaven goin' to put on my shoes,
goin' to walk all over God's heaven, heaven, heaven.
Ev'rybody talking 'bout heaven ain't goin' there;
heaven, heaven,
goin' to walk all over God's heaven.
I've got wings, you've got wings,
all of God's children got wings.
When I get to heaven goin' to put on my wings,
goin' to fly all over God's heaven, heaven, heaven.
Ev'rybody talking 'bout heaven ain't goin' there;
heaven, heaven,
goin' to fly all over God's heaven.
I've got a crown, you've got a crown,
all of God's children got a crown.
When I get to heaven goin' to put on my crown,
goin' to shout all over God's heaven, heaven, heaven.
Ev'rybody talking 'bout heaven ain't goin' there;
heaven, heaven,
goin' to shout all over God's heaven.
I've got a harp, you've got a harp,
all of God's children got a harp.
When I get to heaven goin' to play my harp,
goin' to play all over God's heaven, heaven, heaven.
Ev'rybody talking 'bout heaven ain't goin' there;
heaven, heaven,
goin' to play all over God's heaven.
I've got a song, you've got a song,
all of God's children got a song.
When I get to heaven goin' to sing my song,
Goin' to sing all over God's heaven, heaven, heaven.
Ev'rybody talking 'bout heaven ain't goin' there;
heaven, heaven,
goin' to sing all over God's heaven.
I've got a prayer, you've got a prayer,
all of God's children got a prayer.
When I get to heaven goin' to pray my prayer,
goin' to pray all over God's heaven, heaven, heaven.
Ev'rybody talking 'bout heaven ain't goin' there;
heaven, heaven,
goin' to pray all over God's heaven.
All of God's children got a robe.
When I get to heaven goin' to put on my robe,
goin' to shout all over God's heaven, heaven, heaven.
Ev'rybody talking 'bout heaven ain't goin' there;
heaven, heaven,
goin' to shout all over God's heaven.
I've got shoes, you've got shoes,
all of God's children got shoes.
When I get to heaven goin' to put on my shoes,
goin' to walk all over God's heaven, heaven, heaven.
Ev'rybody talking 'bout heaven ain't goin' there;
heaven, heaven,
goin' to walk all over God's heaven.
I've got wings, you've got wings,
all of God's children got wings.
When I get to heaven goin' to put on my wings,
goin' to fly all over God's heaven, heaven, heaven.
Ev'rybody talking 'bout heaven ain't goin' there;
heaven, heaven,
goin' to fly all over God's heaven.
I've got a crown, you've got a crown,
all of God's children got a crown.
When I get to heaven goin' to put on my crown,
goin' to shout all over God's heaven, heaven, heaven.
Ev'rybody talking 'bout heaven ain't goin' there;
heaven, heaven,
goin' to shout all over God's heaven.
I've got a harp, you've got a harp,
all of God's children got a harp.
When I get to heaven goin' to play my harp,
goin' to play all over God's heaven, heaven, heaven.
Ev'rybody talking 'bout heaven ain't goin' there;
heaven, heaven,
goin' to play all over God's heaven.
I've got a song, you've got a song,
all of God's children got a song.
When I get to heaven goin' to sing my song,
Goin' to sing all over God's heaven, heaven, heaven.
Ev'rybody talking 'bout heaven ain't goin' there;
heaven, heaven,
goin' to sing all over God's heaven.
I've got a prayer, you've got a prayer,
all of God's children got a prayer.
When I get to heaven goin' to pray my prayer,
goin' to pray all over God's heaven, heaven, heaven.
Ev'rybody talking 'bout heaven ain't goin' there;
heaven, heaven,
goin' to pray all over God's heaven.
Contributed by Pluck - 2025/5/18 - 16:58
Language: English
I GOT SHOES - from Orbits by Keith Kitchen – released November 18, 2016
SONG STORY: “I GOT SHOES”
Posted by KEITH on
FRIDAY, JANUARY 20TH, 2017
in UNCATEGORIZED
....
“I Got Shoes” is a prayer I can’t imagine praying. It’s meant as a reminder that there are people in this world, even today, for whom a pair of shoes would be an answer to prayer. “When I get to Heaven, gonna put on my shoes.” When most upper middle class folks dream of heaven, they dream of streets of gold, Mansions, & slurpee machines. This song reminds me that there are still people world who, when they dream of Heaven, they dream of shoes.
This song has been covered a lot, and in listening to various artists performing the song I realized that often white artists sing the line “everybody’s talkin’ ’bout heaven and going there….” while the original is “everybody talkin’ ’bout heaven ain’t goin’ there.” The slaves who wrote the song lived under masters, most of them Christians, who would go to church on Sunday only to come home and continue to mistreat the slaves. So that chilling refrain is a recognition both of that hypocrisy and injustice and a reminder that God is just. At the great evening of the day, all wrongs will be put right.
....
Thought the song is about Heaven, it’s also a reminder to me not to neglect the work of seeking justice here on earth. Even though in Heaven “all of God’s children got shoes”, I don’t want to get there and have to explain to brothers and sisters in Christ why I had shoes and they did not. It’s a reminder to me that as good as life gets on earth Heaven is not here yet, and that “It won’t be Heaven ’til we all got shoes ”.
Keith Kitchen
Posted by KEITH on
FRIDAY, JANUARY 20TH, 2017
in UNCATEGORIZED
....
“I Got Shoes” is a prayer I can’t imagine praying. It’s meant as a reminder that there are people in this world, even today, for whom a pair of shoes would be an answer to prayer. “When I get to Heaven, gonna put on my shoes.” When most upper middle class folks dream of heaven, they dream of streets of gold, Mansions, & slurpee machines. This song reminds me that there are still people world who, when they dream of Heaven, they dream of shoes.
This song has been covered a lot, and in listening to various artists performing the song I realized that often white artists sing the line “everybody’s talkin’ ’bout heaven and going there….” while the original is “everybody talkin’ ’bout heaven ain’t goin’ there.” The slaves who wrote the song lived under masters, most of them Christians, who would go to church on Sunday only to come home and continue to mistreat the slaves. So that chilling refrain is a recognition both of that hypocrisy and injustice and a reminder that God is just. At the great evening of the day, all wrongs will be put right.
....
Thought the song is about Heaven, it’s also a reminder to me not to neglect the work of seeking justice here on earth. Even though in Heaven “all of God’s children got shoes”, I don’t want to get there and have to explain to brothers and sisters in Christ why I had shoes and they did not. It’s a reminder to me that as good as life gets on earth Heaven is not here yet, and that “It won’t be Heaven ’til we all got shoes ”.
Keith Kitchen
I GOT SHOES -
Oh,ooh,I got shoes
Oh,ooh,I got shoes
Oh,ooh,I got shoes
Oh,ooh,I got shoes
I got shoes, you got shoes,
All of God's children got shoes.
When I get to Heaven gonna put on my shoes,
Gonna walk all over God's Heaven, Heaven,
Everybody talkin’ 'bout Heaven ain't goin' there;
Heaven, Heaven,
Gonna walk all over God's Heaven.
I got a robe, you got a robe,
All of God's children got a robe.
When I get to Heaven gonna put on my robe,
Gonna walk all over God's Heaven, Heaven,
Everybody talkin’ 'bout Heaven ain't goin' there;
Heaven, Heaven,
Gonna walk all over God's Heaven.
I' got a crown, you got a crown,
All of God's children got a crown.
When I get to Heaven gonna put on my crown,
Gonna walk all over God's Heaven, Heaven,
Everybody talkin’ 'bout Heaven ain't goin' there;
Heaven, Heaven,
Gonna walk all over God's heaven.
I got a song, you got a song,
All of God's children got a song.
When I get to Heaven gonna sing a new song,
Gonna walk all over God's Heaven, Heaven,
Everybody talkin’ 'bout Heaven ain't goin' there;
Heaven, Heaven,
Gonna walk all over God's Heaven.
Oh,ooh,I got shoes
Oh,ooh,I got shoes
Oh,ooh,I got shoes
Oh,ooh,I got shoes
And It won’t be Heaven ‘til we all got shoes.
Oh,ooh,I got shoes
Oh,ooh,I got shoes
Oh,ooh,I got shoes
Oh,ooh,I got shoes
I got shoes, you got shoes,
All of God's children got shoes.
When I get to Heaven gonna put on my shoes,
Gonna walk all over God's Heaven, Heaven,
Everybody talkin’ 'bout Heaven ain't goin' there;
Heaven, Heaven,
Gonna walk all over God's Heaven.
I got a robe, you got a robe,
All of God's children got a robe.
When I get to Heaven gonna put on my robe,
Gonna walk all over God's Heaven, Heaven,
Everybody talkin’ 'bout Heaven ain't goin' there;
Heaven, Heaven,
Gonna walk all over God's Heaven.
I' got a crown, you got a crown,
All of God's children got a crown.
When I get to Heaven gonna put on my crown,
Gonna walk all over God's Heaven, Heaven,
Everybody talkin’ 'bout Heaven ain't goin' there;
Heaven, Heaven,
Gonna walk all over God's heaven.
I got a song, you got a song,
All of God's children got a song.
When I get to Heaven gonna sing a new song,
Gonna walk all over God's Heaven, Heaven,
Everybody talkin’ 'bout Heaven ain't goin' there;
Heaven, Heaven,
Gonna walk all over God's Heaven.
Oh,ooh,I got shoes
Oh,ooh,I got shoes
Oh,ooh,I got shoes
Oh,ooh,I got shoes
And It won’t be Heaven ‘til we all got shoes.
Contributed by Pluck - 2025/6/17 - 06:50
×
![]()
Note for non-Italian users: Sorry, though the interface of this website is translated into English, most commentaries and biographies are in Italian and/or in other languages like French, German, Spanish, Russian etc.
For obvious reasons, direct expressions of protest during slavery were dangerous. Yet, it is very clear that some of the songs created by enslaved people served as expressions of protest. Creators of the songs went to considerable lengths to disguise the true meaning of the lyrics. For those within the enslaved community, however, the meanings were very clear. The best example of a protest spiritual is the song commonly called "I Got Shoes," but also known as "Heav'n, Heav'n."
GOSPEL SONGS > I Got Shoes - #509
All God’s children got shoes.
When I get to Heav’n gonna put on my shoes
Gonna walk all over God’s Heav’n, Heav’n, Heav’n,
Everybody talkin’ ’bout Heav’n ain’t goin’ there,
Heav’n, Heav’n, Heav’n,
Gonna walk all over God’s Heav’n.”
A notable line that marks it as a protest song is “Everybody’ talkin’ ’bout Heav’n ain’t goin’ there,” referencing the slave owners who were so-called Christians that attended church to sing about Heaven, God, and Jesus, but would then return to the plantation after church.
Ruth Starr Rose - All God's Children Got Shoes - Hampton University Museum