Its All In My Hands transcript
00:07 [Jaunty music begins]
00:10 [Men’s voices singing] ♪ Tap, tap, stitch and tap ♪ ♪ Making a pair of shoes ♪
00:14 [Male voice singing] ♪ In the shoemaker's shop this refrain would never stop ♪ ♪ As he tapped away ♪ ♪ Working all the day ♪ ♪ At his bench there was he ♪ ♪ Just as busy as a bee ♪ ♪ Little time to lose ♪ ♪ With the boots and shoes ♪ ♪ Then he tapped and he stitched ♪ ♪ For his fingers were bewitched ♪ ♪ And he sewed a dream ♪ ♪ Into every seam ♪ ♪ Making shoes, oh so neat ♪
00:47 [John] Shoe Repairing, to me, is a living. Well, it's honest work. It's honest work and hard work. And from day to day, you just don't know. Once you open up the door of that store, you don't know what to expect. Every day is a different challenge in this business. The average person today doesn't like his job, isn't happy. I enjoy coming to work in the morning because it's a challenge. That's why I like my work. I like working with my hands. A lot of my customers take my advice in repairing shoes 'cause a lot of customers have faith in my work. Usually when they come in they give me the bag and say, "Please take care of 'em. Whatever it needs, it needs," because they know I'll do a good job. Today there's modern machinery and there's a whole different way of fixing shoes. When you finish a pair of shoes, at least today you could notice the difference. The shoe looks new. It doesn't look like it's been repaired. Well, when I first started in this business my father told me, he says, "John," he says, "You have to take a trade." And he says, "This is a good trade and it's good as any," he says, "because, don't forget, you have to remember one thing, people are always walking." And he says, "As long as they're walking, you'll be working." And he says, "Just take a little pride in your work and you'll be a success."
03:04 [Father] Well, all I've been saying, and I talked to my son, John, that in the future this is gonna be good trade. Course they don't wanna listen to me. But little by little, he put on his head to learn the trade. And today I want to say that he come out a little professional and I'm proud of him.
04:06 [John] When I'm working on a pair of shoes I feel it's like living a life. I take my heart and soul into that shoe and I treat it just like it was my own. And I make a good job of it. And I do the best I could. The best of my ability, the best of my craft. Shoe repairing is more than just in a pair of shoes. It takes a lot of work, a lot of knowhow. Some people just don't understand what goes into it. They think that's all it is is just banging on a hammer and that's it. Or banging on a pair of shoes and putting a nail in the shoe. But it takes more to it than just that. There's not too many shoe repair men around today opening up stores or anything because once the old timers go on, that's it. What remains is an empty store with a lock on it. I think today more young kids should go into this business or they should have schools for them to learn the trade because it's a good trade. And after all, I mean, like I said, we all can't be doctors or lawyers. I owe my success to my father because when I was young, I never wanted to pick up a hammer or read a book or nothing. I was just like every other kid at 15 years old, stand on the corner. But today, I thank my father for breaking me into the business and showing me how, that there's more to it in life than just standing on a corner. I feel like playing an important role in society because when I do a pair of shoes and they come out nice I know the average guy outside can't do the same either. That's why I feel important. I feel like I'm wanted. The average person hasn't got the craft I have. It's all in my hands. Shoemaker today will always be. You'll need 'em today and you'll need 'em years to come because as long as people are walking, they're wearing shoes and as long as they're wearing shoes, they're gonna need somebody to fix 'em. And that's me.
06:49 [Male voice singing] ♪ In the shoemaker's shop ♪ ♪ This refrain would never stop ♪ ♪ As he tapped away ♪ ♪ Working all the day ♪ ♪ At his bench there was he just as busy as a bee ♪ ♪ Little time to lose with the boots and shoes ♪ ♪ Then he tapped and he stitched ♪ ♪ For his fingers were bewitched ♪ ♪ And he sewed a dream into every seam ♪ ♪ Making shoes oh so neat ♪ ♪ Just like magic on her feet ♪ ♪ And he hoped she'd know ♪ ♪ That he loved her so ♪
