“These Boots Are Made For Walkin’” by Nancy Sinatra
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Welcome to a new edition of the Best Music of All Time newsletter!
Today’s music pick is one of the best folk-pop hits and feminist anthems of its era.
Genre: Folk, Pop, Country
Label: Reprise
Release Date: December 16, 1965
Vibe: 👢👢
If you need proof that context matters in storytelling, there’s the backstory for the Nancy Sinatra No. 1, “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’.”
The song’s writer-producer, Lee Hazlewood, who embodies a certain kind of American masculinity many might consider problematic now, initially intended to record the track himself. According to Nancy Sinatra, he told her, “It’s not really a girl’s song.” Sinatra’s counter: “I told him that coming from a guy it was harsh and abusive, but was perfect for a little girl to sing.” Can you imagine if a man of Hazlewood’s demeanor had initially released this track? With six decades of separation, it’d be all over lists of songs we shouldn’t acknowledge or sing in public anymore.
Instead, “Boots” has evolved into one of the most recognizable feminist anthems from the 60s. It’s a genuinely empowering song compared to almost-there chart-toppers who trafficked in the same subject matter like the Supremes’ “Stop! In the Name of Love.” In that essay, I wrote about how that song’s myopic portrait of a scorned woman “[stops] just shy of delivering ultimatums concerning bad behavior.” If Diana Ross and company knocked softly on feminism’s door, Nancy Sinatra kicked the whole thing in with relish. The last verse, in particular, is delightfully menacing:
You keep playing where you shouldn't be playing
And you keep thinking that you'll never get burnt, hah
Well, I've just found me a brand new box of matches, yeah
And what he knows, you ain't had time to learn
Since its initial release, “Boots” has popped up in nearly every corner of popular culture, from Stanley Kubrick and Oliver Stone films to Beyoncé's 2024 LP *Cowboy Carter.* Those are a few examples of why this track has more than earned its place in the Grammy Hall of Fame.
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I didn’t know the backstory on this and hoo boy are you right. If a man had sung this we would not be discussing it in 2024 except for how awful it is haha
Love Nancy! Her TV duet with her father is precious. But about Lee "Phil Spector, who began his career working for Lee Hazlewood. 'Phil had just started to make records and he came over to Phoenix....'" Always thought that was a cool anecdote. Before he became the notorious gun nutter Phil changed the recording business he learned about Echo effects from Lee.