Boots (poem) Boots (poem) "Boots" is a poem by English author and poet Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936). It was first published in 1903, in his collection "The Five Nations". "Boots" imagines the repetitive thoughts of a British Army infantryman marching by forced marches in South Africa during the Second Boer War (which had ended in 1902). It has been said that if the first four words in each line are read at the rate of two words to the second, that gives the time to which the British foot soldier was accustomed to march. The poem was set to music for low male
Female of the Species to his late father, who was reported to dislike his son's taste of music, "Female of the Species" is a funky, upbeat Latin-flavoured number with feel-good sounding vibes and vocals reminiscent of lounge singers such as Perry Como and Frank Sinatra combined with keyboardist Franny Griffiths' trademark sound effects and Scott's dark humoured lyrics. The song borrows to some extent, both thematically and in overall aesthetic, from The Walker Brothers' theme song for the 1967 film "Deadlier Than The Male". When the song was performed at later concerts, Scott usually walked into the audience to shake the front concert-goers by