Topic: boot it

[blueshome]

Don't forget "Busy Bootin'" by Kokomo Arnold and others.
It's certainly clear from the lyrics here that there is a sexual reference, but I suspect that, as with many of these phrases, it also related to some kind of dance of the day, no doubt named after the brisk movement implied by "bootin.

[rbuniv]

Hello;

I think that if "boot it" meant to speed up, Bo Carter might have said "baby don't boot it so fast" instead of "baby don't boot it so hard". Could be like in the old days when we would kick or hit an object with our fist (such as the old TV set) just to make it go or make it work better. This technology has been around a long time; after all the stirring,twisting,winding,loving, it may need just a little "boot" to keep this thing (referred only to as "it") functioning properly.

RB

[rbuniv]

Hello;

"Boot it" is not a slang term at all, has been around and in wide use for a long time and still in common use by all of us to this day. I found a definition for "boot" which is short for bootstrap, which is what enables one to put their boots on. When you start your computer, you boot it by means of a bootstrap utility which enables it to start. In the 1960s, I remember the term in association with intravenous drug users "booting up" also in early space missions, "Booting the system", etc. I'm sure with a little searching, we could find more reference to this common phrase which without a doubt is a utility to start or enable something.

RB

[Johnm]

RB, I'm curious as to why your interpretation of the meaning of "boot" in this context is any more definitive than any of the other hunches that have been posted here thus far.  Answer:  It isn't, it's just another hunch, but stated as though it were a fact.  It's pretty clear from everything posted on this topic so far that no one here, at least, knows definitively what the phrase "boot it" means in the context in which Chezz initially posed the question, and that applies to both "boot" and "it".  Since there is not even a consensus on what the pronoun reference is for "it" in the context of the phrase, figuring out the meaning of the phrase is not exactly a slam dunk.  The number of plausible different interpretations that has been suggested is a strong indication that the meaning of the phrase is not obviously apparent.  The tone of your post implied that you had the answer to the first part of the question and that the remaining portion of the answer should be fairly easily arrived at, when neither may be the case.
Johnm 

[rbuniv]

Johnm;

Sorry for coming off so strong! My statements are based on useage of the phrase both as I remember and as it is used today. However I must admit that my interpretation of its intended meaning as per its use in these songs may be pure conjecture. If you search boot or bootstrap, you will find mostly reference to starting a computer also starting a business with limited means or pulling ones self up by the bootstraps. I am certain that this term was not invented for the computer age but rather borrowed from the past, unfortunately earlier useages of this phrase have probably become obliterated by its current definition. Many old Phrases are in use today for which we all have some kind of understanding of what they mean to but sometimes we may not know it origin. One that comes to mind is "lock , stock and barrel" to say that something is complete or the total of a lot lumped together however many do not know that these are the vital parts of a gun.

RB

[Chezztone]

Thanks, John, for trying to bring people back to my original question, and for reminding them that it has not yet been answered here! Yes. What exactly is Bo Carter asking his gal to do when he says "I want you to boot it, babe"? I'd like to hear ideas supported by evidence, which could come from other songs; other reference materials; your own deductive or inductive processes. Thanks all! SC

[rbuniv]

Hello; SG

Sorry again if I have taken this thing over the edge, I truly don't mean to upset anyone but am merely stirring the pot. I do enjoy what everyone has had to offer on this subject, be it with or without strong conviction we are all just booting it around. I doubt if there will be any resolution to these questions but there have been many good ideas brought to the table. As far as evidence, I don't think we will find any in other songs or reference pertaining to the music, as it pertains to individual interpretation. Fortunately no one has written the "Bible to the Blues" and we are all entitled to voice own opinions and responsible to defend them as well.

RB

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I agree, RB, we're all going to come up with our own interpretations, and that's half the fun of not knowing for sure what Bo meant when he said it in "Twist It, Baby".  For what it's worth, here's my own 2 cents on what the phrase might mean in Bo's song.  If the performance of "Twist It, Baby" consisted solely of Bo's guitar-playing and singing, I'd say it would be about a toss-up as to whether the "it" in the phrase "boot it, babe" was Bo's sexual equipment or the shakin' hips of the woman he's singing the song to.  When you add the spoken asides (and who made them? It's not Bo), though, it becomes pretty clear that the "it" in question is Bo's equipment.  Taken with that meaning, I would say "boot it, babe" is a request for a "foot job", expecially when the spoken aside following the request stipulates, "Baby, don't boot it so hard."  As Phil suggested, I believe Bootin' was also a dance, but in this particular song, in the context of the other actions that are being requested for "it", I don't think we're talking about dancing.  Or maybe it involves simulating the movements employed in the booting dance, but in another environment.  Just a theory. 
And by the way, Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!
All best,
Johnm   

[waxwing]

OK, I'll be a little more explicit than I was in my first post, which I guess didn't have enough footnotes or something, eh, Chezz?-G- It is my firm belief that "Boot it" means to f**k it, not suck it, not twist it with your hands, not diddle around with it, but f**k it, all the way in.

Bo Carter sings a whole song advising men to "boot it" if you want to keep your gal

Well, I think you can get away with not doin' the dishes, or not buyin' her flowers, or not givin' her all your money, but if you don't f**k regularly I think you're gonna lose her, as Bo clearly states, if you ask me.

In Busy Bootin' by Kokomo Arnold he sings, "I'm busy bootin' and you can't come in." Well, I don't think he's starting up his computer or accelerating whatever he is doing. He's f**king. Come back when he's done and I'm sure you can come in.

Read my previous post re the parallel between "easy ridin' and "bootin' it" in one of the  numbers we do in the Hohoppas.-G-

In Twist It Babe, the verses go "stir it," "work it," wind it," twist it," "boot it" and finally "love me". I think the first four instructions can be thought of as manual or oral types of foreplay, followed by the real thing, booting it, and then, the happily married BC adds some romantic emotion to the list. As Bo is singing while this is going on, I think we can imagine that his girl is on top when Bo, or whoever, asks her not to boot it too hard.

Ok, just my opinion, but I really can't see anything else fitting these various circumstances, unless anyone can come up with any strong reference that would imply anal copulation, which I doubt. And, if one or another of these artists thought they were actually saying something else, I'm sure 90% of their audience would be in disagreement with them and would hear it as f**k it anyway.

All for now.
John C.

[Rivers]

Here's my theory. Every generation or two personkind invents a new slang term to describe an otherwise inexpressible compound experience fueled by the drugs, music and dance crazes of the time. Often it's delivered in the continuous tense or as a gerund (has an "-ing" on the end). Sorry, I used to teach English.

Recent examples include "rocking", "grooving", "freaking", "smokin'", you get the idea. Each of these incredibly vague terms originated from or had close ties with music, drugs and dancing. "Booting" we already know was used to describe a rockin' good band (cf BH's post quoting a slang dictionary definition). Back then, so my theory goes, since "booting" was the thing it drifted into wider use to describe, in the vaguest way, having a very good time.

Edited to add: Another wild stab in dark I would bet that musicians drinking bootleg booze coined it originally. Chezz knows more about that subject than me.

That Kokomo Arnold track is really good btw, I'd forgotten that one!

[Slack]

Wax, even though I'd use far fewer words...    my opinion agrees with yours... how 'bout that? 

Maybe we can segue this into the meaning of "Black and Tan" re: BBF. 

[waxwing]

Far more interesting would be to pick up the thread over on the PWBL about what Lemon means when he sings, "She crochets all the time," now that they are kinda in agreement that that's what he says, in two different songs. They got there from a discussion of what "Crow Jane" means. Someone thought Lemon was singing, "crow janes all the time." In regards to Crow Jane, I don't think anyone has mentioned the alliterative relationship to Jim Crow in the context of singing a song about abusing your woman when perhaps your audience knows you are talking about abusing "The Man". But there are some interesting speculations as to the "meaning" of crocheting, similar to what we have hear, of course.

All for now.
John C.

[rbuniv]

Good morning;

Regardless of what this means, it is all about imagery. When we look at the total body of Bo Carter's work we find (in simple terms and language) descriptions of activities which form simple visual imagery. Like smoking a cigarette, sticking a pin in a cussion, banana in the fruit basket, warming a wiener, ramrod in the gun, "pussycat buried her cork deep down in the sand", etc. In his song about broadcasting, I would be curious to see what other "weenies' come up with for the definition of broadcaster, "when I use my broadcaster it goes 'round and 'round", not what it represents in the song but actually what a broadcaster is.

Happy Thanksgiving; RB

[waxwing]

I have always assumed he was talking about a seed broadcaster, a small hopper, hand held, with a crank that spins a sort of fan on the bottom that throws the seed in a broad pattern. A very apt apparatus for his innuendo.

All for now.
John C.

[Bunker Hill]

Maybe we can segue this into the meaning of "Black and Tan" re: BBF. 

In the context in which Fuller uses it ("she wanna do that old black and and tan", "woman that learnt me the black and and tan" etc) I dunno but I can can up with the historical base. It was the name given to the faction of the Republican Party who favoured proportional representation for blacks and whites in the Party after the Civil War. Those absolutely in favour were termed blacks whilst those only midly in favour were termed tans. This faction thus gained the nickname, "black and tans". Mullattos were also called this.