Title: Unit Song: Boots, Boots, Boots
Informant info: Matt Menezes. Informant attends Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH as a United States Army Veteran. Informant was a member of the 82nd Airborne Division and deployed twice to Afghanistan as well as spent two years as a drill sergeant for basic combat training.
Type of lore: Customary/ Verbal, Tradition, Song, Lyrics, Chants
Language: English
Country of Origin: USA
Social / Cultural Context: Informant was interviewed at Dartmouth College. Informant was asked about any songs that they sung during their time in boot camp or while serving abroad. The informant laughed before they began speaking saying he didn’t remember all the words. The lyrics discuss the life in which the 82nd Airborne unit troops lived.
Associated file:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/11vv5a27kzlycgq/Dartmouth_Folklore_Collections_Matt_Menezes.mp4?dl=0
Transcript: [I have recorded the item exactly how it was told to me in the interview]: There is a song related to my unit. I don’t remember all of it, but I remember that it goes something like this: Put on your boots, boots, boots, and parachutes, chutes chutes, we’re going up, up up , we’re going down, down down, we’re all-American and proud to be. That’s all I remember.
Informant’s comments: He sang lots of songs during his time in the military, but did not remember the others or the words.
Collector’s comments: Informant was nervous to sing, but had a smile on his face. He also did the arm motion associated with the song. His arm at a right angle swinging across his body.