Nancy Sinatra’s ‘Boots’ Album Has Songs by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan

TL;DR:

• Nancy Sinatra’s Boots has covers of songs by The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, and Bob Dylan.
• Her Dylan cover immediately precedes “These Boots Are Made for Walkin'” on the album tracklist.
• She made a major change to a controversial Beatles track.

Many of Nancy Sinatra’s most famous songs, including “Somethin’ Stupid” and “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down),” are covers. Notably, her album Boots featured several covers of classic rock songs. Notably, she gender-flipped a controversial Beatles track.

4. The Rolling Stones’ ‘As Tears Go By’

“As Tears Go By” is a Mick Jagger-Keith Richards-Andrew Loog Oldham composition. Marianne Faithfull put out her version and then The Rolling Stones put out theirs. Both renditions are devastatingly sad.

Sinatra’s “As Tears Go By” is closer to bossa nova or lounge music than the recordings that came before. It’s surprisingly relaxed. If it weren’t for the lyrics, her cover would feel at home in an Austin Powers film. Sinatra’s “As Tears Go By” is a pleasant listen, but it doesn’t cue the waterworks like other takes on the song.

3. The Beatles’ ‘Day Tripper’

The Beatles’ “Day Tripper” is a classic pop-rock track with a dash of folk-rock. Part of what makes it so awesome is its memorable guitar riff. Sinatra’s rendition of the song replaces the guitar riff with a horn riff. It’s a bold move, but most of the best covers made bold moves.

Sinatra’s “Day Tripper” is bouncy fun. While it’s not as good as the Fab Four’s track, it probably typifies the sound of the average mid-1960s pop song more than most of the Fab Four’s material.

2. Bob Dylan’s ‘It Ain’t Me’

Bob Dylan’s style is so different from pop music, it’s a wonder so many pop stars have taken a crack at his material. Like Sinatra’s “Day Tripper,” her “It Ain’t Me Babe” relies on boisterous horns, so her cover sounds less like early Dylan and more like Vegas-era Elvis Presley.

Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me Babe” sounds self-critical. On the other hand, Sinatra’s track sounds more like a sassy kiss-off to man she doesn’t love. Her cover directly precedes the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” on the album, so it makes sense her rendition has the same general vibe as that hit.

1. The Beatles’ ‘Run for Your Life’

“Run for Your Life” is one of The Beatles’ most infamously misogynistic tracks, so Sinatra’s take on it is fascinating. She gender-flips the song, but the message is the same. “Run for Your Life” is an attack, with John Lennon/Sinatra singing they’ll murder their lovers if they cheat.

The sentiment of both versions is pretty offensive; however, Sinatra’s take sounds a little more jocular because of her vocal performance and the instrumentation. Notably, this track rounds out the album. It’s almost like Sinatra wanted to take the empowerment of the album’s signature hit (“These Boots Are Made for Walkin'”) to a much darker conclusion. Sinatra went on to cover numerous other classic rock songs, but Boots arguably remains her most important artistic statement.