The track is built primarily around an off-kilter percussive loop that resembles sticks being dropped across the floor more than it does any real drums, save for the steady claps that accompany it. Across a sparse piano backing, Waits’ distinct gravelly and hoarse voice spews dark imagery of wartime violence, with lines like “This is a f*cking *ss machine gun war / With your boots on the ground / Boots on the ground” and “Something goes tink when the cartridge is spent / Where do you think all your cartilage went?” sticking in the mind as particularly evocative.
The lyrical textures and repetition of the line “Boots on the ground” are somewhat reminiscent of Waits’ 2011 track ‘Hell Broke Luce’. That track also featured an unconventional, clap-heavy backing of percussion and visceral symbolism concerning war, but was more sonically abrasive and hostile than ‘Boots’. With Massive Attack behind the board, Wait’s apocalyptic writing takes on a more contained tone. Still as unsettling, but in a more pulled-back manner, like the insidiousness of violence and imperialism seeping out into the world.
According to Waits, his contributions to the track were actually recorded quite some time ago, which makes its relevance to current day all the more chilling. Sometimes a piece of music becomes viewed as timeless because of its impact on culture surrounding it, but sometimes it’s because the world around it refuses to change for the better. Unfortunately, it seems that the latter already applies to ‘Boots On The Ground’.
The track was accompanied by a film created by Massive Attack in collaboration with photographer thefinaleye. It’s a stark and difficult watch as we flick through images of protests, hardships and violence from across the last six years. While ‘Boots On The Ground’ may be an ugly reflection of our current culture, it’s an effective work of art and a fantastic collaboration from two of music’s most interesting and captivating forces.