Big For Your Boots

Album: Gang Signs & Prayer (2017)
Charted: 6
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • To be too big for one's boots is to be conceited, arrogant, and have too much self-importance. Stormzy is warning someone here that if start behaving as if they are more important than they really are, he won't hesitate to boot them back down to size with his size 12s.
  • The song was co-produced by grime DJ Sir Spyro and Fraser T. Smith, who is best known for his work on Adele's hit single "Set Fire to the Rain". It was BBC 1Xtra DJ Twin B who introduced Stormzy to Smith.
  • Stormzy spoke to Beats 1's Julie Adenuga about Smith's contribution, which included the high-pitched vocal sample. "He's] someone who's so skilled and at that upper echelon of the game… I was just looking forward to seeing what happens. Spyro had laid such a sick foundation that the drums were mad and there were chords and they were mad… I had an idea to get a sample in there 'cause I feel like samples are so grime… to get that flippin' old school crud."
  • Stormzy told Julie Adenuga the story of the song. "I invited Spyro into the studio he's the top boy. he's so shy he'll have a riddim and then he'll be like 'Oh I'm not sure you're gonna like it.' He sent me that tune and then me and Fraser took it and Spyro had laid such a sick foundation the drums and chords were mad and I had an idea to have a sample in there, and then just the feeling of the way that tune was constructed, that was like me being very creative and adding up to what I already do."
  • Gang Signs & Prayer debuted at #1 on the UK album chart with combined chart sales of 69,000. It is arguably the first pure Grime album to reach the summit of the tally. (Tinie Tempah's Disc-Overy is the only other Grime-influenced record to reach the coveted top spot.)
  • Gang Signs & Prayers beat the record for the most first-week streams of an album in UK chart history, surpassing the opening week of such streaming giants as Drake and Justin Bieber.
  • The Labour MP for Stormzy's hometown Croydon Central, Sarah Jones, referenced a line from this song during her maiden House of Commons speech on July 12, 2017. Commenting on the lessons to be learned from the general election held the previous month, she said:

    "If the election has taught us anything, it's that we cannot take anyone for granted. As Croydon's Stormzy put it so well in one of his songs: 'You're never too big for the boot'".

    As all House of Commons speeches are written down in Hansard for posterity, this means one of Stormzy's grime lyrics is now a historical record.
  • The music video, directed by Daps, includes a cameo from Stormzy's fellow South London artist Raye. That's her at the start of the visual standing on the right-hand side wearing a blue Adidas jacket.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Cheerleaders In Music Videos

Cheerleaders In Music VideosSong Writing

It started with a bouncy MTV classic. Nirvana and MCR made them scary, then Gwen, Avril and Madonna put on the pom poms.

Shaun Morgan of Seether

Shaun Morgan of SeetherSongwriter Interviews

Shaun breaks down the Seether songs, including the one about his brother, the one about Ozzy, and the one that may or may not be about his ex-girlfriend Amy Lee.

Real or Spinal Tap

Real or Spinal TapMusic Quiz

They sang about pink torpedoes and rocking you tonight tonight, but some real lyrics are just as ridiculous. See if you can tell which lyrics are real and which are Spinal Tap in this lyrics quiz.

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull

Ian Anderson of Jethro TullSongwriter Interviews

The flautist frontman talks about touring with Led Zeppelin, his contribution to "Hotel California", and how he may have done the first MTV Unplugged.

Stan Ridgway

Stan RidgwaySongwriter Interviews

Go beyond the Wall of Voodoo with this cinematic songwriter.

Dar Williams

Dar WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

A popular contemporary folk singer, Williams still remembers the sticky note that changed her life in college.