The Boxer
by Paul Simon
from the Album Bridge Over Troubled Waters
C Am
I am just a poor boy, though my story's seldom told
G
I have squandered my resistance
C
For a pocketful of mumbles such are promises
Am G F
All lies and jest still a man hears what he wants to hear
C G C
And disregards the rest
Am
When I left my home and family I was no more than a boy
G
In the company of strangers
Dm7 C
In the quiet of a railway station running scared
Am G F
Laying low seeking out the poorer quarters where the ragged people go
G F Em Dm C
Looking for the places only they would know
Am
Lie-la-lie
G
Lie-la-lie la lie-la-lie
Am
Lie la lie
G F G C
Lie-la-lie la la la la lie la la la la lie
Am
Asking only workmans wages I come looking for a job
G
But I get no offers
Dm7 C
Just a come-on from the whores on seventh avenue
Am Dm7 G F C
I do declare there were times when I was so lonesome I took some comfort there
G C
Ooo-la-la la la la la
Am
Lie-la-lie
G
Lie-la-lie la lie-la-lie
Am
Lie la lie
G F G C
Lie-la-lie la la la la lie la la la la lie
C
Then I'm laying out my winter clothes
G7 C Am
And wishing I was gone
G Dm7 G7 G C
Going home where the New York City winters aren't bleeding me
Am
Leading me
G
Going Home
C Am
In the clearing stands a boxer and a fighter by his trade
G
And he carries the reminders
G7 C Dm7 G7 C
Of ev'ry glove that laid him down or cut him 'till he cried out
Am
In his anger and his shame
G F C
I am Leaving, I am Leaving. But the Fighter still remains
G C G F C
Am
Lie-la-lie
G
Lie-la-lie la lie-la-lie
Am
Lie la lie
G F Am
Lie-la-lie la la la la lie la la la la lie
Repeat et Fade