TRACK TALK #588 The Boxer

THE BOXER
ALBUM : Selfportrait (1970)
Recorded : 3 Mars 1970
Released : 8 Juin 1970

Une chanson écrite par Paul Simon et enregistré par Simon & Garfunkel en 1970.
En plus de Bob, elle fut reprise par de nombreux artistes : Emmylou Harris, Neil Diamond, Waylon Jennings, Joan Baez et Cake notamment.

Première performance live : West Palm Beach (2 Septembre 1999)
Dernière performance live : Dallas (18 Septembre 1999)
Total : 7 fois.



Lyrics
Im just a poor boy
Though my storys seldom told
I have squadered my resistance
For a pocketful of numbles
Such are promises, all lies and jest
Still a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest.

When I left my home and family
I was no more than a boy
In the company of strangers
In the quiet of the railway station
Running scared, laying low
Seeking out the poorer quarters
Where the ragged people go
Looking for the places only they would know.

Asking only workmans wages
I come looking for a job
But I get no offers
Just a come-on from the whores on seventh avenue
I do declare
There were times when I was so lonesome
I took some comfort there.

Then Im laying out my winter clothes
And wishing I was gone, going home
Where the new york city winters arent bleeding me
Leading me
Going home.

In the clearing stands a boxer
And a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders
Of every glove that laid him down
And cut him till he cried out
In his anger and his shame
I am leaving, I am leaving
But the fighter still remains.

La version originale :



Et une version live de 99 avec Paul Simon :