The Boxer

Words and Music by Paul Simon

Performed by Tommy Fleming

I am just a poor boy Though my story is seldom told I have squandered my resistance For a pocketful of mumbles 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 my 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 workman's wages I've 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

Now the years are rolling by me They are rocking evenly I am older than I once was And younger than I'll be That's not unusual, no it isn't strange After changes upon changes We are more or less the same After changes we are more or less the same Now I’m laying out my winter clothes And wishing I was gone, going home Where the New York City winters Aren’t 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 Or cut him 'til he cried out In his anger and his shame "I am leaving, I am leaving" But the fighter still remains Still remains...