The Boxer

The following is a song I love... I love Paul Simon's writing. And, I love Emmylou Harris and her goddess voice... On Emmylou's 1980 CD, Roses in the Snow, she performed a version of Simon's "The Boxer" - It is incredible... Emmylou's voice is indescribable. Anyway...

The Boxer
(Written by Paul Simon)
*these lyrics are the 1980 Emmylou Harris version*

I am just a poor boy, though my story's seldom told
I have squandered my existence
On a pocketful of mumbles, such are promises
All lies in jest
Till a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest

Well 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, runnin' scared
Laying low, seeking out the poorer quarters
Where the ragged people go
Lookin' for the places only they would know

Only seeking workman's 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 I'm laying out my winter clothes and wishing I was home
Going home
Where the New York City winters aren't bleeding me
Bleeding me
Going home

In the clearing stands a boxer and a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders of every bloke that laid him down
Or clept him 'til he cried out in his anger and his shame,
"I am leaving, I am leaving"
But the fighter still remains