The Boxer

by Simon and Garfunkel

C                                   G/E    Am
I am just a poor boy though story's seldom told
       G                              F
I have squandered my resistance for a pocketful of mumbles
         C                   G/E  Am
Such are promises - all lies and  jest
        G                 F                                C    G  F  C
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

Refrain:
           Am          G
    Lie la lie, lie la lie lie lie lie lie
           Am          G               F               C
    Lie la lie, lie la lie lie lie lie lie la la la la lie

Asking only 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

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 - nor is it strange
After changes upon changes we are more or less the same
After changes we are more or less the same

    [2x REFRAIN (end first on Am, second on C)]

         C                                          G/E  Am
Then I'm laying out my winter clothes and wishing I was  gone
      G                F
Going home - where the New York City winters
       C                 G/E  Am       G
Aren't bleeding me... leading me to go home

In the clearing stands a boxer and a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders of every glove that's laid him down
Or cut him till he cried out in his anger and his shame
"I am leaving, I am leaving," but the fighter still remains

    [3x REFRAIN (all but last end on Am, last ends on C)]