THE BOXER (Paul Simon)
-----------------------
[Recorded in B, but played in C.]
C(9) C(9) C C
[intro]
C C C - G/B Am
I am just a poor boy, though my story's seldom told
G G G7 G7 C C
I have squandered my resistance for a pocketful of mumbles, such are promises
C - G/B Am G F F C
All lies and jest, still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest
G G G C C C C
Mm-mm mmmm mm-mm mmmmmm, mmm mm mm mmmmm
C C C - G/B Am
When I left my home and my family, I was no more than a boy
G G G7 G7 C C
In the company of strangers, in the quiet of the railway station, runnin' scared
C - G/B Am G F F C
Laying low, seeking out the poorer quarters, where the ragged people go
G F C C
Looking for the places only they would know
Am Am Em Em Am Am
Lie la lie, lie la la la lie la lie, lie la lie
G G C C C C
Lie la la la lie la lie, la la la la lie
C C C - G/B Am
Asking only workman's wages, I come lookin' for a job
G G G7 G7 C C
But I get no offers, just a come-on from the whores on Seventh Avenue
C - G/B Am G F F C
I do declare there were times when I was so lonesome I took some comfort there
G G G C C
La la, la la la la la
[20-bar horn solo, same chords as verse 2]
Am Am Em Em Am Am
Lie la lie, lie la la la lie la lie, lie la lie
G G C C C C
Lie la la la lie la lie, la la la la lie
C C C - G/B Am G G
Then I'm laying out my winter clothes and wishing I was gone, going home
G G C C
Where the New York City winters aren't bleeding me
Em Em Am Am G G7 G7 C C C C
Leading meeeeee, going home [short guitar solo]
C C C - G/B Am
In the clearing stands a boxer, and a fighter by his trade
G G G7 G7 C C
And he carries the reminders of every glove that laid him down or cut him 'til he cried out
C - G/B Am G F F C
In his anger and his shame, "I am leaving, I am leaving, but the fighter still remains"
G F C C
Mm-mm mmmmm
Lie la
Am Am Em Em Am Am
lie, lie la la la lie la lie, lie la lie
G G
Lie la la la lie la lie, la la la la
[repeat many times, then go to C for two measures and end with an
instrumental version of the last verse.]
- transcribed by Adam Schneider, http://adamschneider.net/