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/