The Boxer

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For the film, see The Boxer (film). For the 2005 song, see The Boxer (The Chemical Brothers song).
“The Boxer”
“The Boxer” cover
Single by Simon and Garfunkel
from the album Bridge over Troubled Water
Released April, 1969
Format 7" single
Recorded 1969
Genre Folk Rock
Length 5:10
Label Columbia Records
Writer(s) Paul Simon
Producer Roy Halee, Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel
Simon and Garfunkel singles chronology
"Mrs. Robinson"
(1968)		 "The Boxer"
(1969)		 "Bridge over Troubled Water"
(1970)

"The Boxer" is a folk ballad written by Paul Simon in 1968 and first recorded by Simon and Garfunkel. It was released as the follow up single to their number one hit "Mrs. Robinson" and later appeared on their last studio album, Bridge over Troubled Water, along with its B-side "Baby Driver". It is particularly known for its plaintive refrain, in which the singer sings the tune as 'lie-la-lie', and the memorable finger-picking guitar played by guitarist Fred Carter, Jr.. Rolling Stone ranked the song #105 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Contents

[edit] Creation and recording

The original recording of the song is one of the duo's most highly produced, and took over 100 hours to record. The recording was performed at multiple locations, including Nashville, St. Paul's Church in New York city, and Columbia studios. Drummer Hal Blaine created the huge drum sound heard during the chorus by banging a heavy chain against the concrete floor of an empty storage closet.

The version originally released on single by the duo features an instrumental melody written by Art Garfunkel[citation needed] and played in unison on pedal steel guitar and piccolo trumpet. The song also features a bass harmonica heard during the second and final verses.

The song was originally and performed in the key of B Major, but due to tape-speed variation, sounds about a quarter of a semitone closer to C Major.[citation needed]

[edit] Lyrics

The song's lyrics take the form of a first-person lament, as the singer describes his struggles to overcome loneliness and poverty in New York City. The final verse switches to a third-person sketch of a boxer, who, despite the effects of "every glove that laid him down or cut him 'til he cried out", perseveres.

It is sometimes suggested that the lyrics represent a "sustained attack on Bob Dylan".[1] Bob Dylan thought the song was about him[citation needed], in turn covering it on his Self Portrait album. Yet Paul Simon himself has suggested that the lyrics are largely autobiographical, written during a time when he felt he was being unfairly criticized:

"I think I was reading the Bible around that time. That's where I think phrases such as 'workman's wages' came from, and 'seeking out the poorer quarters'. That was biblical. I think the song was about me: everybody's beating me up, and I'm telling you now I'm going to go away if you don't stop."[2]

The chorus of the song is wordless, consisting of a repeated chant of "lie-la-lie". Simon stated that this was due to a lapse on his part:

"I didn't have any words! Then people said it was 'lie' but I didn't really mean that. That it was a lie. But, it's not a failure of songwriting, because people like that and they put enough meaning into it, and the rest of the song has enough power and emotion, I guess, to make it go, so it's all right. But for me, every time I sing that part... [softly], I'm a little embarrassed."[3]

[edit] "missing" verse

"The Boxer" was originally written with a verse that is not present in the Bridge Over Troubled Water version:

Now the years are rolling by me
They are rocking evenly
And I am older than I once was
And younger than I'll be, but 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

This "missing verse" was performed by Simon and Garfunkel when they went on tour in November 1969, and Paul Simon when he performed it solo after the group's breakup. Simon and Garfunkel also performed the "missing verse" on Saturday Night Live in 1975[citation needed] and when they reunited for The Concert in Central Park in 1981, and on Late Show with David Letterman.

[edit] Subsequent versions

Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, The Samples, and Across The Border have recorded cover versions of the song, with Harris's version reaching the top ten on the US country charts in June 1980. Joan Baez has also made the song a staple of her live concert performances, from the late 1970s to the present. (Baez usually includes the above-mentioned missing verse in her version.) The King's Singers released an a cappella version on their Good Vibrations album in 1992.

The song has also been included in several live Simon and Garfunkel recordings. On Old Friends: Live on Stage keyboardist Rob Schwimmer plays the Garfunkel tune on a Theremin.

Simon sang the song to open Saturday Night Live on September 29, 2001, the first live SNL show following the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York City.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Baker, G.A. Sleeve of Simon and Garfunkel: 20 Greatest Hits
  2. ^ http://freespace.virgin.net/r.kent/quotes.html (unsourced WWW page)
  3. ^ http://www.ckk.chalmers.se/guitar/the.boxer.html (dead link)