In the clearing stands a boxer/
And a fighter by his trade…

Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Boxer” is a story about perseverance. The song was written well into Simon and Garfunkel’s career. “The Boxer” is perhaps a bit autobiographical, which is interesting. Even as Simon was seemingly on top of the world, he sees himself as being beat up and an underdog.

The song’s meaning resonates because most of us feel like underdogs—we are all “The Boxer”—fighting to make it and flourish in a sometimes-cruel world.

The production and musical arrangement on “The Boxer” is top-notch. There are two instruments used in “The Boxer” that are iconic, that I don’t know if I have heard in another pop/rock song—the bass harmonica and the piccolo trumpet. The bass harmonica in “The Boxer” is especially interesting to me. All these years I thought it was a bassoon or perhaps a bass clarinet. The drum work is also very interesting.

The iconic slams during the chorus are great and the galloping in the background is not something anyone would think would work, but it does. It sounds like someone running away.

Paul Simon’s guitar work is very solid and often goes unnoticed, but it has become iconic as well. As with most of their songs, the harmonies play a huge part in their success. In “The Boxer”, Garfunkel is much less prominent than in other songs. He allows Simon to shine.

The Boxer Lyrics

I am just a poor boy,
Though my story’s seldom told,
I have squandered my resistance,
For a pocket full of mumbles, such are promises.
All lies and jests,
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.

Lie la lie, lie la la la lie lie.
Lie la lie, lie la la la la lie 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. le le le le le le le.

Lie la lie, lie la la la lie lie.
Lie la lie, lie la la la la lie la la lie.

Then I’m laying out my winter clothes,
And wishing I was gone-
Going home.
Where the New York City winters
Aren’t bleeding me;
Leading me,
Going home.

In the clearing stands a boxer-
And a fighter by his trade,
And he carries the reminders
Of every glove that 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.
mmm mmm

Written by Paul Simon