Simon & Garfunkel: "The Boxer"

acoustic guitar chords

capo: 4

G

I am just a poor boy.

em
Though my story's seldom told,

D
I have squandered my resistance

C D
For a pocketful of mumbles,

G

Such are promises

em
All lies and jest

D/hm C

Still, a man hears what he wants to hear

G D … CDG

And disregards the rest.

G
When I left my home

And my family,
em

I was no more than a boy
D

In the company of strangers
C D

In the quiet of the railway station,
G

Running scared,
em

Laying low,
D C

Seeking out the poorer quarters
G

Where the ragged people go,

D

Looking for the places
C D G

Only they would know.

em
Lie - la - lie,   

hm

lie - la - lie - la - lie - la - lie

em

Lie - la - lie.   

C D G

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

G
Asking only workman's wages

em
I come looking for a job,
D

But I get no offers,
C D

Just a come-on from the whores
G

On Seventh Avenue
em

I do declare,
D C

There were times when I was so

lonesome
G D CDG

I took some comfort there.

Solo: G em D G em D C G D CDG

Lie-la-lie...

G

Then I'm laying out my winter clothes
em

And wishing I was gone,
D

Going home

C D

Where the New York City winters
G

Aren't bleeding me,
hm em

Leading me,
D CDG

Going home.

G
In the clearing stands a boxer,
em

And a fighter by his trade

D
And he carries the reminders
C D

Of ev'ry glove that laid him down

G
And cut him till he cried out

em
In his anger and his shame,
D C

"I am leaving, I am leaving."
G D CDG

But the fighter still remains

Lie-la-lie...