Quote:
Originally Posted by John Isbell
Paul Simon's solo work is equally full of startling and beautiful lyrics, from 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover onward.
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It's great to see all the love for Paul Simon. In a perfect world, he'd be recognized as one of the most important poets of C20. Dylan gets his well-deserved accolades, but Simon - while he's mega-famous as a musician and lyricist - is
still under-valued as a poet, in the fullest sense.
***
The Boxer
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
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 ev'ry 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
Lie la lie, lie la la la lie lie
Lie la lie, lie la la la la lie la la lie
Lie la lie, lie la la la lie lie...