The Boxer

C/                          C/                 Am/
 I am just a poor boy  Though my story's seldom told
         G/                   G/                             C/
I have squandered my resistance   For a pocketful of mumbles
       C/          C/            Am/
Such are promises   All lies and jest
         G/               F/       
Still, a man hears what he wants to hear
   F/           C/   G/
And disregards the rest
G/ G/ C/ C/

C/       /C                  C/        
When I left my home  And my family
 C/           Am/           G/          G/
I was no more than a boy  In the company of strangers
 Dm7/           C/              C/     
In the quiet of the railway station  Running scared

C/  C/       Am/          C/            F/              
Laying low  Seeking out the poorer quarters
F/   F/     G/
Where the ragged people go   Looking for the places
 F    Em    Dm     C/
Only they would know

C/        Am/        Am/    G/    G/     Am/   G/  F G/ C/  C/
Lie-la-lie...     Lie-la-lie...    Lie-la-lie...
 
C/
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...

Now the years are rolling by me   They are rockin' evenly
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

Lie-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...