The Boxer

I am just a poor boy

Though my story's seldom told

I have squandered my resistance

For a pocketful of mumbles

Such are promises

All lies and jest

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-lie lie-lie-la-lie

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

Asking only workman's wages

I go 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-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie

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

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

Then I'm laying out my winter clothes

And wishing I was gone

Going home

Where the New York City winters are not 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"

Though the fighter still remains, still remains

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

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

Lie-la-lie lie-lie-la-lie

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