The Boxer

C  
I am just a poor boy.  
                                          Am  
Though my story's seldom told,  
           G  
I have squandered my resistance  
          G7                G6                           C  
For a pocket full of mumbles, Such are promises  
                   Am  
All lies and jest  
          G                             F  
Still a man hears what he wants to hear  
                               C       G G7 G6  C  
And disregards the rest.  

C        
When I left my home And my family,  
                                  Am  
I was no more than a boy  
          G            
In the company of strangers  
          G7              G7 
In the quiet of the railway station,  
C  
Running scared,  
            Am  
Laying low,  
              G                     F  
Seeking out the poorer quarters  
                   C  
Where the ragged people go  
              G  
Looking for the places  
G7    G6            C  
Only they would know  

         Am  
lie-la-lie,   
           G                           Am  
Lie-la-lie la lie-la-lie lie-la-lie,   
           F                   G                 C  
Lie-la-lie la la la la, Lie la la la la lie.  
   
                      
Asking only workman's wages  
                                Am  
I come looking for a job,  
                   G  
But I get no offers,  
           G7                        G6 
Just a come-on from the whores  
                    C  
On Seventh Avenue  
            Am  
I do declare,  
                    G                         F  
There were times when I was so lonesome  
                                C  
I took some comfort there.  
        G                        G7  G6   C  
Ooo-la-la la-la la-la  
  
                         
Now I'm laying out my winter clothes  
                                Am  
And wishing I was gone,  
           G  
Going home  
                  G7                   G6 
Where the New York City winters  
           C  
Aren't bleeding me,  
              Am  
Leading me - e,  
           G          C  
Going home.  
        
In the clearing stands a boxer,  
                               Am  
And a fighter by his trade  
             G  
And he carries the reminders  
    G7                     G6 
Of ev'ry glove that laid him down  
     C  
Or cut him till he cried out  
          Am  
In his anger and his shame,  
         G                  F  
"I am leaving, I am leaving."  
             C                   G          G7   G6   C  
But the fighter still remains  

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