@Ann Harper Where I lived, the day the race was called for Biden the entire city erupted in celebrations. There were people dancing in the streets, fireworks, people popping champagne, there were so many people in the streets that folks were climbing trees and lamp posts. As far as I can tell, everyone hates Trump with a passion. It's only online that I meet people who think that this obvious conman and criminal is worthy of any office, let alone the highest office in the land.
@Ann Harper No "they" don’t, at least no one who counted the votes or had anything to do with running the election or election security or anyone who actually knows how our system works. The "they" who declare that Biden didn’t get more votes have been deluded into believing a lie or are the grifters and/or autocrats who gain a lot of money and/or power by convincing people to believe that lie. With 65+ lawsuits they could not come up with even one piece of believable evidence, that’s one of the reasons all the suits have been kicked out, voluntarily withdrawn (judges get *very* irritated at lawyers who tell lies to the court), or lost on the merits. Every state supreme court that got involved shot the cases down, one way or another. The US Supreme Court refused to hear 2 or 3 cases (iirc). All of that happened because there was no/zero/nada/zilch credible evidence of widespread fraud.
Voidmstr, "A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest" is also my very best line, too. Isn't that the truth!? So , so true. Correct me, if I'm wrong, although both Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel are great artists, I believe that it was Art Garfunkel who wrote all the songs. Art Garfunkel was the true poet.Their was an issue about that back in the 80's, and I seem to remember something about Paul Simon claiming that he wrote the words to the songs, but l think it is Art Garfunkel that is the true poet here.
He was likening his experience to being a fighter who kept getting knocked down, but kept getting up again. He swore that he was leaving, but he stayed. Lie la-lie...
The grunting, deep-voiced instrument is a bass harmonica, played (I believe) by legendary Harmonica player Charlie Mccoy. It's usually used in country music, often to inject a touch of lightheartedness to a song, but that is clearly not its purpose, here. If you want to hear bass harmonica in its usual setting, listen to 'Who's Gonna Feed Them Hogs?' by Tom T Hall.
We are all boxers. Each of us has endured some form of pain, some more than others. Do we leave? No, we stay and endure some more. Just like a boxer in the ring, they have to stay and endure.
I didn’t say it was about suicide. It’s about enduring the bouts in a ring. This was Simon’s response to doing bouts with music critics using the boxer in a ring as his analogy.
All great classics from them. The one that always sticks out to me and gives me shivers down my spine every time is ‘7 O’Clock News / Silent Night’ from Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966). Something about it… moves me to tears.
You are right to want to understand the lyrics. In Paul Simon, you are listening to a damn genius. He couldn't get a job in Tin Pan Alley, and he had to go home a failure. He feels like he has gone 15 rounds and lost. 'Til he cried out in his anger and his pain, I am leaving I am leaving." But the fighter still remains.
The boxer is a metaphor for this guy in the song and that he’s a fighter who has been knocked down over and over by his life and keeps getting back up to fight again. Or the boxer could be a metaphor for everyone who’s struggled in life, been kicked around and got back up, maybe without knowing why, we just keep going no matter how bad it gets.
The boxer is my favorite part. "I am leaving, I am leaving" But the fighter still remains. No matter what, you carry on. You remain. I had that album (it may still be at my mother's) and you are right; the whole album was dope.
Not only is Paul Simon one of the greatest songwriters of the modern era, he is a wicked acoustic guitarist. Those subtle but killer guitar licks you heard in this song were done by Paul Simon. I'm not sure what the instrumentation was that you pointed out but it may be a moog synthesizer. This 'instrument' can create a multitude of sounds and was becoming popular in rock music in the 60s largely due to its use by the Beatles and Paul Simon. Last comment: The amazing vocal you heard in Bridge Over Troubled Waters was Art Garfunkel. The lead vocal on this song was Paul Simon but the 2 men could harmonize like butter and toast. The two grew up together in the NYC area.
On this song, Paul is playing a straightforward fingerstyle pattern and Fred Carter Jr. is playing, including the intro, all of those "subtle but killer guitar licks."
The drum beat in the background reminds me of a timing bag. The heavy snare strike in the long ending makes me think of every time he takes a hit to the jaw. The soaring strings and deep reverberations make me think of someone fighting through cities lined with broken bricks, and boarded up houses. That peaceful ending makes me think of the boxer, finally coming to terms with his life, and realizing that he has done what he could, and the rest is in the hands of God. And if you really want to get a true feel for this song, watch the performance Paul Simon gave on Saturday Night Live after 9/11, with the men of the New York City Fire Department lined up as the camera panned over them, and the dust of the World Trade Centers still covered their turn out gear. The chills I got when I saw that live still come when I think of it.
Boxing as a metaphor for life was already established when they created this. As in you can have all the training, and coaching and people cheering you on, but in the end you have to face the pain of life alone. You have to motivate yourself to keep going and keep getting up and getting back into it when you get knocked down and feel humiliated by failing in public.
Bass harmonica by Charlie McCoy, the greatest harmonica player in the last 50 years. He’s been on everybody’s records it seems. (If they employ harmonica)
Grew up singing along with these 2 geniuses. As you hit their catalog notice the incredible arrangements. They are diverse and so perfectly augment the whole song. The sound you didn't record harmonica.
"In the clearing stands a boxer and a fighter by his TRADE", not by his side. And, yes, the whole album is fire. I don't have a huge cd collection but this one is in it and one of my favorites.
BizMatik! I absolutely love the pure JOY you display from the music you react to! I mean, that's what it's about, right!? What music makes us feel/remember/think PLUS where it transports us to is "the ride"---the experience! I love your channel & don't understand why you don't have more subscribers!!! Wtf⁉️ Keep up your GREAT CONTENT‼🔥
We have the advantage: many repetitive listens to the lyrics, to figure songs out. Looking forward to watching more & more of your reactions. I like reactors who get into the lyrics, too. Good job.
Music is our purest creation, and as much as it moves me I get even deeper feelings seeing what it does to someone else. It’s this great shared experience.
I always took it to mean that he is a boxer that has passed his prime, and all his losses are adding up. But, fighting is all he knows....so, as much as he wants to leave that life, he can't. While his collection of scars and shame grows...he remains there, fighting as best he can.
That instrument is the bass guitar. The bass or the amplifier broke during recording. Instead of doing it over they left it in. They felt it had a very unusual sound and quality. They were right.
Thank you. My absolute favorite S&G song. Majestic and pure poetry in the lyrics. I don't know what that instrument in the background. sounds like a kazoo but I doubt it.
"... cried out, in his anger and his shame 'I am leaving, I am leaving', but the fighter still remains." I always took that as a man who had been absolutely crushed by life, but is still haunted by his former days of glory.
"Kodachrome", "Mother and Child Reunion", "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard", "50 ways to Leave your Lover", and then the official video for "Call Me Al". You'll see why Paul Simon was WAY more than 50% of S&G... 👍
For good harmonies from these two try El Condor Pass. If you decide to do Scarborough Fair, please do it with the Canticle (another song underneath), so amazing!😎😎😎😎
@@cartercarter645 a Jews Harp is different. My dad was a musician and had a small collection of miscellaneous instruments. As a kid I used to play the Jews Harp. I’m pretty certain that sound is from a Kazoo, not a Bass Harmonica or Jews Harp. The Jews Harp makes a Twang sound you manipulate by changing the shape of you mouth. Edit: I just read online that it was a Saxophone blown to sound like that. Mystery!
Yes. This is an all time classic album Paul Simon.of the duo writes all the songs on it apart from Bye Bye Love that is covered (An Everly Brothers classic.) Later on in his solo career Graceland was also similarly acclaimed for Paul Simon but with a different sound altogether. Hr is one of your traesures, America! He is still writing upto the present day
There are a lot of interpretations for the last verse. My favorite one is that he wants to give up desperation but that’s not really an opinion so after he dramatically yells out “I’m leaving” he’s still there.
I came here directly from your reaction to The Average White Band Pick Up The Pieces. Such an eclectic spread of songs from my teenage years. New subscriber.
🇨🇦✌👍 Simone and Garfunkel One of the best vocal duos of all time 👌 Try Paul Simon Song 🎵 is Diamond's on the soles of her shoes 👞 It's a timeless masterpiece Keep the good work ✌
I can't believe that no-one has mentioned the album cover. If you cover Paul's face, it looks like Art has a humongous mustache. Try it! It is hilarious. :)
Paul Simon and Jimmy Page are the best at elevating their songs by being top-notch producers as well as musicians. They both layer and over-dub their songs with deft little touches. The Boxer illustrates this perfectly - it could have been just an acoustic guitar folk song but Simon develops the song by introducing the pounding-on-steel percussion, a 2nd overdub acoustic guitar playing fills, the soaring strings and at the end the genius touch of that foghorn tuba, finishing up with just a hint of fiddle over the acoustic guitar outro
The way I heard it Paul Simon is the serious musician; consumed by music. Art Garfunkel likes music OK, but he simply has the voice of an angel. God-given, not earned. This song engulfs me at the end.
More Simon and Garfunkel, “ America“. “ I Am a Rock”,. “ Scarborough Fair/Canticle”. “Homeward Bound“. “Mrs. Robinson”,. “The 59th Street Bridge Song”,. “At The Zoo”,. “Baby Driver”, and 100 more.
I was always struck by the honesty of admitting to buying prostitutes. The core of it is loneliness, and while so much negative happens in sex work, that’s the real nature of it-making the loneliness go away for a while.
'I am leaving, I am leaving, but the fighter still remains' Seems to me to be saying I may have lost this particular round/ or this one fight, but don't count me out entirely - I may be beaten for now but I still have the will to win, and I will be back to try again another day. Those lyrics you read out: In the clearing stands a boxer, and a fighter by his side' I think should be: '...and a fighter by his trade' meaning that is who he is, a fighter, not a quitter... Even though the unbearable fact is, he might actually be quitting... oh, lie-la-lie; lie-la-lie lie lie lie lie.... Perhaps this is his internal dialogue, as he argues with himself about what it is he is really doing.
BizMatik, thanks for telling us you'll be reacting to Paul Simon's solo work soon! I disagree 100% with the commenter who claims he peaked in the 1960s. Although I'm a huge Simon & Garfunkel fanatic, the reason they split up is because the folk music genre was too limiting for Paul, who is arguably America's greatest songwriter. Paul's solo work offers brilliantly catchy rhythms -- from Brazil, South Africa, Peru and beyond -- in songs like "Obvious Child," "Me & Julio Down by the Schoolyard" and "Graceland."
Such a beauty. My Fave S&G song.. This is about a time when orphans and neglected kids jumps trains w the hobo's He ended up w nowhere to go as in today's homeless. "I am leaving, I am leaving but the fighter still remains.." that is a comparison. Thank you for this... xoxo 🥰😘
It's nice to see someone just enjoy music and not be constrained by genre. Personally I love nearly all music. As long as it evokes an emotion or makes me think.
the orchestra part at the end as it builds and that heavy synth soiund just thunders in....i always picture a boxer just getting bodied ....but the spirit in him is so strong he gets up to everyones shock and he knocks his opponent out cold.....only to leave the arena alone but still the champ
I like the boxer like your life. You get beat down by life and at times you feel like checking out but you always get back up and fight on. It will make more sense once you have been around about 60 yrs. or so.
That one part of the lyrics that you were questioning actually goes "in the clearing stands a Boxer and a Fighter by his Trade"... it means that's how he made a living... 🤕
Two of my all time favorites tracks right here! “The Boxer” & “Strawberry Letter 23” I have literally, just randomly, awoken singing to both of these songs in my head on 2 different occasions. 😂
@@Kwaminho Guy, you psychic! Love Strawberry Letter and on different reactors pages I keep turning the number to either 22 or 23, the Universe is trying to tell us something! Peace to you.
S&G have a lot of hits. Paul Simon is the songwriter and main singer of the band, though Bridge was written to highlight Art Garfunkel. He went on to a big solo career after he and Art parted ways. IMO, Simon peaked in the Sixties and Seventies, but his later stuff is still smart.
In the clearing stands a boxer And a fighter by his trade (NOT SIDE) 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" But the fighter still remains
![Gunna - HIM ALL ALONG [Official Visualizer]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/HiCxoDeo0hc/mqdefault.jpg)
I'm always moved by this song. Don't we all carry the reminders of every glove that laid us down or cut us till we cried out? Yes, we do.
My favorite part of the song!
f*ckin' absolutely friend.
The best line: "A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest."
That line alone explains all of human history.
74 million Americans voted to reelect Donald Trump. It's astounding.
@Ann Harper Where I lived, the day the race was called for Biden the entire city erupted in celebrations. There were people dancing in the streets, fireworks, people popping champagne, there were so many people in the streets that folks were climbing trees and lamp posts. As far as I can tell, everyone hates Trump with a passion. It's only online that I meet people who think that this obvious conman and criminal is worthy of any office, let alone the highest office in the land.
@Ann Harper No "they" don’t, at least no one who counted the votes or had anything to do with running the election or election security or anyone who actually knows how our system works. The "they" who declare that Biden didn’t get more votes have been deluded into believing a lie or are the grifters and/or autocrats who gain a lot of money and/or power by convincing people to believe that lie. With 65+ lawsuits they could not come up with even one piece of believable evidence, that’s one of the reasons all the suits have been kicked out, voluntarily withdrawn (judges get *very* irritated at lawyers who tell lies to the court), or lost on the merits. Every state supreme court that got involved shot the cases down, one way or another. The US Supreme Court refused to hear 2 or 3 cases (iirc). All of that happened because there was no/zero/nada/zilch credible evidence of widespread fraud.
Voidmstr, "A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest" is also my very best line, too. Isn't that the truth!? So , so true. Correct me, if I'm wrong, although both Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel are great artists, I believe that it was Art Garfunkel who wrote all the songs. Art Garfunkel was the true poet.Their was an issue about that back in the 80's, and I seem to remember something about Paul Simon claiming that he wrote the words to the songs, but l think it is Art Garfunkel that is the true poet here.
This song is so beautiful it hurts and it's always fresh to me. I cry every time I hear it.
Same!!! ❤❤❤
It's one of the best written and composed songs ever recorded. Literally flawless.
I could not agree more!!!
Scarborough Fair is really impressing lyrically too
He’s comparing himself to a boxer who gets knocked down, cut, scarred, beaten up by life, laid out, but still gets back up and stays in the ring.
I love how the drums emphasis it. Like a fighters punch.
He was likening his experience to being a fighter who kept getting knocked down, but kept getting up again. He swore that he was leaving, but he stayed. Lie la-lie...
Lie Lie Lie
The grunting, deep-voiced instrument is a bass harmonica, played (I believe) by legendary Harmonica player Charlie Mccoy. It's usually used in country music, often to inject a touch of lightheartedness to a song, but that is clearly not its purpose, here. If you want to hear bass harmonica in its usual setting, listen to 'Who's Gonna Feed Them Hogs?' by Tom T Hall.
Sounds like there may be a mouth harp in there as well.
Also the horn solo was a piccolo trumpet@@JPDillon
Your intuition is right…the whole album IS a masterpiece.
We are all boxers. Each of us has endured some form of pain, some more than others. Do we leave? No, we stay and endure some more. Just like a boxer in the ring, they have to stay and endure.
I felt this ...
this isnt about suicide this song you do realize that
I didn’t say it was about suicide. It’s about enduring the bouts in a ring. This was Simon’s response to doing bouts with music critics using the boxer in a ring as his analogy.
The Boxer is a great song. The Sound Of Silence is another one to try. Homeward Bound, Scarborough Fair, and America are all good choices.
I think America is one of their best.
All great classics from them. The one that always sticks out to me and gives me shivers down my spine every time is ‘7 O’Clock News / Silent Night’ from Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966). Something about it… moves me to tears.
You are right to want to understand the lyrics. In Paul Simon, you are listening to a damn genius. He couldn't get a job in Tin Pan Alley, and he had to go home a failure. He feels like he has gone 15 rounds and lost. 'Til he cried out in his anger and his pain, I am leaving I am leaving." But the fighter still remains.
The boxer is a metaphor for this guy in the song and that he’s a fighter who has been knocked down over and over by his life and keeps getting back up to fight again. Or the boxer could be a metaphor for everyone who’s struggled in life, been kicked around and got back up, maybe without knowing why, we just keep going no matter how bad it gets.
The boxer is my favorite part. "I am leaving, I am leaving" But the fighter still remains. No matter what, you carry on. You remain.
I had that album (it may still be at my mother's) and you are right; the whole album was dope.
Not only is Paul Simon one of the greatest songwriters of the modern era, he is a wicked acoustic guitarist. Those subtle but killer guitar licks you heard in this song were done by Paul Simon.
I'm not sure what the instrumentation was that you pointed out but it may be a moog synthesizer. This 'instrument' can create a multitude of sounds and was becoming popular in rock music in the 60s largely due to its use by the Beatles and Paul Simon.
Last comment: The amazing vocal you heard in Bridge Over Troubled Waters was Art Garfunkel. The lead vocal on this song was Paul Simon but the 2 men could harmonize like butter and toast. The two grew up together in the NYC area.
On this song, Paul is playing a straightforward fingerstyle pattern and Fred Carter Jr. is playing, including the intro, all of those "subtle but killer guitar licks."
Simon is a very good guitarist, but the flatpicking on "The Boxer" is a long-time Nashville session ace named Fred Carter Jr.
To me it sounds like a bass harmonica. My dad played one that was quite long and got down to a quite low register
One of my favorites. The lyrics, the music, the harmonies. It’s next to perfect.
One of the most beautiful songs ever written and performed
It's the lies they tell themselves to get from one day to the next. "After this I'm going home...but it's a lie.
exactly how i read it
The drum beat in the background reminds me of a timing bag. The heavy snare strike in the long ending makes me think of every time he takes a hit to the jaw. The soaring strings and deep reverberations make me think of someone fighting through cities lined with broken bricks, and boarded up houses. That peaceful ending makes me think of the boxer, finally coming to terms with his life, and realizing that he has done what he could, and the rest is in the hands of God.
And if you really want to get a true feel for this song, watch the performance Paul Simon gave on Saturday Night Live after 9/11, with the men of the New York City Fire Department lined up as the camera panned over them, and the dust of the World Trade Centers still covered their turn out gear. The chills I got when I saw that live still come when I think of it.
It represents the punches of the boxer (life beating you down). At least, thats how I interpret it.
It’s a story of survival and it transcends culture and race... it’s brilliant and haunting
Boxing as a metaphor for life was already established when they created this. As in you can have all the training, and coaching and people cheering you on, but in the end you have to face the pain of life alone. You have to motivate yourself to keep going and keep getting up and getting back into it when you get knocked down and feel humiliated by failing in public.
How beautiful that we have a song like this to listen to. ❤
Love your personality shining through on these reactions
Thank you
Bass harmonica by Charlie McCoy, the greatest harmonica player in the last 50 years. He’s been on everybody’s records it seems. (If they employ harmonica)
Grew up singing along with these 2 geniuses. As you hit their catalog notice the incredible arrangements. They are diverse and so perfectly augment the whole song.
The sound you didn't record harmonica.
Beautiful poetry set to perfect music. This is as good as it gets.
You really, really, really, must react to LIVE TO WIN by Motorhead. It is ACE OF SPADES on rocket fuel.
This isn’t as beautiful as Bridge Over Troubled Waters, but the lyrics are outstanding. It makes you think.
"In the clearing stands a boxer and a fighter by his TRADE", not by his side. And, yes, the whole album is fire. I don't have a huge cd collection but this one is in it and one of my favorites.
I think they’re saying that the boy says he’s leaving, going home, but the fighter inside him will always stay in the ring.
BizMatik! I absolutely love the pure JOY you display from the music you react to! I mean, that's what it's about, right!? What music makes us feel/remember/think PLUS where it transports us to is "the ride"---the experience! I love your channel & don't understand why you don't have more subscribers!!! Wtf⁉️ Keep up your GREAT CONTENT‼🔥
p.s I always thought of the big bangs at the end represented punches the Boxer received.
This.
Same
Took me like 10 listens to realize that. Made the song so much better.
We have the advantage: many repetitive listens to the lyrics, to figure songs out. Looking forward to watching more & more of your reactions. I like reactors who get into the lyrics, too. Good job.
The Boxer is a greeat song. I strongly suggeat you listen to " I Am A Rock ". Its a very powerful piece of music.
Not maany people recommend this song but it's always been one of my favorites.
"I Am A Rock" was my theme song in high school. I was alone and that's the way I wanted it. But it's not easy...
This is one of the mellow songs out there that you want to turn up the volume for.
Somne one may have adressed this already but just in case, ...
"in the clearing stands a boxer
And a fighter by his trade"
Props to the producer Roy Halee who created the sound of this masterpiece !
Don't worry, it's takes time to get to the very deep and sad story in this song. But the music is so good, learning it is a pleasure.
Music is our purest creation, and as much as it moves me I get even deeper feelings seeing what it does to someone else. It’s this great shared experience.
Great reaction, this song is a masterpiece, and that’s a funny as hell and an epic commentary: “that’s some deep poetic shit... and I don’t get it! “-
Man, I love the bass harmonica on this. It just wouldn't be the same song without it.
Such intelligent... wonderful lyrics, and amazing vocals... melodies: S&G were simply the embodiment of fine music.
Homeward Bound, Kathy's Song, American Tune, Scarborough Fair...the list goes on and on.
The repeating drumbeat after lie lie lie 🥁 seems like a boxer’s punch 🥊
I always took it to mean that he is a boxer that has passed his prime, and all his losses are adding up. But, fighting is all he knows....so, as much as he wants to leave that life, he can't. While his collection of scars and shame grows...he remains there, fighting as best he can.
I love when the tuba comes in on the final chorus
" I am a Rock" by Simon and Garfunkel.... also "What a Wonderful World this Would Be" them with James Taylor...great harmonies💥👍
If you don't tear up when you hear this song, there's something wrong with you
That last stanza makes me cry every time
You got that right. The whole album is a masterpiece. Love your reaction.
“Still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.” You’re hearing the musicianship and disregarding the story.
That instrument is the bass guitar. The bass or the amplifier broke during recording. Instead of doing it over they left it in. They felt it had a very unusual sound and quality. They were right.
Thank you. My absolute favorite S&G song. Majestic and pure poetry in the lyrics. I don't know what that instrument in the background. sounds like a kazoo but I doubt it.
Bass harmonica
The best artists are always the best storytellers.✌️😊
To the homeless people of America, you are some of the bravest, most selfless people I've known in my life.
Paul Simon played this on SNL after 9/11. It was the first real live event on tv after 9/11. It was huge moment for the country.
"... cried out, in his anger and his shame 'I am leaving, I am leaving', but the fighter still remains." I always took that as a man who had been absolutely crushed by life, but is still haunted by his former days of glory.
"Kodachrome", "Mother and Child Reunion", "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard", "50 ways to Leave your Lover", and then the official video for "Call Me Al".
You'll see why Paul Simon was WAY more than 50% of S&G... 👍
For good harmonies from these two try El Condor Pass. If you decide to do Scarborough Fair, please do it with the Canticle (another song underneath), so amazing!😎😎😎😎
I'm not 100% sure but I think that instrument you are hearing is a Bass Harmonica.
Yes its a bass harmonica. Very cool instrument!
Yes u r right but growing up I always heard it called a juice or jaw harp. Great sound
@@cartercarter645 a Jews Harp is different. My dad was a musician and had a small collection of miscellaneous instruments. As a kid I used to play the Jews Harp. I’m pretty certain that sound is from a Kazoo, not a Bass Harmonica or Jews Harp. The Jews Harp makes a Twang sound you manipulate by changing the shape of you mouth.
Edit: I just read online that it was a Saxophone blown to sound like that. Mystery!
Thank you Herbie! I knew I remembered that! Keep rockin
Yes. This is an all time classic album
Paul Simon.of the duo writes all the songs on it apart from Bye Bye Love that is covered (An Everly Brothers classic.) Later on in his solo career Graceland was also similarly acclaimed for Paul Simon but with a different sound altogether. Hr is one of your traesures, America! He is still writing upto the present day
There are a lot of interpretations for the last verse. My favorite one is that he wants to give up desperation but that’s not really an opinion so after he dramatically yells out “I’m leaving” he’s still there.
I came here directly from your reaction to The Average White Band Pick Up The Pieces. Such an eclectic spread of songs from my teenage years. New subscriber.
Gotta love that baritone harmonica...a very unique sound.
🇨🇦✌👍
Simone and Garfunkel
One of the best vocal duos of all time 👌
Try Paul Simon Song 🎵 is Diamond's on the soles of her
shoes 👞
It's a timeless masterpiece
Keep the good work ✌
Make sure it's the one featuring Ladysmith Black Mambazo!!!!
I can't believe that no-one has mentioned the album cover. If you cover Paul's face, it looks like Art has a humongous mustache. Try it! It is hilarious. :)
Paul Simon and Jimmy Page are the best at elevating their songs by being top-notch producers as well as musicians. They both layer and over-dub their songs with deft little touches. The Boxer illustrates this perfectly - it could have been just an acoustic guitar folk song but Simon develops the song by introducing the pounding-on-steel percussion, a 2nd overdub acoustic guitar playing fills, the soaring strings and at the end the genius touch of that foghorn tuba, finishing up with just a hint of fiddle over the acoustic guitar outro
All of their albums were great, I don't think they ever did a bad song.
The ending minutes of music (alone), for me, represent triumph through sadness and sacrifice [The fighter still remains] .
love S and G ....and your reactions are terrific .....you like your music ...
The way I heard it Paul Simon is the serious musician; consumed by music. Art Garfunkel likes music OK, but he simply has the voice of an angel. God-given, not earned. This song engulfs me at the end.
More Simon and Garfunkel, “ America“. “ I Am a Rock”,. “ Scarborough Fair/Canticle”. “Homeward Bound“.
“Mrs. Robinson”,. “The 59th Street Bridge Song”,. “At The Zoo”,. “Baby Driver”, and 100 more.
Paul Simon's Graceland album is classic! also check out Keep the Customer Satisfied by Simon and Garfunkel.
Simple brilliance in its purest form.
haven't heard this in 40? years made my day! Cheers
I was always struck by the honesty of admitting to buying prostitutes. The core of it is loneliness, and while so much negative happens in sex work, that’s the real nature of it-making the loneliness go away for a while.
You will find that with all of Paul Simon’s music, percussion is very important.
okay
Right! The drums sound like what a blow feels like and I think it is supposed to be something like that.
New York is kicking his ass and he's leaving, but he's still a fighter. That's what I get out of that lyric.
A very beautiful song one of my favorites, thank you Biz.
Paul Simon and the production was just genius with this and almost every Simon and Garfunkel song and even later when Paul went solo!👍🏻👍🏻❤️❤️☮️🎤🎼🥊
'I am leaving, I am leaving, but the fighter still remains'
Seems to me to be saying I may have lost this particular round/ or this one fight, but don't count me out entirely - I may be beaten for now but I still have the will to win, and I will be back to try again another day.
Those lyrics you read out:
In the clearing stands a boxer, and a fighter by his side'
I think should be:
'...and a fighter by his trade'
meaning that is who he is, a fighter, not a quitter...
Even though the unbearable fact is, he might actually be quitting... oh, lie-la-lie; lie-la-lie lie lie lie lie....
Perhaps this is his internal dialogue, as he argues with himself about what it is he is really doing.
BizMatik, thanks for telling us you'll be reacting to Paul Simon's solo work soon! I disagree 100% with the commenter who claims he peaked in the 1960s. Although I'm a huge Simon & Garfunkel fanatic, the reason they split up is because the folk music genre was too limiting for Paul, who is arguably America's greatest songwriter. Paul's solo work offers brilliantly catchy rhythms -- from Brazil, South Africa, Peru and beyond -- in songs like "Obvious Child," "Me & Julio Down by the Schoolyard" and "Graceland."
Such a beauty. My Fave S&G song.. This is about a time when orphans and neglected kids jumps trains w the hobo's He ended up w nowhere to go as in today's homeless. "I am leaving, I am leaving but the fighter still remains.." that is a comparison. Thank you for this... xoxo
🥰😘
It's nice to see someone just enjoy music and not be constrained by genre. Personally I love nearly all music. As long as it evokes an emotion or makes me think.
the orchestra part at the end as it builds and that heavy synth soiund just thunders in....i always picture a boxer just getting bodied ....but the spirit in him is so strong he gets up to everyones shock and he knocks his opponent out cold.....only to leave the arena alone but still the champ
Bass Harmonica is what you heard. Also the booms are slapping of church pews.
Do “The Sound of Silence” by them next followed by the cover of the same song but by the group “Disturbed” 🔥🔥🔥 You won’t be sorry 😉♥️
I like the boxer like your life. You get beat down by life and at times you feel like checking out but you always get back up and fight on. It will make more sense once you have been around about 60 yrs. or so.
Superbly crafted songs that transport you to another world of imagination....
Bizmatik, just discovered your song reactions. Love them...just subscribed
Thanks for the sub
OH YA,,, Paul and Chevy Chase do Vid together that is a crack up to watch. Find it!!
That one part of the lyrics that you were questioning actually goes "in the clearing stands a Boxer and a Fighter by his Trade"... it means that's how he made a living... 🤕
No.22. The Universe is telling you to play the Brothers Johnson "Strawberry Letter 22.
The boxer is my mum's favourite.
Two of my all time favorites tracks right here! “The Boxer” & “Strawberry Letter 23” I have literally, just randomly, awoken singing to both of these songs in my head on 2 different occasions. 😂
@@Kwaminho Guy, you psychic! Love Strawberry Letter and on different reactors pages I keep turning the number to either 22 or 23, the Universe is trying to tell us something! Peace to you.
The mystery instrument played on the left channel is a bass harmonica, played by Charlie McCoy
S&G have a lot of hits. Paul Simon is the songwriter and main singer of the band, though Bridge was written to highlight Art Garfunkel. He went on to a big solo career after he and Art parted ways. IMO, Simon peaked in the Sixties and Seventies, but his later stuff is still smart.
Garfunkel and Simon sung most songs TOGETHER.
There are a lot of great Paul Simon solo songs. Try listening to 'Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard'
There’s an absolutely brilliant documentary about S & G that is so worth watching. They explain how they recorded this song.....just amazing!!!
Folk music is amazing! Some of my favorites are Jim Croce, Gordon Lightfoot, Don McLean, John Denver, James Taylor, etc.
In the clearing stands a boxer
And a fighter by his trade (NOT SIDE)
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"
But the fighter still remains
Such a mournful song..amazing
Think "Rocky." Rocky was a fighter, and the people loved him. Great reaction. Have a good one.
Paul Simon
American treasure
Bob Dylan..Paul Simon
ALL I NEED
S & G were geniuses at musical arrangements. Check out their Poem from an underground railway. Amazing lyrics at the end!