Right up there with; "Just what you want to be, you will be in the end" from Nights in White Satin. The plaintive way Justin Heyward sings it (and every line of that gem) gets me every. single. time.
It’s a metaphor for someone who is struggling and gets knocked down but keeps getting up again. He cries out that he is leaving and going back home but he doesn’t. He stays and continues to keep fighting to survive in NYC. Simon is such a poet. His songwriting has so many awards and honors.
@@jollyrodgers7272 I thought it was saying he's leaving, this time - he lost this round - but his inner fighter remains and will continue his fight in another, future round.
"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" But the fighter still remains" Pure inspirational poetry at it's finest.
I saw Pegasus just did a Pink Floyd song as well... I hope he does the famous Live Version of "On The Turning Away" next. While two totally different songs, they give me similar feelings touching one's soul.
My favorite line from the song. Makes my eyes well up every single time. It's been kinda the mantra to my life. Life has kicked my ass time and again, and I'm not gonna stop fighting
Paul Simon has SO MANY great songs! But I have a soft spot for "Kodachrome". LOVE IT! It's a solo from him. And Art Garfunkel has a GORGEOUS song from a solo project that is one of the most sadly melodic songs I think I've ever heard called "All I Know".
Bass harmonica, then piccolo trumpet, "explosive" sounds made with a snare drum in an empty elevator shaft. Lie, lie, lie, was originally just a placeholder when Simon was writing the song, but he finally decided he liked it - with the reference to all the lies told the boxer.
I think the drummer, Hal Blaine, was set up with his snare drum in a hallway in front of an elevator. He wasn't actually inside of the elevator shaft. But he was close enough that the reverb made the snare sound like a cannon going off.
From Wikipedia: During a New York City concert in October 2010, Paul Simon stopped singing midway through "The Boxer" to tell the story of a woman who stopped him on the street to tell him that she edits the song when singing it to her young child. Simon told the audience that she removed the words "the whores" and altered the song to say, "I get no offers, just a come-on from toy stores on Seventh Avenue." Simon laughingly commented that he felt that it was "a better line."
Paul Simon revealed in an 1984 interview that he wrote "The Boxer" when critics were writing harsh things about his music - he was "the boxer." According to Simon: "I think the song was about me: everybody's beating me up, and I'm telling you now I'm going to go away if you don't stop. By that time we had encountered our first criticism. For the first few years, it was just pure praise. It took two or three years for people to realize that we weren't strange creatures that emerged from England, but just two guys from Queens who used to sing rock 'n' roll. And maybe we weren't real folkies at all! Maybe we weren't even hippies!" The Boxer took over 100 hours to record, and was recorded about a year before the album was released. Btw, the phrases "workman's wages" and "seeking out the poorer quarters" come from Bible passages. Simon would occasionally read the Bibe when staying in hotels. In addition, Simon used the phrase "lie la lie" in place of a proper chorus, because he couldn't find the right words. Of course, "lie la lie" became one of the most recognizable parts of this song. 😄
Stephen has this pretty nailed. But I think BP's thoughts about the boxer's place in the song is totally legit for a listener. It can be a metaphor ... or it could be an inspiration for the person referred to in the previous lyrics. Great songs can be available for multiple interpretations because their crafting and artistry lends them so well to the imagination. But what I've always admired (I was 12 when it came out) was how the orchestration lent itself to my imagination -- it almost felt like the city imposing itself on the subject of the song, yet never quite able to drown him out.
You're right it is about himself but I think in a different way, I'm 77 and look at music in my youth in a completely different way, l knew and sang the words but wasn't interested in what they meant, its only recently when this is being reacted to lve realised what its about. Wisdom does come with age 😅. I know you've listened to his version of why he wrote it, but I think as well his coming to New York to make his fortune in the music business with nothing, and not getting anywhere, and his taking comfort, l don't think he'd have written that if it wasn't true. The boxer is as you've said, l think its a mixture of both. But what a beautiful song and words, l became a huge fan when l saw Tphe Graduate in my youth, and loved it all ❤
Paul Simon is one of the greatest American songwriters of all time. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who disagrees with this. Also, he sang on "We Are The World" just before Kenny Rogers. He was the short, dark-haired guy.
@@lynnpark8849 when I say Paul Simon is one of our greatest American songwriters, that does not preclude others who have written amazing works. I have not forgotten Don McLean, nor many others. They deserve all the accolades they’ve received.
When Bob Dillon won the Nobel Prize I always felt like Paul Simon or Neil Young would have been My first picks. Bob still would have been there. Just saying.
"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." Nobody else writes like that.
It's a snare drum next to an elevator shaft that banging noise. The boxer is a metaphor. The basis of it is that we are all boxers. The blows of life hitting you until you cry out "I am leaving, I am leaving, but the fighter still remains." An incredible lyric.
@@ingekoschmidder6424 May I introduce Gordon Lightfoot into the discission ... please note the use of the word discussion .. as this is not intended to ignite any kind ofv an arguement ... as I am a true fan of each artist
It wasn't long after it came out that it was used in a Detroit funeral for a teen girl -- I don't remember if she passed by violence or illness -- but hearing "Sail On Silvergirl" always gives me a lump in my throat.
It's one story. He is a metaphorical boxer - the fighter who keeps getting beat down, who feels frightened & ashamed and even though he might leave & go home, the fighter remains & will fight again
exactly, and the snare hits are the blows he has taken in life....they continue but he takes them and gets back up again, keeps fighting, never truely giving up.
Paul Simon played this song to open the first episode of snl after 9.11. it was less than 3 weeks after and a statement that NYC wasn't going to be silenced. It was inspiring.
This entire LP is a feast of great music. Unfortunatly, my university roommate played it incessantly. So it took over 20 yrs before I could enjoy it again; a perfect example of, "one can have too much of a good thing". 😅
I would also recommend Scarborough Fair - it is based on an old English folk song. However it is sung with two verses being simultaneously sung throughout most of the song. One is a love song, and one is a song about men being sent off to war to die. That juxtaposition makes the song both beautiful and haunting at the same time. Many people heard it and thought "How beautiful!" but at the same time it has a dark anti-war undertone appropriate for the Vietnam war era.
I was rideculed as a child and adult for hearing "Bridge Over Troubled Water" as Jesus comforting the depressed and suicidal, not the longing for drugs. I nearly shouted and danced just a few yewrs ago when a documentary on these beautiful boys admitted this song was supposed to be a simple, quiet prayer. The director of the studio said, "It's BEGGING to be MORE!" And a hit was born.
The album "Bridge Over Troubled Water" was Simon & Garfunkel's last studio album, released in 1970. But what a way to go out with an BANG!!! The title track of this album won an unprecedented five Grammy Awards, while the complete record won Album of the Year. The album stayed at #1 for 10 weeks, remained on the chart for a total of 85 weeks, and has been certified 8X platinum. In addition to the title track, the album includes the hits “The Boxer” (which you just heard), “Cecilia,” “El Condor Pasa (If I Could),” and my personal favorite, “The Only Living Boy In New York.” Just an amazing album from start to finish, with all songs written by Paul Simon, except for "Bye Bye Love", which was written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, and was previously a hit for the Everly Brothers.
I first heard this at 17 and I knew I’d still be listening when I was old. I’m 70 now, I was right. Paul Simon is truly one of only a few troubadours left on the planet. Just a quiet giant..
On the first episode of SNL after 9/11, Paul Simon sang this song to the audience with Mayor Rudy Guiliani with him onstage. It was one of the best performances I've ever seen.
The truly brilliant Paul Simon has never written a bad song! With Art Garfunkel he's amazing, singing solo he's also amazing! Pick anyone of his creations, you will not be disappointed.
One of their very best songs. Each verse of the song points to the last one, so the last verse encompasses the meaning of the whole song. 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 'til he cried out In his anger and his shame "I am leaving, I am leaving" But the fighter still remains Are you a fighter? Aren't we all? Is this life not a fight? Is your place in the world, wherever you are, not a clearing? Have you ever been hurt in this fight? Ever been cut? Do you have scars, inside and out? Have you never thought of ending it, to leave this world behind, in your anger and your shame? But you're still here, aren't you? Are you still fighting? Does the fighter still remain? Are you not the Boxer? Aren't we all? In the clearing stands a boxer , and a fighter by his trade ... 😎
I remember when I first heard this song. I was about 13. I was blown away. Reality hitting me squarely between the eyes and this is the absolute result of a song so beautifully written that it transcends even the immaturity of a pre-teenage girl over 50 years ago.
Ride a NYC subway and you will "hear" this song. The beat of the points and the reverb of the tunnels. Phenomenal lyrics, but capturing a subway ride in music, . . . next level genius.
The lyric about the boxer himself often chokes me up, because it resonates with me on many levels. That iconic drum strike was achieved by placing the drum and microphone in front of an open elevator shaft.
Absolutely beautiful music. Paul Simon is one of the top 3 best songwriters in my opinion. Alongside Jim Croce and Bob Dylan. So many good folk artists. One ofy all time favourite folk songs is Leader Of The Band by Dan Fogelberg. My father passed away in 2019 after battling Alzheimers for 13 years. He was diagnosed young at 57 years old. I spoke to him at his funeral and told him all my memories of listening to his vinyl. And one of the fondest ones is when I was about 4 or 5 sitting in his knee and playing Leader Of The Band on vinyl record and him singing me the words. So I learned it as best as I could those few days before his funeral and played it for him. If you ever decide to listen to it I know you will love it. Just from watching you Black Pegasus I can see your sense of family and your strong fatherly convictions. It really is refreshing. I know this song will grab hold of you like it does me. Give it a try one day
Paul Simon was the guy you didn’t recognize in We Are The World that was singing with Kenny Rogers. Simon and Garfunkel and Paul Simon are both worthy rabbit holes to go down
I cannot believe no one has recommended Paul Simon's "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover." I think you would get a kick out of it. Just make sure it includes Steve Gadd on drums, because his work on that song is legendary.
I've always thought the boxer in the final verse was a metaphor. We all carry "the reminder of every glove that laid him down or cut him 'til he cried out in his anger and his shame." And we can move on, or move up, but everything that came before still remains inside us.
.....the drum sound you heard is a snare drum with tons of reverb on it. In those days the studios would use a device called a 'reverb tank' to get that rich sounding reverb. The weird bass sound is from a bass harmonica and when the orchestra comes in near the end you also heard the tuba, a bass horn. There was a string section that plays thru and you heard violins, violas and cellos. There might be a bass fiddle in this section, too.... 🤠
it's all the same person. the guy left home to make his fortune in the city, couldn't find work. took the opportunity to make some cash as a prize fighter. wishing he was home he crys out "IM LEAVING" ,but he cant go home out of his embarrassment
This song is amazing to listen to with headphones, especially at the end, where you hear layer after layer after layer added one ear at a time, building in volume and emotion.
A niece of mine was a professor of antiquities at CSU. At one point she was in a London library researching when someone she knew from the US came to look at the same books. She couldn't quite place where she knew him from so, she asked him if he was from Sterling, Colorado. He said, "no". She then asked if he was from Ft. Collins, Colorado. He said, "no". She told him she knew she knew him from somewhere. He stuck out his and and said, "I think you know me as Art Garfunkel."
I attended a New England prep school and I can remember sitting in sitting in a little library on the second floor where I could hide out and listen to records on headphones. S&G were an important soundtrack during those years. The incredible melodies, harmonies and Simon's poetry were enormous gifts to me.
I highly recommend the entire Concert in Central Park album for an amazing introduction to their music. That is one that you put on and don't skip any songs all the way through.
Paul Simon once said he goes into the tile bathroom, lays on the floor, letting the water flow in the sink, and let's the "silence" inspire his writing skills. Thus, his lyrics from "Sound of Silence." He is truly a genius composer.
Can't go wrong with Simon and Garfunkel. They have a monster catalog. You hit the vein of this kind of music already with Neil Diamond. Sound of Silence is probably their biggest hit. You should also check out Jim Croce (Time in a Bottle and Bad bad Leroy Brown) and Harry Chapin (Cat's in the Cradle)a perfect parent song
He did a reaction to Time in a Bottle with Anthony Ray when he was here visiting! It's on his channel! 😊 And I 💯 second him doing Cat's in the Cradle! It's been on my list of songs for him to do, and I've recommended it quite a few times! I so hope he gets to it!! 🙏
@@chelseahaley8350 Agreed. Cat's in the Cradle hits so hard as a parent, especially a working parent trying to prioritize time and energy stretched thin.
To me, the boxer is a metaphor, that even if you get knocked down , you don’t give up. The entire story leads to this metaphor. Love this song. It’s like, yeah when you first leave home it not easy but just keep fighting. I was very young when I left so the song resonates with me 😊
It gives me such pleasure to see you react to songs like this, songs and lyrics that shaped my generation. You are channeling history and experiencing the emotions we who were children in the bland restrictive post war 50s and then burst out in the 60s to change the world. Seriously. Thank you.
One of their best (released in 1969). They had a string of hit songs before going their separate ways, including "Mrs. Robinson", "Sound of Silence", "I Am a Rock" & "El Condor Pasa". Art Garfunkel has a BA in Art History and an MA in Mathematical Teaching.
Folk Rock! Paul Simon is a genius. Simon and Garfunkel was my jam in my youth. 1969, front row to the Bridge Over Troubled Water tour. They were fantastic live.
How many of us were thinking when you talked about the buildup after verse one "you ain't heard nothing yet!" Both S&G are good NYC Jewish boys of central European descent. Garfunkel has one of the sweetest voices on the planet, and Paul Simon's an incredible songwriter: "Bridge Over Trouble Water", "Sound of Silence", "America", "Homeward Bound", "Only Living Boy in New York" - a list of bangers as long as your arm. And particularly on this song and "Bridge...", the production is astonishing. 6:20 - great description. And yes, the boxer in the final verse is a metaphor for the life of someone being hit by everything in life but continuing to fight on. You got the song!
So many amazing songs... Mrs Robinson, Sound of Silence, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Scarboarough Fair, 59th St Bridge Song, America, The Only Living Boy in New York... and Simon solo - Kodachrome etc
Love Simon and Garfunkel! They have so many amazing songs! Homeward bound, Cecilia, Sound of silence, Bridge over troubled water, Mrs Robinson, & Scarborough fair are a few of thier more popular songs! Paul Simon also has an amazing solo career as well! One of my favorites is You can call me Al! It features Chevy Chase in the video!
Now you've done it! The library is deep for the music of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel (both together and solo). I would recommend the deeply nostalgic song "America" as well as "Mrs. Robinson", and "The Sounds of Silence". And then you got about 4 decades of solo music for Paul Simon. I would point to "Graceland", "You Can Call Me Al", "Still Crazy After All These Years", and "Late in the Evening" as a place to start on the solo music.
"Still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest". Still one of the greatest lines in any song.
Right up there with; "Just what you want to be, you will be in the end" from Nights in White Satin. The plaintive way Justin Heyward sings it (and every line of that gem) gets me every. single. time.
“I am leaving I am leaving but the fighter still remains” is a better one just from this song
Absolutely.
This whole song was phenomenal
I always felt that way about this line too
This is one of the most important songs for me. "I am leaving, I am leaving, but the fighter still remains. "
I can't ever give up.
It’s a metaphor for someone who is struggling and gets knocked down but keeps getting up again. He cries out that he is leaving and going back home but he doesn’t. He stays and continues to keep fighting to survive in NYC. Simon is such a poet. His songwriting has so many awards and honors.
NO, the song's narrator goes home - it's The Boxer who remains - he admits in regret he is NOT the Boxer.
@@jollyrodgers7272 I thought it was saying he's leaving, this time - he lost this round - but his inner fighter remains and will continue his fight in another, future round.
The human struggle getting knocked around over and over .This song honors the struggle instead of vilification of people
I just realized Simon and Garfunkel gave this song time to unfold. Still powerful after all these years.
"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"
But the fighter still remains"
Pure inspirational poetry at it's finest.
These lyrics will never NOT make me tear up. So many of us have been beaten up by life and have had to find a way to stand back up.
@@lauriemartin490 - Well articulated!
I saw Pegasus just did a Pink Floyd song as well... I hope he does the famous Live Version of "On The Turning Away" next. While two totally different songs, they give me similar feelings touching one's soul.
My favorite line from the song. Makes my eyes well up every single time. It's been kinda the mantra to my life. Life has kicked my ass time and again, and I'm not gonna stop fighting
@@MedTechMetal - Always keep up the fight! :)
Life beats you up. You wish that you could quit. But you don't.
Paul Simon has SO MANY great songs! But I have a soft spot for "Kodachrome". LOVE IT! It's a solo from him. And Art Garfunkel has a GORGEOUS song from a solo project that is one of the most sadly melodic songs I think I've ever heard called "All I Know".
Bass harmonica, then piccolo trumpet, "explosive" sounds made with a snare drum in an empty elevator shaft. Lie, lie, lie, was originally just a placeholder when Simon was writing the song, but he finally decided he liked it - with the reference to all the lies told the boxer.
I think the drummer, Hal Blaine, was set up with his snare drum in a hallway in front of an elevator. He wasn't actually inside of the elevator shaft. But he was close enough that the reverb made the snare sound like a cannon going off.
Piccolo trumpet played in unison with a pedal steel guitar. That's why it's so hard to pin down exactly what the sound is.
@eryksun he was in from of the elevator shaft and mic was placed above on a different floor.
The "lie" remains with the boxer, as it remains with us all.....
My first thought was bass harmonica too.
Art Garfunkel is so underrated. He has the voice of an angel. Seriously.
Not underrated at all. Very well popular and well loved.
From Wikipedia:
During a New York City concert in October 2010, Paul Simon stopped singing midway through "The Boxer" to tell the story of a woman who stopped him on the street to tell him that she edits the song when singing it to her young child. Simon told the audience that she removed the words "the whores" and altered the song to say, "I get no offers, just a come-on from toy stores on Seventh Avenue." Simon laughingly commented that he felt that it was "a better line."
It's cleaner, anyway.
I don't think it is...lol
That's a sweet story regardless. Ty for sharing!
As a kid I thought it was warzone
@@Mirrorgirl492 It depends on the toys you buy.
One of the best lyricist ever!
This song is a masterpiece. 50 years I have been listinging to it and still very powerfull to me
Paul Simon revealed in an 1984 interview that he wrote "The Boxer" when critics were writing harsh things about his music - he was "the boxer."
According to Simon: "I think the song was about me: everybody's beating me up, and I'm telling you now I'm going to go away if you don't stop. By that time we had encountered our first criticism. For the first few years, it was just pure praise. It took two or three years for people to realize that we weren't strange creatures that emerged from England, but just two guys from Queens who used to sing rock 'n' roll. And maybe we weren't real folkies at all! Maybe we weren't even hippies!"
The Boxer took over 100 hours to record, and was recorded about a year before the album was released. Btw, the phrases "workman's wages" and "seeking out the poorer quarters" come from Bible passages. Simon would occasionally read the Bibe when staying in hotels. In addition, Simon used the phrase "lie la lie" in place of a proper chorus, because he couldn't find the right words. Of course, "lie la lie" became one of the most recognizable parts of this song. 😄
Stephen has this pretty nailed. But I think BP's thoughts about the boxer's place in the song is totally legit for a listener. It can be a metaphor ... or it could be an inspiration for the person referred to in the previous lyrics. Great songs can be available for multiple interpretations because their crafting and artistry lends them so well to the imagination. But what I've always admired (I was 12 when it came out) was how the orchestration lent itself to my imagination -- it almost felt like the city imposing itself on the subject of the song, yet never quite able to drown him out.
You're right it is about himself but I think in a different way, I'm 77 and look at music in my youth in a completely different way, l knew and sang the words but wasn't interested in what they meant, its only recently when this is being reacted to lve realised what its about. Wisdom does come with age 😅.
I know you've listened to his version of why he wrote it, but I think as well his coming to New York to make his fortune in the music business with nothing, and not getting anywhere, and his taking comfort, l don't think he'd have written that if it wasn't true.
The boxer is as you've said, l think its a mixture of both.
But what a beautiful song and words, l became a huge fan when l saw Tphe Graduate in my youth, and loved it all ❤
The whores on 7th Avenue were the record executives whose offices were on 7th Avenue.
Paul Simon is one of the greatest American songwriters of all time. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who disagrees with this. Also, he sang on "We Are The World" just before Kenny Rogers. He was the short, dark-haired guy.
Hard-pressed like a diamond! 😅 Ty for reaction.
@@pamelahofman1785 you seem to forget the 'pictures' Don MacLean paints in his writings...example "Vincent"
@@lynnpark8849 when I say Paul Simon is one of our greatest American songwriters, that does not preclude others who have written amazing works. I have not forgotten Don McLean, nor many others. They deserve all the accolades they’ve received.
I absolutely agree. He is in my top 3 alongside Bob Dylan and Jim Croce.
When Bob Dillon won the Nobel Prize I always felt like Paul Simon or Neil Young would have been My first picks. Bob still would have been there. Just saying.
Honestly, the more I hear this song, the more I'm convinced it's one of the best songs of all time.
Me too
"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." Nobody else writes like that.
You know what? Yes.
The very first time I heard The Boxer I thought it was one of the best songs of all time.
@@glennbarnes9245they have so many. I have a box of their songs, like 6 CDs .
It's a snare drum next to an elevator shaft that banging noise. The boxer is a metaphor. The basis of it is that we are all boxers. The blows of life hitting you until you cry out "I am leaving, I am leaving, but the fighter still remains." An incredible lyric.
Garfunkel was just a lovely voice. Paul Simon is the everything and for decades. He is brilliant.
Boxing as an analogy for life. you will face pain and get hurt and only you can keep yourself going rather than giving up.
Paul Simon was the poet of our time.
Better than Dylan imo. I’ve always thought that.
@@irishgrlno
@@irishgrl you are so correct!
@@irishgrl He was/is very, very good, but Dylan is in a league of his own.
@@ingekoschmidder6424 May I introduce Gordon Lightfoot into the discission ... please note the use of the word discussion .. as this is not intended to ignite any kind ofv an arguement ... as I am a true fan of each artist
Sound of Silence - just unbelievably beautiful.
"Bridge over troubled water" is one of the best songs ever
ABSOLUTELY
💯...and one of the best albums ever
THE BEST, which after it being my choice to have played at my treasured grandads funeral 😢, still it breaks my heart from the opening.
Definitely!! Always gets to me whenever I hear it.
It wasn't long after it came out that it was used in a Detroit funeral for a teen girl -- I don't remember if she passed by violence or illness -- but hearing "Sail On Silvergirl" always gives me a lump in my throat.
They're singing in harmony together the whole time which makes the singing tone seem bigger.
It's one story. He is a metaphorical boxer - the fighter who keeps getting beat down, who feels frightened & ashamed and even though he might leave & go home, the fighter remains & will fight again
YES! Thank you for your accurate interpretation.
He’s lost the battle but is still fighting the war.
@@terri2494 Succinctly put! Good job!
Perfectly said! Thanks
exactly, and the snare hits are the blows he has taken in life....they continue but he takes them and gets back up again, keeps fighting, never truely giving up.
paul simon is one of the greatest songwriters/poets/musicians we have
Even the soft humming was perfectly placed.😊
Paul Simon writes All the songs and does the music, Genius.
Lie lie lie -getting knocked down and getting back up to fight again. One of the best songs..ever.
Paul Simon played this song to open the first episode of snl after 9.11. it was less than 3 weeks after and a statement that NYC wasn't going to be silenced. It was inspiring.
This entire LP is a feast of great music. Unfortunatly, my university roommate played it incessantly. So it took over 20 yrs before I could enjoy it again; a perfect example of, "one can have too much of a good thing". 😅
I would also recommend Scarborough Fair - it is based on an old English folk song. However it is sung with two verses being simultaneously sung throughout most of the song. One is a love song, and one is a song about men being sent off to war to die. That juxtaposition makes the song both beautiful and haunting at the same time. Many people heard it and thought "How beautiful!" but at the same time it has a dark anti-war undertone appropriate for the Vietnam war era.
It isn't a bad recipe either.
Scarborough Fair/Canticle is the full title.
Simon and Garfunkel- Bridge Over Troubled Waters. Banger vocals, banger hook, banger lyrics telling an epic message.
I was rideculed as a child and adult for hearing "Bridge Over Troubled Water" as Jesus comforting the depressed and suicidal, not the longing for drugs. I nearly shouted and danced just a few yewrs ago when a documentary on these beautiful boys admitted this song was supposed to be a simple, quiet prayer. The director of the studio said, "It's BEGGING to be MORE!" And a hit was born.
Absolutely gorgeous song! With Art Garfunkel’s solo vocals the live version is breathtaking
Live version is great, but the studio version is a flat out masterpiece.
It's a great song about the resilience of the common man.
I wrote Simon and Garfunkel song lyrics (poetry) on my bedroom walls as a teenager, thank you to my mom for allowing my expression 😊
I know a lot of music and this is my favorite Simon and Garfunkel song!
The older you get, the more The Boxer means.
At 76 years of age, I identify with the meaning of the song for sure!
The album "Bridge Over Troubled Water" was Simon & Garfunkel's last studio album, released in 1970. But what a way to go out with an BANG!!!
The title track of this album won an unprecedented five Grammy Awards, while the complete record won Album of the Year. The album stayed at #1 for 10 weeks, remained on the chart for a total of 85 weeks, and has been certified 8X platinum.
In addition to the title track, the album includes the hits “The Boxer” (which you just heard), “Cecilia,” “El Condor Pasa (If I Could),” and my personal favorite, “The Only Living Boy In New York.”
Just an amazing album from start to finish, with all songs written by Paul Simon, except for "Bye Bye Love", which was written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, and was previously a hit for the Everly Brothers.
I first heard this at 17 and I knew I’d still be listening
when I was old. I’m 70 now, I was right. Paul Simon is
truly one of only a few troubadours left on the planet.
Just a quiet giant..
72 here! Saw them in concert in 1969.
Oh, the music we had the honour of growing up with!
@@lorifriesen5415 That was talent without special effects! Most of today's music relies on special effects (like Autotune).
Me too. Isn’t it terribly strange to be 70?
@@procopiusaugustus6231 old friends sitting on a park bench like bookends.
Wow! Hard to pick my S&G favorite song.
On the first episode of SNL after 9/11, Paul Simon sang this song to the audience with Mayor Rudy Guiliani with him onstage. It was one of the best performances I've ever seen.
Guiliani was regarded as a 9/11 hero. Such a shame he tarnished his legacy in such an appalling manner...
Back when Rudy was a man we all respected. He has thrown himself away . So sad .
Paul Simon is a genius !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The truly brilliant Paul Simon has never written a bad song! With Art Garfunkel he's amazing, singing solo he's also amazing! Pick anyone of his creations, you will not be disappointed.
Simon and Garfunkel "El Condor Pasa" is a must, one of my many favs. Been a fan for over 50 years.
A classic. As an Englishman I do believe that Paul Simon is America’s greatest singer/songwriter.
He and Billy Joel are tied for me. Both are lifelong favorites.
Scarborough Fair is haunting.
One of their very best songs. Each verse of the song points to the last one, so the last verse encompasses the meaning of the whole song.
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 'til he cried out
In his anger and his shame
"I am leaving, I am leaving"
But the fighter still remains
Are you a fighter? Aren't we all? Is this life not a fight? Is your place in the world, wherever you are, not a clearing? Have you ever been hurt in this fight? Ever been cut? Do you have scars, inside and out? Have you never thought of ending it, to leave this world behind, in your anger and your shame?
But you're still here, aren't you?
Are you still fighting?
Does the fighter still remain?
Are you not the Boxer?
Aren't we all?
In the clearing stands a boxer , and a fighter by his trade ... 😎
I remember when I first heard this song. I was about 13. I was blown away. Reality hitting me squarely between the eyes and this is the absolute result of a song so beautifully written that it transcends even the immaturity of a pre-teenage girl over 50 years ago.
Back then a lot of musicians was also poets. That's why their songs was more meaningful on a personal level.
Ride a NYC subway and you will "hear" this song. The beat of the points and the reverb of the tunnels.
Phenomenal lyrics, but capturing a subway ride in music, . . . next level genius.
I believe it’s their finest song musically anyway. Just beautiful.
My favorite S&G song is "I Am A Rock". "For a rock feels no pain and and island never cries"
The Boxer is a metaphor for a man’s struggles.
It's amazing how many people take it literally.
For everyone's/anyone's struggles...
Continue down the rabbit hole: Bridge Over Troubled Water, Scarborough Fair, Cecilia,
I Am a Rock. List keeps going.
Kathy's Song, April, come she will, Sparrow, Only Living Bot In New York, Baby Driver.
Sounds of Silence, Bleecker Street, Mrs Robinson, America, Homeward Bound, My Little Town. The list goes on and on.
The lyric about the boxer himself often chokes me up, because it resonates with me on many levels. That iconic drum strike was achieved by placing the drum and microphone in front of an open elevator shaft.
"I have squandered my resistance
For a pocketful of mumbles
Such are promises"
Simon and Garfunkel......the soundtrack of my life.
Truly .. me too 👍
You get knocked down, you get back up. “….the fighter still remains.”
Two lesser known songs are Richard Corey and A Most Peculiar Man. Both very melancholy and complete stories of life.
It’s one person, struggling, but fighting through life.
Hope you play Simon and Garfunkle "AMERICA", great song, thinking you will really enjoy the lyrics and the tune. ❤️👍
Great song, doesnt matter what generation hears it, it will always be relevant
Absolutely beautiful music. Paul Simon is one of the top 3 best songwriters in my opinion. Alongside Jim Croce and Bob Dylan. So many good folk artists. One ofy all time favourite folk songs is Leader Of The Band by Dan Fogelberg. My father passed away in 2019 after battling Alzheimers for 13 years. He was diagnosed young at 57 years old. I spoke to him at his funeral and told him all my memories of listening to his vinyl. And one of the fondest ones is when I was about 4 or 5 sitting in his knee and playing Leader Of The Band on vinyl record and him singing me the words. So I learned it as best as I could those few days before his funeral and played it for him. If you ever decide to listen to it I know you will love it. Just from watching you Black Pegasus I can see your sense of family and your strong fatherly convictions. It really is refreshing. I know this song will grab hold of you like it does me. Give it a try one day
Paul Simon was the guy you didn’t recognize in We Are The World that was singing with Kenny Rogers. Simon and Garfunkel and Paul Simon are both worthy rabbit holes to go down
I cannot believe no one has recommended Paul Simon's "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover." I think you would get a kick out of it. Just make sure it includes Steve Gadd on drums, because his work on that song is legendary.
Art of folk rock…. Is storytelling. Paul Simon an incredible poet and storyteller. Together with Art Garfunkel’s vocals. Just wow.
Man, them, CCR, the Beatles, Allman, Fleetwood Mac... such talented acts that just couldn't manage to get along (to verifying degrees.)
I've always thought the boxer in the final verse was a metaphor. We all carry "the reminder of every glove that laid him down or cut him 'til he cried out in his anger and his shame." And we can move on, or move up, but everything that came before still remains inside us.
.....the drum sound you heard is a snare drum with tons of reverb on it. In those days the studios would use a device called a 'reverb tank' to get that rich sounding reverb. The weird bass sound is from a bass harmonica and when the orchestra comes in near the end you also heard the tuba, a bass horn. There was a string section that plays thru and you heard violins, violas and cellos. There might be a bass fiddle in this section, too.... 🤠
Paul Simon is the greatest wordsmith I’ve ever heard. Better lyrically than Bob Dylan imo. Nobody can touch Sounds of Silence.
This song is uncharacterizable. Just ... unique.
One of my favorite albums is Paul Simon's Graceland! He's an incredibly prolific writer and performer. May I suggest The Sound of Silence?
Me too!
The raw authentic human experience is Paul Simon’s specialty.
it's all the same person. the guy left home to make his fortune in the city, couldn't find work. took the opportunity to make some cash as a prize fighter. wishing he was home he crys out "IM LEAVING" ,but he cant go home out of his embarrassment
This song is amazing to listen to with headphones, especially at the end, where you hear layer after layer after layer added one ear at a time, building in volume and emotion.
A niece of mine was a professor of antiquities at CSU. At one point she was in a London library researching when someone she knew from the US came to look at the same books. She couldn't quite place where she knew him from so, she asked him if he was from Sterling, Colorado. He said, "no". She then asked if he was from Ft. Collins, Colorado. He said, "no". She told him she knew she knew him from somewhere. He stuck out his and and said, "I think you know me as Art Garfunkel."
Wow.
I attended a New England prep school and I can remember sitting in sitting in a little library on the second floor where I could hide out and listen to records on headphones. S&G were an important soundtrack during those years. The incredible melodies, harmonies and Simon's poetry were enormous gifts to me.
This is one of my favorite songs from their huge catalog.
I highly recommend the entire Concert in Central Park album for an amazing introduction to their music. That is one that you put on and don't skip any songs all the way through.
Paul Simon once said he goes into the tile bathroom, lays on the floor, letting the water flow in the sink, and let's the "silence" inspire his writing skills. Thus, his lyrics from "Sound of Silence." He is truly a genius composer.
Their song 'America' makes me feel so nostalgic and i dont know why. Ive never seen their world, but it makes me miss it all the same.
These songs of the 70’s can be therapeutic.
I grew up with Simon and Garfunkel I remember when they didn't sing together anymore as well
Can't go wrong with Simon and Garfunkel. They have a monster catalog. You hit the vein of this kind of music already with Neil Diamond. Sound of Silence is probably their biggest hit. You should also check out Jim Croce (Time in a Bottle and Bad bad Leroy Brown) and Harry Chapin (Cat's in the Cradle)a perfect parent song
He did a reaction to Time in a Bottle with Anthony Ray when he was here visiting! It's on his channel! 😊 And I 💯 second him doing Cat's in the Cradle! It's been on my list of songs for him to do, and I've recommended it quite a few times! I so hope he gets to it!! 🙏
Jim Croce "Operator", my absolute favorite of Jim's.
So devastating he died just when his career was taking off.
R.I.P. Jim Croce, you are loved❤️
@@chelseahaley8350 Agreed. Cat's in the Cradle hits so hard as a parent, especially a working parent trying to prioritize time and energy stretched thin.
Oh definitely please listen to Harry Chapin's "Cat's in the Cradle"
To me, the boxer is a metaphor, that even if you get knocked down , you don’t give up. The entire story leads to this metaphor. Love this song. It’s like, yeah when you first leave home it not easy but just keep fighting. I was very young when I left so the song resonates with me 😊
'AMERICA' is a social statement like 'The Boxer'
They have tons of great songs. One of my favorite Paul Simon songs is “Codachrome”. Great song about a camera. Bet money it would make your playlist.
It gives me such pleasure to see you react to songs like this, songs and lyrics that shaped my generation. You are channeling history and experiencing the emotions we who were children in the bland restrictive post war 50s and then burst out in the 60s to change the world. Seriously. Thank you.
One of their best (released in 1969). They had a string of hit songs before going their separate ways, including "Mrs. Robinson", "Sound of Silence", "I Am a Rock" & "El Condor Pasa". Art Garfunkel has a BA in Art History and an MA in Mathematical Teaching.
I hope Paul and Art are aware of how much people still enjoy and appreciate their music
My all time favorite great song thanks for looking at this one
In my top 5 for sure :)
You got it bro. It's a metaphor for struggle and hardship. Now listen to their track America. Another beautiful story.
Simon is a genius. Try his later stuff- Graceland, Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes
Kodachrome as well
Folk Rock!
Paul Simon is a genius. Simon and Garfunkel was my jam in my youth. 1969, front row to the Bridge Over Troubled Water tour. They were fantastic live.
Broke many hearts!
Another classic to check out from them Bridge Over Trouble Water
How many of us were thinking when you talked about the buildup after verse one "you ain't heard nothing yet!" Both S&G are good NYC Jewish boys of central European descent. Garfunkel has one of the sweetest voices on the planet, and Paul Simon's an incredible songwriter: "Bridge Over Trouble Water", "Sound of Silence", "America", "Homeward Bound", "Only Living Boy in New York" - a list of bangers as long as your arm. And particularly on this song and "Bridge...", the production is astonishing. 6:20 - great description. And yes, the boxer in the final verse is a metaphor for the life of someone being hit by everything in life but continuing to fight on. You got the song!
I really recommend you listen to Simon and Garfunkel’s song “America”. It’s fantastic!
Every single song by them is beautiful and unforgettable.
So many amazing songs... Mrs Robinson, Sound of Silence, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Scarboarough Fair, 59th St Bridge Song, America, The Only Living Boy in New York... and Simon solo - Kodachrome etc
Can’t go wrong with Simon and Garfunkel. Just pick any song from their greatest hits and you’ll like it for sure
Love Simon and Garfunkel! They have so many amazing songs! Homeward bound, Cecilia, Sound of silence, Bridge over troubled water, Mrs Robinson, & Scarborough fair are a few of thier more popular songs! Paul Simon also has an amazing solo career as well! One of my favorites is You can call me Al! It features Chevy Chase in the video!
I totally agree, bridge over troubled water & sound of Silence are my two favorites.
Now you've done it! The library is deep for the music of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel (both together and solo). I would recommend the deeply nostalgic song "America" as well as "Mrs. Robinson", and "The Sounds of Silence". And then you got about 4 decades of solo music for Paul Simon. I would point to "Graceland", "You Can Call Me Al", "Still Crazy After All These Years", and "Late in the Evening" as a place to start on the solo music.
You can't speak of Paul's solo songs without Me and Julio Down by the School yard and Kodachrome.
The sound effect that is used throughout the song of the boxing glove hitting flesh is just amazing.