the boxer

Lyrics

i am just a poor boy though my story's seldom told, i have squandered my existence, on a pocket full of mumbles such are promises, all lies in jest, till a man hears what he wants to hear, and disregards the rest, well i left my home and family i was no more than a boy, in the company of strangers, in the quiet of the railway station runnin' scared, layin' low seeking out the poor quarters, where the ragged people go, looking for the places, only they would know, li li li, only seeking 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, in a-laying out my winter clothes and wishing i was home, going home, where the new york city winters aren't a-bleding me, bleeding me, going home, da da da, in the clearing stands a boxer and a fighter by his trade, and he carries the reminders, of every bloke that laid him down or cleft him, till he cried out in his anger and his shame, i am leaving, i am leaving, but the fighter still remains, li li li