{"id":18206,"date":"2026-01-26T06:57:34","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T05:57:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/roglacup.com\/klaus62\/?p=18206"},"modified":"2026-01-27T07:20:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T06:20:02","slug":"morning-song-simongarfunkel-boxer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/roglacup.com\/klaus62\/2026\/01\/26\/morning-song-simongarfunkel-boxer\/","title":{"rendered":"Morning song #Simon&Garfunkel #Boxer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The taste of Bridge Over Troubled Water<\/em>\u2019s sonic direction would be offered a whole nine months ahead of the album\u2019s release when \u2018The Boxer\u2019 was dropped, initially as a stand-alone single but included on the LP at the last minute. Their most complex production yet, over 100 hours were pulled into its grandiose presentation, cut across multiple locations, including Columbia University\u2019s St Paul\u2019s Chapel for its dramatic acoustics, and mixed on two eight-track recorders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was clear S&G were pulling no stops for their rousing number. In a pugilist mood, Simon was eager to hit back at the critics and purist folkies naysaying their new direction and calling his songwriting\u2019s integrity into question. What resulted was Simon\u2019s lyrical tale of a young man navigating poverty in New York City for the majority of \u2018The Boxer\u2019s weary wander: \u201cI am just a poor boy \/ Though my story\u2019s seldom told \/ I have squandered my resistance \/ For a pocket full of mumbles such are promises.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think the song was about me,\u201d Simon revealed to Playboy<\/em>. \u201cEverybody\u2019s beating me up, and I\u2019m telling you now I\u2019m going to go away if you don\u2019t stop.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As well as further lyrical grabs from the Bible<\/a>, Simon rounded the single off with a final verse in the third person, entering life\u2019s boxing ring as we observe our protagonist refusing to be knocked down by the endless barrage of criticism and press naysaying: \u201cAnd he carries the reminders \/ Of every glove that laid him down \/ And cut him till he cried out \/ In his anger and his shame \/ \u2018I am leaving, I am leaving\u2019 \/ But the fighter still remains.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coupled with its memorable snare reverb and \u201clie-la-lie\u201d refrain\u2014a placeholder line but left in when felt the song spoke enough already\u2014singer Art Garfunkel knew they had something special the moment he laid down his exquisite harmonies. \u201cWe were tapping into something that went way back for us,\u201d he said. \u201cI had a particular feel that I could do really well, and match Paul and make the whole thing ripple and articulate it just right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He wasn\u2019t wrong. \u2018The Boxer\u2019 would peak at number seven on the Hot 100 and help push Bridge over Troubled Water<\/em> to the top of the album charts in both the UK and the US. Through strenuous production schedules and an aggrieved lyrical pen, S&G managed to pull from their songwriting ether a number that stands as one of their most enduring works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Posted from: https:\/\/faroutmagazine.co.uk\/defining-masterpiece-of-simon-and-garfunkels-songbook\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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