Simon & Garfunkel, The Boxer - A Classical Musician’s In-Depth Analysis 

As usual, please write here your questions only.

I'm not from the USA, English is not my native language, and yet the New York City winters, the desire to go home, the feeling of being alone and scared and to have to keep on fighting - fighting beyond one's strength - is something that I'm not unaware of, as millions do. "The fighter still remains". The empathy in this song is endless. The Boxer as the metaphor is life is, absolutely on point for me.

Paul Simon was the first ever winner of the Gershwin Prize for songwriting. This was a wonderful song choice.❤❤❤

the quality of lyrics is deep in simon and garfunkels catalogue. certainly worthy of a deep dive, as well with bob dylan.

"A man hears what he wants to hear/ And disregards the rest" is as brief a summary of the human condition as has been rattled off in one couplet outside of Shakespeare or Keats.

I have loved this song for more than 50 years - I cried when I heard you articulate the feelings I've felt when listening to this masterpiece. Thank you for touching my heart.

I'm sure you would appreciate Scarborough Fair by them. It's a beautiful polyphony song, One melody is the English folksong Scarborough Fair, the other melody is Canticle by Simon.

In the fall of 1981, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel held a free reunion concert in New York's Central Park, 11 years after their act had broken up at the height of its popularity. Both had embarked on solo careers, though they kept in touch, with Garfunkel making occasional appearances at Simon's concerts over the years. Nevertheless, on the whole, they had not gotten along very well during those years, so it was quite a surprise when both Simon and Garfunkel agreed pretty much immediately to do the show, the idea for which had been suggested by the New York City Parks Commissioner at the time. Central Park had fallen into a state of some disrepair at that time, following years of underfunding, and the idea of a benefit concert to raise money for the Central Park Conservancy first came up about a year earlier, with S&G suggested as a possible act, since the duo had grown up in Queens and were still heavily associated with the city. The concert was attended by an estimated half a million people and broadcast by HBO (the fees for the TV rights were a large part of the money raised for the Conservancy). I was one of those half million, and it was an experience unlike any other in my life, before or since. During the performance of The Boxer, they sang the "extra" verse, with which most of the crowd was unfamiliar, and many of us assumed it had been written specifically for this show. Lyrically, it seemed sort of applicable to a reunion of old friends, so this wasn't that much of a stretch. But regardless of whether the verse was new or old, it certainly felt relevant, and in fact, if you watch the video (the video of the entire show is available on RU-vid) you can hear the crowd cheering at the end of the verse, and then a few seconds later, you can see Art briefly reach out and put his hand on Paul's back. Watching this years later, that moment seemed particularly poignant, given that it has come out since then that the three weeks Paul and Artie had spent rehearsing for the show were quite tense and contentious. "The rehearsals were just miserable," Simon would later say in an interview, "Artie and I fought all the time." But the show itself was magical. In the end, after changes upon changes, they were more or less the same.

The easiest way for me to think of "The Boxer" is to re-title it "Paul Simon's music career vs. New York City". He had to go away to England to establish himself but he did come back and make it big. "I'm leaving, I'm leaving, but the fighter still remains."

I have heard this song hundreds of times and sung it to myself thousands of times. I have felt my story not being told, I've had to become that boxer. After over 50 years of relating to this song, you teach me something new about the lyrics and the melody! Thank you!

Paul Simon is one of the greatest songwriters of the classic rock era. Given your love of this song, I'm sure you would like more of his songs. Simon and Garfunkel have a deep catalog. Their biggest hit is Bridge Over Troubled Water.

I always interpreted it as a story about being asked to "lie" down in a fight - as in throw the fight. How wonderful it is that Paul Simon's inspirational "failure" is actually an artistic success.

Thank you for your analysis of this piece. I must say, not knowing much about music, I thoroughly enjoy what you teach me. It’s fascinating. I first heard this song when it was first released. I was “no more than a boy” myself. I didn’t know anything about songs but as a boy of about 10 this music did appeal to me because it wasn’t “kid stuff”. It was what grownups listened to. And I desperately wanted to be a grownup. I’m now 60. Thank you again. Geoff from Perth, Western Australia.

I get the feeling that Amy would love Brisge Over Troubled Water

It's nice to hear that he sometimes took comfort in the toy stores on 7th avenue.

I was so excited when you mentioned Tapestry in your analysis, assuming you were going to do the beloved Carol King album by the same name. Then I realized you were referring to the decorative handwoven textile. 😉 She is a singer-songwriter/pianist from the same period as Simon and Garfunkel, although more pop/soft rock sounding than folk sounding, but from the same storytelling tradition. I recommend you check out her work, particularly her many hits from the Tapestry album. You will find some of the same appealing characteristics you found in Simon and Garfunkel.

Loved your in depth take on this masterpiece. Thanks for pointing out some of the musical nuances that make it so pleasing and melodically appealing. It sounded so beautiful on the harp you really should do an arrangement as you clearly show you understand the meaning. Not sure if you can but I’m sure many would pay to have a recording of it.

Once again a lovely explanation as to how and why this song strikes such a deep chord (pardon the pun) with so many. It takes nothing away, but increases appreciation.

“In the quiet of the railway station running scared. “. I always pictured a place like penn station in NYC very late at night with barely anyone around , echoes of distant doors slamming and footsteps reverberating directionless, a very spooky place. American songs tend to be more story based lyrically. Great analysis to a very emotional ( for me ) song. Thank you Amy and Vlad. !

Simon learnt his craft in England. He spent a lot of time in England and so his folk influences are more directly from England rather than folk coming from America. He hung around at English folk festivals with groups like Fairport Convention.

What absolutely beautiful analysis of one of the greatest and most beloved Pop/Rock songs written in the 20th Century. If The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were the rebellious voice of their generation then certainly Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel,and several Motown artists were the collective conscience. There were so many artists and musicians who wrote deeply introspective and contemplative lyrics in that era but, Paul Simon is among the crème de la crème. The man is a living treasure. I’m so happy you did a deep analysis, Amy. It was always a personal favorite of mine but, my appreciation, which was already deep, is just mind blowing deep now. Thank you! 🙏🏼💙

One of my all-time favorite songs, and I thoroughly enjoyed your analysis and deconstruction! Paul Simon's compositions over the years have gotten more and more sophisticated and satisfying. I hope (whether in the context of this series or on your own) you get to explore some of them. Someone else pointed out Still Crazy After all These Years and American Tune - I heartily concur!

One thing I love about the track's production is the way the tension builds through the song and peaks with the words "cried out!" and carries through the line "in his anger and his shame". But by the time we hear the Boxer's quote, "I am leaving, I am leaving" we are already in the song's denouement. It's almost resigned. I always think that even he himself knows, the Boxer still remains. He isn't leaving; the threat is empty. He fights on.

I always hear trains in this song. Mesmerizing, steady chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga, punctuated by the train whistle as it nears a station or a crossing. I always can hear the journey, as if he's thinking about his past and future as he's traveling. Love it!

One of my absolute favorite songs! This and "Sound of Silence" are my favorites by Simon & Garfunkel.

Paul Simon is a very concise song writer with the very rare ability to sum up what you may be feeling about something quite momentous in life with a few strokes of his pen. That’s just special.

Thank You Amy for the extended lyrical analysis, a lot of lyrics have no need of it. So nice that you recognize great work along with your very visual way of expression and tone is a highlight of this channel for me. Thanks

Amy, Great In Depth. Fills out the song wonderfully. There will be more to follow as far as great songs with immense qualities, like The Boxer.

I have interpreted the chorus as life swinging along, being dealt hard blows, but getting up to live another day.

Please review Simon & Garfunkel’s "Scarborough Fair/Canticle”

I have never thought of “The Boxer” as a hopeful, positive, encouraging song. Like the Myth of Sysiphus, it has always struck me as more about cursed life held together with stubborn resignation devoid of any expectation that the future will be different and better.

I always just assumed the boxer was living a lie in a tough, rudderless life. Would love you to do a deep dive on Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne" -- a mesmerizing, haunting ballad from 1967.

Paul Simon deserves an in-depth Analysis. Most of his work can stand on it's own. It saddens me when I realize how long it may be till you hear his The Sound of Silence and his whole Graceland album.

This was beautiful 😢 I really like your interpretation of the lyrics in the final verses.

The Chorus discussion of this song, actually goes into a good part of song development that you touched on in many prior videos. In rock composition you have many different ways approaches to songs; some start fully with lyrics, some start from musical phrases (riffs) being stitched together, some start from a "hook" (an earworm segment that is memorable and intriguing to latch the listener into the song). And as you noted on some earlier compositions you noted the music either supporting the lyrics, or parts being centered around a repeated phrase. I think these go into the heart of the artists concept, the birth of this song being shared with the other band members to help "fill out" the song. And sometimes in cases nothing seems to fit but the original placeholder. I'm really glad that you picked up on this element within this song; which is a very unique element of band ensemble song development vs a singular composers work.

"Seeking out the poorer quarters where the ragged people go".......Don Maclean used that terminology in the last stanza of "Vincent". "The ragged men in ragged clothes. A silver thorn, a bloody rose, Lies crushed and broken on the virgin snow."

I've always loved the little introductory guitar figure that ripples down a slightly sophisticated chord with flattened notes before settling into the simple harmony and country picking rhythm of the song. It hints at a wistful, reflective quality that is taken up in the lyrics.

I love the fact that you went back and focused on the lyrics because to me this is what really makes this piece a masterpiece - when you are first listening and enjoying the instrumentation you miss the subtle lines that turn out to be so rich and they effect each of us slightly/ significantly differently; it brings me to tears some times - Beautiful!!

This is a beautiful song, but as a classical musician I think you'd enjoy a bunch of other Paul Simon songs even more. For example, "American Tune" is based on Bach's "Passion Chorale", and "Still Crazy After All These Years" has a brilliant chord progression and the production is impeccable. Anyway, carry on. This is enjoyable!

I was fortunate enough to see Simon and Garfunkel summer 1981 in (of all places) Akron, Ohio; at the Rubber Bowl. In a TV interview, Simon referred to it as their "warm-up" concert prior to the Central Park concert. Needless to say, it was fantastic!

Without a doubt, this is a masterpiece. Their other masterpieces include "Sounds of Silence," "America," ""Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme," ""Bridge Over Troubled Water," and by Paul Simon, solo, "American Tune." ALL of their songs are pretty wonderful.

I like the Cat stevens rendering of `Morning Has Broken`. English Folk Rock had a few `branches` from Fairport Convention to Martin Carthy etc.

Thanks for your very interesting analysis. I always loved this song and now I know why 🤗 If not for a deep analysis, but for your pleasure I would suggest to listen to another Simon & Garfunkel song called "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" whitch is really two songs woven in one title and showes even better the technical and artistical mastership of this Duo.

Great analysis, and I must commend Amy on her eloquence and also on her voice being pleasant to listen to 😊

It's a fine song. He has others as well. The Sounds of Silence is my preferred Simon & Garfunkel piece. Homeward Bound. Of course, Bridge Over Troubled Water. America - a song very much like The Boxer. You will like them all.

I am so impressed you found the verse that they add when they perform in live concerts. It’s an amazing verse. Love your breakdowns Amy.

Wow! her interpterion of the last verse is so optimistic. For fifty years I'd always taken it to mean that beaten he is leaving the fighter behind.

I think I saw an interview with Paul Simon where he said he wrote the song in a hotel room when he was on tour and feeling tired and homesick and anyone who's been far from home and can understand to the words. This is poetry set to music and poetry uses analogies and metaphors. I believe the figure of the boxer is just a metaphor for anyone who has endured the blows of life and is tired because of all the knocks they've taken.

45 minutes to say it was a great song , a brilliant production, by a poet and a one man band

36:01 soooo sweet, tears in my eyes, thank you so much for this in-depth analysis

Excellent analysis of one of my top 10 “desert island” songs. Might I suggest you give a listen Procol Harum’s “ A Salty Dog” and “A Whiter Shade Of Pale.” The best sounding versions, in my opinion, are from a live concert recorded in Denmark in 2006, which you can find on RU-vid.

the who, in the final part of their song, "a quick one while he's away", used a repetition of the word cello as a place holder, intending to use cellos in that segment. they never did use the cello when they recorded however, due to recording budget. in rolling stones rock and roll circus, the who performed the whole 9 minute piece and absolutely stole the show. it was a legendary moment in rock history and i highly recommend you give it a look. i will say, the rock and roll circus version is truly THE version you'll want to watch and listen if you do ever get to reviewing and reacting to it. the visuals of that performance are just as important as the audio of it. love your channel.

One of Simon and Garfunkle's first offerings was 'Parsely, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme'. They used the burden of the song [originally an under-support which, through restrictions on printing broadsheets became part of sequence]. Actual words, but without real meaning, setting the rhythm and underscoring the base melody.

A beautiful analysis! thank you! - on the recording, that part where you said its almost visceral, the "of every glove that laid him down or cut him till he cried out" yes I feel it. It cuts! brilliant. I feel they do a similar thing on 'keep the customer satisfied' song on the same album, with the trumpets. right at the end the just really crank it up past ten. beautiful work (theirs and yours, well done).

I would really love to view your reaction and analysis of Al Stewart's "The Year Of The Cat". I think you will enjoy the way one instrument leads into another as the song builds.

Simon & Garfunkel are folk singers growing up & out of NYCs 1950 folk scene when it was the hub of the high arts in music, art & literature and the center of immigrant, early beatnik/folk/social awareness life as well.

For me.... the music is grand and impressive. The build up with the strings and the very deep bass and the percussion in the last portion of the song is absolutely "grand" and "impressive" to my ears and my mind. As are the perfect vocal harmonies that Paul & Art give throughout this song.

Simon and Garfunkel, as well as Paul's solo work, are such a deep well of great music. I highly recommend checking out more! Off topic, I didn't realize you were in Nashville. If you ever perform with the symphony there's a decent chance I've seen you. There were two harps at the concert last night, in fact. :)

Nice analysis and harp playing. Folk songs, including from the British Isles, sound great on the harp. I have a CD like that somewhere.

i really hope you get to listen to Simon & Garfunkel - The Sound of Silence, it's iconic and such an amazing song 🙂

thank you for reading the "missing" verse. Childhood blows shape us in ways that become out of reach...

It would be interesting to get your take on their song, The Sound Of Silence. Followed up by the modern cover of the song by the metal band Disturbed. Both are very popular and quite different but not is the way on would think.

It bodes well that you like this. Paul Simon has crafted a lot of amazing songs and the absolutely stunning solo album Graceland. I hope to see more of him here at some point :)

Amy I've just chanced upon your channel and watched several of your videos. It's very interesting to see and hear your reactions to many of my old favourites, and I love the channel already. Would you consider comparing two (very) different versions of the same song? Mainstream music lends itself to such a wide variety of personal interpretation that ostensibly the same song can often sit comfortably into different genres. As a suggestion it would be fascinating to hear your analytical comparison of Sound of Silence, originally by Simon & Garfunkel but beautifully and fairly recently covered by Disturbed.

This song/lyrics will outlive us all. To all the future readers of this, take care of saving the quality/good parts of the quality musical past. Amen.

OMG! Lyrics are important in pop music!?Thanks for this groundbreaking revelation!

Amy, I would love for you to do a harp cover of this song. And since you have a very good singing voice, you should also sing along to the lyrics. I'm not sure if you have ever done vocal accompaniment to your harp playing, if not, now would be a good time to start. You could then take the next step and write your own folk style compositions, becoming the new sensation, while at the same time reviving the folk music scene with a harpist take on it.😃 (Edit: Although on second thought, for your vocal debut you would probably want to pick one of their other songs, since the notion of Amy the boxer doesn't quite fit 😉)

As I'm sure you and Karl discussed, this was a period in time when many styles of music began to merge and create hybrid sub-genres (folk-rock, country-rock, etc.) Karl's suggestion of this particular Simon & Garfunkel song is a great choice in showing some of that progression. Bob Dylan is another artist who really shows the progression from folk, to folk-rock, to full-on rock, although he retains the folk mentality throughout. He is truly a poet. Also, it would be awesome for you to do a comparison of his original version of "Mr. Tambourine Man" and the cover by the Byrds, to actually see the influence the Beatles had on the American music scene at the time.

Amy, great commentary on this song. I must say though that I started to watch after watching your first listen, in part, to find out why Karl choose this as the next song. I am interested and entertained by all you do but I am also interested in Karl's thinking and the roads he is taking you down. Thank you, your channel keeps getting better and better.

I think The Boxer is my favorite S & G song, but it's difficult to overlook their masterpiece, The Sound of Silence. The story of the Boxer just relates to me more. I had friends who listened to Bookends endlessly, the same way others listened to Bob Dylan, searching for deeper meaning and introspection.

Can’t wait having you listening to America - A horse with no name, and Boston - More than a feeling

That was beautiful. Thank you.

I love your analysis of this song.

Great song. I don't know anyone who doesn't like that song. Thank you!

20:26 funny because that is my interpretation of this final stanza, although he no longer gets into the ring of life as a "boxer" he refuses to lose his spirit as a fighter thus never losing his self-worth. That being said, the deeper meaning may be his realization that he and Art were drifting apart and he no longer wanted to fight with him in the ring but at the same time refused to stop fighting for himself.

I always loved the song '' Wednesday at 3.00 AM '' by S & G

What a great teacher.

The end, for me, is a profoundly sad admission of failure. He carries a reminder of every glove that's laid him low and cut him till he cries out, in his anger and his shame, "I am leaving, I am leaving!" but the fighter still remains. His ultimate defeat, he can not even leave after he's packed, wishing he was gone, but ... he never gets back to the railway station

Love your analysis and dig into the history and story behind the song. Paul Simon is known for his lyrical magic, however the words he often uses and uniquely emphasize is less so due to the mean and more so due to the music contribution of how it sounds and how it's sung.

Hopefully, you ventured through Paul Simon’s oeuvre, whether it’s through S&G or just his own name. He’s one of those songwriters who is steeped in an American song tradition, yet has been adventurous and always seeking new sounds and ideas (see the album Graceland). He’s another one of those songwriters that understands the musicality of words, which is probably why his songs are often enjoyable to sing. Take the “lie, lie, lie” chorus in “The Boxer”. It’s so enjoyable to sing and don’t blame him at all for “keeping the placeholders”. When it came to the last iteration, I have found myself singing another line, different from either Paul or Art, because I want to participate in that catharsis. I have heard that the “whores on 7th Ave” can be interpreted as a slight jab (so to speak) at Columbia Records as their headquarters were located along 7th Ave at the time.

Recently discovered your channel whilst searching for Pink Floyd reactions; very much enjoying your videos. I'd like to suggest a group whose work I think you would appreciate from a compositional & technical perspective: Steely Dan. I've no idea how you feel about jazz, but I'd be fascinated to hear your views on the musicianship displayed by a slew of famous session players on their records. Perhaps "Home At Last" from "Aja" might be a nice starting point.

This was fascinating and also educational! But I can't help but look forward to you getting to the '70s (more my decade musically) and how you will explore some Prog Rock. Perhaps Emerson, Lake & Palmer? Would love to hear what you think of, say, Tarkus.

These analysis videos take me back in time to my dear old Music Theory classes in school, when gas was a whopping $1.19 a gallon and bell-bottom jeans were all the rage.

Is there any chance you will get into British folk-rock (Steeleye Span, Fairport Convention) where they take traditional songs and play them with rock instrumentation? Given your comments, your reaction would be interesting.

Excellent and thorough analysis.

I loved your description of the overall sonic landscape that they created for this song (at 40:16 - 42:30). Very nicely stated.

I haven't heard that version you speak of. When you speak of being older and later on younger, it reminds me of a Bob Dylan lyric..."I was older then. I'm younger than that now" I may not be quoting that precisely right but you get the idea. "My Back Pages" was the song.

Probably the most famous case of 'place holder' lyrics ending up in the final version. Paul McCartney employed the fallback Lennon/McCartney songwriting tool of using such lyrics, to push through a block in "Hey Jude". The resulting "The movement you need is on your shoulder." is among the most serendipitous bits of unintentional poetry in popular music.

Have always thought "li-la-li," etc., were 'placeholder' syllables, but mood-evoking ones.

The subject of musical placeholders reminds me of a story from the recording of the hit song "Into The Night" by Benny Mardones. To quote from the Wikipedia page: "The singer cut the lead vocal in three takes, impressing album producer and longtime Styx engineer Barry Mraz. The notorious howling instrumental bridge by Mardones was originally a guide vocal for a saxophonist, but upon completion, Mraz told the singer 'We won't be using a saxophone on this record.' "

It will be interesting to see how the babe reacts to music. It gets a concert every time the resonant chamber of the harp is in contact with you.

Love the analysis, thanks for your work

I’ve just come across this channel, Love it! My apologies if this is not a request forum, but I would love to hear your impressions of “Jessica” by the Allman Brothers.

Fine analysis Amy. My thoughts are similar. I'd love to hear how you'd finger pick the guitar accompaniment to the The Boxer on your Harp !!

Just my personal opinion here and, as they say, YMMV. This song resonates with so many because it narrates how life is for many. We begin as youthful optimists and idealists and, as we age, that youthful idealism may fall away and the utter youthful optimism fades as a commonality of experience. Even so, every day, most of us get up and try to live as best we can every single day despite "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune," not giving up, carrying the scars of our life's challenges, and never truly losing hope. I think that's why the message is so inspirational for so many. The economy of expression in the lyrics is evocative of much left unsaid. And the chorus leaves us to add our own interpretation to make it more applicable to our personal life experience.

A wonderful analysis of this great song. Would love to hear you come up with an arrangement of this song for the harp. I always enjoyed Simon's guitar work..although not overly difficult, he adds some nice touches to this song. For example, the B chord with an added 9th. Hope you have a chance to hear Bridge Over Troubled Water one day. Garfunkel's voice is incredible. Also. Scarboro Fair is another beautiful song from them.

When singing the song within earshot of my family, I've always said "stores on 7th Avenue." 🙂

I always thought of the drums as proclamations - Michael making an announcement.

"The Boxer," is one of my favorite S & G songs. You seemed to really enjoy it as well. I would like to recommend their song, "America," to you. Not necessarily for review - more for your own enjoyment.

Outstanding analysis! ❤