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"The Boxer"
Single by Simon and Garfunkel
from the album Bridge over Troubled Water
Released	April, 1969
Format	7" single
Recorded	1969
Genre	Folk Rock
Length	5:10
Label	Columbia Records
Writer(s)	Paul Simon
Producer(s)	Roy Halee, Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel
Chart positions
#10 (UK) #7 (US)
Simon and Garfunkel singles chronology
"Mrs. Robinson" (1968)	"The Boxer" (1969)	"Bridge over Troubled Water" (1970)

For the 1997 film starring Daniel Day-Lewis, see The Boxer (film).

For the 2005 The Chemical Brothers song, see "The Boxer (Chemical Brothers song)".

"The Boxer" is a folk ballad written by Paul Simon in 1968 and first recorded by Simon & Garfunkel. It was released as the follow up single to their number one hit "Mrs. Robinson" and later appeared on their last studio album, Bridge over Troubled Water, along with its B-side "Baby Driver". It is particularly known for its plaintive refrain, in which the singer sings the tune as 'li-la-li', and the memorable finger-picking guitar played by guitarist Fred Carter, Jr.

It is sometimes suggested that the song's lyrics represent a "sustained attack on Bob Dylan".^[1] Alternatively it has also been suggested that the lyrics are largely autobiographical, as Simon himself has said.

It was originally written with a verse that is not present in the Bridge Over Troubled Water version:

Now the years are rolling by me
They are rocking evenly
I am older than I once was
Younger than I'll be, that's not unusual.
No, it isn't strange
After changes upon changes
We are more or less the same
After changes we are more or less the same

In the version released on single by the duo, it is replaced by an instrumental melody written by Art Garfunkel and played in unison on pedal steel guitar and piccolo trumpet. This "missing verse" was performed by Simon & Garfunkel when they went on tour in November 1969, and Paul Simon when he performed it solo after the group's breakup. Simon & Garfunkel also performed the "missing verse" when they reunited for The Concert in Central Park in 1981. In Old Friends: Live on Stage keyboardist Rob Schwimmer plays the Garfunkel tune on a Theremin.

Bob Dylan and Emmylou Harris have recorded cover versions of the song, with Harris' version reaching the top ten on the US country charts in June 1980. Joan Baez has also made the song a staple of her live concert performances, from the late 1970s to the present. (Baez' usually includes the above-mentioned missing verse in her version.)

Simon sang the song to open Saturday Night Live on September 29, 2001, the first live SNL show following the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York City. Coincidentally, the song was also performed by Simon & Garfunkel (with the "missing verse") on the second episode of Saturday Night Live in October 1975.

Rolling Stone ranked the song #105 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

"The Boxer was a really nice record. I like to listen to that record. I think I was reading the Bible around that time. That's where I think phrases such as 'workman's wages' came from, and 'seeking out the poorer quarters'. That was biblical. 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." – Paul Simon[1]

"I didn't have any words! Then people said it was 'lie' but I didn't really mean that. That it was a lie. But, it's not a failure of songwriting, because people like that and they put enough meaning into it, and the rest of the song has enough power and emotion, I guess, to make it go, so it's all right. But for me, every time I sing that part... [softly], I'm a little embarrassed." – Paul Simon [2]

The song was translated into Greek by Billy Kazoulis as "Ο Πυγμάχος" ("O Pygmaxos / The Boxer").

1. ^ Baker, G.A. Sleeve of Simon and Garfunkel: 20 Greatest Hits