The boxer
| The boxer | |
|---|---|
| Simon & Garfunkel | |
| publication | April 1969 |
| length | 5:10 |
| Genre (s) | Folk rock |
| Author (s) | Paul Simon |
| Publisher (s) | Columbia Records |
| Award (s) | RS500 |
| album | Bridge over Troubled Water |
The folk-rock - ballad The Boxer ( English for, The Boxer ') of the American duo Simon & Garfunkel was in 1968 by Paul Simon wrote. Released as a single in 1969 , it reached number 7 in the US and number 19 in the German charts. The following year she appeared on Bridge over Troubled Water , the two musicians' last studio album together.
The song about a loser in the big city is known for its catchy chorus , in which the melody is sung with the syllables “ lie-la-lie ” [ laɪ̯ lɑ laɪ̯ ], accompanied by echoing drum beats, and for guitar fingerpicking by Fred Carter, Jr. and Paul Simon. The music magazine Rolling Stone ranks the work at number 105 on its list of the 500 best songs of all time .
text
In terms of content, The Boxer is the lament of a lonely, unsuccessful person. From the point of view of the first-person narrator , his futile efforts to fight his loneliness and poverty in New York City are described. In the last verse , the narrative perspective changes to the description of a boxer who continues to fight despite being knocked down and injured. Although he shouts angry and ashamed “ I am leaving, I am leaving ” (German: “I go away, I go away.”) But, the text continues, the fighter remains: “ But the fighter still remains. “After these words, only the textless refrain is repeated.
In James Bennighof's interpretation of the text , the boxer was sacrificed by unscrupulous promoters and is now exposed for better or for worse to the dangerous streets of the city. In these circumstances, various traits make him interesting. He takes certain responsibility for his deceptions, he allows fear and loneliness, wants to get an honorable wage through work and refuses to be defeated by betting odds.
Simon got the inspiration for the text while reading the Bible . In a 1984 interview with Playboy , he said:
“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 I was reading the Bible at the time. I think there are passages like 'workman's wages' and 'seeking out the poorer quarters' [for example, 'seeking out the poorer quarters']. That was biblical. "
Simon went on straight away that the song described his own emotional state: From all sides he received blows, “ and I'm telling you now I'm going to go away if you don't stop. ”(German:“ And I tell you now, I'll go if you don't stop. ”) At this time, they were confronted with criticism for the first time after they had only been highly praised for the first few years.
It was not originally planned that the chorus would remain without lyrics . In an interview with SongTalk magazine in 1990, Simon stated that the multiple syllable sequence “ lie-la-lie ” should initially only serve as a placeholder:
“I thought that 'lie la lie' was a failure of songwriting. 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, I'm a little embarrassed. "
“I thought 'lie la lie' was a songwriting failure . I couldn't think of any words! People said it was a 'lie' [ English , Lie ' ], but I had not actually meant. That it was a lie. Even so, it's not a failure in songwriting because people like that and they read enough meaning into it. The rest of the song has enough power and feel to make it work I think. So it's fine. But every time I sing this part, I'm a little embarrassed. "
This meaningless text filler is underlaid with reverberant, loud drum beats.
The "missing" stanza
The Boxer was originally written with an additional stanza, which does not appear in the Bridge over Troubled Water version. The missing verse was played by Simon & Garfunkel on the tour that started in November 1969; she can also be heard on the live album Live 1969 . Paul Simon also played this verse in his solo appearances after the duo split up in 1970. Another time the two used this verse was on the second edition of the newly launched comedy show Saturday Night Live on October 18, 1975 when Paul Simon hosted this issue, singing The Boxer , Scarborough Fair and My Little Town with Art Garfunkel . After that, this verse was also heard at the temporary reunion of the two at the Concert in Central Park on September 19, 1981, as well as in a later episode of the Late Show with David Letterman .
admission
The basic recordings of the music track were made in Nashville on November 16, 1968. Simon & Garfunkel were accompanied by members of the professional The Wrecking Crew . You can hear: Paul Simon and studio musician Fred Carter Jr. (guitars) with his fingerpicking , Peter Drake (pedal steel guitar and Dobro), Larry Knechtel (keyboard), Charlie McCoy (harmonica), Joe Osborn (bass guitar), Hal Blaine ( Drums) as well as Ernie Freeman and Jimmy Haskell (violins). Hal Blaine's drums were placed opposite an elevator to amplify the reverberation effects , and the sound of the snare drum was amplified by a loudspeaker in the elevator shaft. Buddy Harman , a popular drummer for the Nashville A-Team , played percussion . The distinctive intro is characterized by cascading acoustic guitars. Unusual instruments such as a round steel guitar , bass harmonica, dobro and piccolo trumpet (in the instrumental part) were also used.
Violin parts and vocals were then added at Columbia Studios, New York; the singing in the final section was written in December 1968 in St. Paul's Chapel (Manhattan) . In total, over a hundred hours of recording were required. The Boxer was as part of the LP Bridge over Troubled Water thought the mix until November 1969 at Studio B of Columbia Records took place.
One of the stanzas was deleted for the recordings for the album. It describes how the years go by without the situation of the first-person narrator changing. However, Simon & Garfunkel have sung this verse at various appearances. For example, it is included on the live album Live 1969 , as well as in the recording of the concert in Central Park that the duo gave on September 19, 1981.
reception
Charts
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The song first appeared as a 7 "single with B-side Baby Driver (Columbia 4-44785). It was the first single from the 1970s studio album Bridge over Troubled Water and at the same time the only release by Simon & Garfunkel in 1969. On April 12 of that year, it entered the US Singles Chart of the Billboard Hot 100 , where it was a total of stayed ten weeks and has meanwhile reached number 7. This left her behind the success of the previous single, the number one hit Mrs. Robinson .
The single was received differently on the European music markets. She stayed in the German single charts for two and a half months and did not get past position 19. In Great Britain and Austria it was placed in the top ten , in the Swiss hit parade - then limited to ten places - it did not appear.
A new release from 1992 as a single with Cecilia as B-side remained without chart success.
Awards
The music magazine Rolling Stone chose the song in 2004 at number 105 on its list of the 500 best songs of all time . It rates it as the second best Simon & Garfunkel song after Bridge over Troubled Water .
Cover versions
The song was often been covered, among others, Bob Dylan , released in June 1970 to Dylan's album Self Portrait of Paul Butterfield , appeared on the album Live the Butterfield Blues Band from the same year, and Emmylou Harris , appeared on the 1980 album Roses in the snow . In 2012 a cover version of the song by Jerry Douglas was released with Mumford & Sons . There is also a German version of The Boxer by Hoffmann & Hoffmann .
Web links
- Lyrics on the website of Simon & Garfunkel
- The Boxer on MusicBrainz
- The Boxer by Simon & Garfunkel. In: songfacts.com. (English).
Individual evidence
- ↑ James Benninghof: The Words and Music of Paul Simon . 2007, p. 47 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- ^ A b Tony Schwartz: Interview with Paul Simon . In: Playboy . 1984 ( willyrauch.de [accessed December 12, 2011]). willyrauch.de ( Memento of the original dated December 23, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ The Boxer by Simon & Garfunkel. In: songfacts.com. Retrieved December 10, 2011 .
- ↑ James Benninghof: The Words and Music of Paul Simon . 2007, p. 46 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- ↑ Simon & Garfunkel - SNL, October 18, 1975 Appearance ( memento of the original from February 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on vimeo.com, accessed February 24, 2015.
- ↑ The episode in the IMDb, accessed on February 24, 2015 (English).
- ^ David Simons: Studio Stories. 2004, p. 130.
- ^ Peter Wicke: Rock Music: Culture, Aesthetics and Sociology. 1990, p. 6.
- ^ David Simons: Studio Stories. 2004, p. 134.
- ↑ Charts DE Charts AT Charts UK Charts US
- ↑ Simon & Garfunkel. In: rollingstone.com. Rolling Stone , accessed December 12, 2011 .
- ↑ Simon & Garfunkel on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts. In: Billboard Magazine . Accessed November 21, 2016 .
- ↑ a b single - Simon & Garfunkel. In: OfficialCharts.de. Media Control , accessed November 21, 2016 .
- ↑ Simon & Garfunkel in the Official UK Charts (English)
- ↑ Simon & Garfunkel - The Boxer (song). In: austriancharts.at. Retrieved December 12, 2011 .
- ↑ Simon & Garfunkel - The Boxer. In: hitparade.ch. Retrieved December 12, 2011 .
- ↑ The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. (No longer available online.) In: rollingstone.com. Rolling Stone , December 9, 2004, archived from the original on June 20, 2008 ; accessed on December 12, 2011 (English).
- ↑ The Boxer on Whosampled.com
- ^ William Ruhlmann: The Boxer at Allmusic (English). Retrieved December 26, 2011.
