The Boxer

C Am
I am just a poor boy though my story's seldom told
G F
I have squandered my resistance for a pocket full of mumbles
C
such are promises
Am G F
All lies and just, still a man hears what he wants to hear
C G F C
and disregards the rest, mmm
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C Am
When I left my home and my family I was no more than a boy
G F
In the company of strangers in the quiet of a railway station
C
running scared
Am C F C
laying low, seeking out the poorer quarters where the ragged people go
G F C
looking for the places only they would know
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Am G
refrain  lie la lie, lie la lie la, lie la lie
Am G F C
lie la lie, lie la lie la, lie la lie, lalala la lie
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C Am
Asking only workman's wages, I come looking for a job
G
but I get no offers
F C
just a come on from the whores, on seventh avenue
Am G F
I do declare there were times when I was so lonesome
C C G F C
I took some comfort there, lala lie la la +refrain
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C Am
Then I'm laying out my winter clothes and wishing I was home
G
going home
F C
where the New York city winters aren't bleeding me
Am G
leading me, going home
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C Am
In the clearing stand a boxer and a fighter by his trade
G F
and he carries the reminders of every glove that laid him down
C G Am
or cut him till he cried out in his anger and his shame
G F C G
I am leaving I am leaving but the fighter still remains, mmm +refrain