Waylon Jennings - The Boxer Lyrics






I am just a poor boy though my story's seldom told
I have squandered my resistance
For a pocketful of mumbles such are promises
All lies and jests still a man hears
What he wants to hear and disregards the rest.
When I left my home and my family
I was no more than a boy in the company of strangers
In the quiet of the railway station running scared
Laying low seeking out the poorer quarters
Where the ragged people go
Looking for the places only they would know.

Asking only workman's wages
I come looking for a job but I get no offers
Just a come on from the whores on Seventh Avenue
I do declare there were some times when I was so lonesome
And I took some comfort there.

In the clearing stands a boxer and a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders of every glove that laid him down
And cut him till he cried out in his anger and his shame
I am leaving, I am leaving but the fighter still remains...





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Waylon Jennings The Boxer Comments
  1. f.... ....

    Excellent cover. Because is great Waylon voice

  2. T.... B....

    Waylon always has so much feeling in his voice. Splendid version of this Simon classic.

  3. M.... H....

    I GET A DISCOUNT FROM MY OLD HOES NOW 10 YEARS NOW

  4. J.... H....

    Great job Waylon as the everything you do

  5. j.... ....

    Waylon what else needs to be said.

  6. B.... G....

    He add magic to that song..

  7. k.... l....

    Dear Waylon wow, I would hear it again and again, thaNKS

  8. T.... H....

    8 dislikes..... gtfo

  9. V.... L....

    Cool shades.

  10. M.... W....

    Happy Birthday Waylon!!! You would have turned 80 today 6/15/2017. You were & still are the best. Your music lives on. You are missed & never will be forgotten. Love you Hoss! Whoop whoop!

  11. 1.... ....

    Thank you for uploading this. I had not heard Waylon's version of this song before and of course I love it!

  12. B.... C....

    This is a brilliant cover

  13. t.... ....

    This sounds like a cover from a band playing in a local dive bar. I'm underwhelmed and I do not understand why so many people are so high on this version.

    t.... ....

    Any-and-everything covered by bands playing local dive bars is big bodacious badass and classifies as high-minded interpretive art.

    t.... ....

    You don't know what you're talking about.

    t.... ....

    more like tactless

    t.... ....

    tackless its Waylon. if u know your outlaw country you would understand about Waylon. lol these so called Country music listeners i mean pop rap country listeners don't know true country. lol.

    t.... ....

    Because it's NOT polished. Even Simon and Garfunkel's was more polished than this. And when women sing it something is lost. And he lived the words, metaphorically, if not actually. And I'm not a died-in-the-wool WJ fan. I pick and choose.

  14. V.... C....

    I bet Paul Simon was blown away when he got wind that Waylon recorded his classic tune.

    V.... C....

    I can find nothing in various to match what you say Paula and the quotes on the Wikipedia page about the song (yes, I know, not the undisputed gospel of truth or accuracy) build a pretty good case for it being Simon's song. It does mention that Dylan covered the song and changed a word.

    And I think many, though not all, songwriters or poets hit their stride or peak in their 20s. Wasn't Pete Townshend just 24 when they made Tommy?

    V.... C....

    Holy cow, you're right. For years certain lines in that song just felt much too Dylan to me, plus he covered it, which didn't help my being uppity about authorship. In re-listening, I no longer get that Dylanesque feel I once did. Now I sense more "native New Yorker" in it, whereas Dylan was from Minnesota, I believe. And my rude comment about having written so well so long ago?" comes from my memory of the  of the song "Red Rubber Ball"  covered by the punk band The Diodes, as a "neener neener" since Paul so disliked punk rock. As for Townsend, yeah, he probably was about 24 when they recorded "Tommy" And all of this makes me feel SO OLD! LOL! And thanks for bringing me up to speed.

    V.... C....

    +Paula Morgan Pretty sure Bob Dylan didn't write the boxer.

    V.... C....

    Uh, right. That's what I said in my correction, which just so happens to be the link immediately above yours.

    V.... C....

    red rubber ball was  done by a band from England called the crycle, cant remember the spelling

  15. M.... W....

    Right back at ya bro...Neal P...

    M.... W....

    Love it(boxing)...where I grew up you either gave it or you got it...

    M.... W....

    Not always...got me nose broke a couple of times...but always gave as good as I got and more...

  16. j.... f....

    one of his best!!!  rip!!!

  17. C.... ....

    Glad I found this, its excellent!

  18. A.... G....

    1 OF the great Lord gifts!!!

  19. A.... G....

    WOW!!!!!!

  20. r.... ....

    One of the greatest voices ever to grace this planet.

  21. A.... W....

    Waylon sings/sang from his heart.  Been a long time fan...miss him much.

  22. J.... O....

    Covers aren't always like one is better than the other... A good cover reinterprets a song and casts it in a new light, gives it a new meaning. The two complement each other. That's how I feel about this version of The Boxer and S&G's original. I couldn't pick a favorite version.

  23. y.... s....

    great version waylon

  24. p.... w....

    waylon is definetly thE BEST

    p.... w....

    Absolutely the best .... R.I.P waylon ...you are sorely missed ...never be another as good as you ....

  25. E.... ....

    Karen this song is like his life and it's what ever u like I love waylon and S&G but they aren't outlaws like waylon

  26. D.... T....

    Karen you are wrong

  27. K.... S....

    if you or any one else thinks this cover is better then S&G version your crazy and need to have your ears tested. I am not saying that Waylon did a bad job, but nothing I have heard to date can compare to S&G HARMONEYS. no one else can. but if you or anyone ahs heard better let me know

    K.... S....

    Like the original most but this one is even better in some ways. It doesn't have to hide behind pretentious harmonies and flows better somehow.

    K.... S....

    Lol knowone could touch Waylon..He had the first platnuim and triple platnuim to prove it..

  28. b.... ....

    thinking about it...it was sep 2011 - hugs, Bridget

  29. b.... ....

    dear outlaw,
    our friend teddie died of a heartattack last year or was it already sep 2011? am not really sure - time is flying by. Sure do miss him... take care, hugs, bridget

  30. J.... M....

    Most people find it flattering when someone big covers a big hit of theirs...

  31. m.... ....

    Fabulous version! RIP Waylon...

  32. b.... ....

    yes, my dear friend - just like you were. miss him and sure do miss you. wished you were still with us..........................

  33. s.... ....

    Garfunkel Shat himself when he heard this..

  34. f.... ....

    Most CONVINCING version of this song I've EVER heard...

  35. t.... s....

    @Katietoo you talking shit, crap.how can that version better than the original S&G?

  36. L.... ....

    Waylons voice is so thick and heavy, it makes a good version of this song.

  37. S.... J....

    @teddie488 Right for the Time is my favourite Waylon album, covering virtually every aspect of his much missed personality and talent. My favorite song on it is the confessional love song, The Most Sensible Thing, though every song is superb and the album as a whole has a coherence which makes it a truly edifying experience to listen to in its entirety. Unfortunately, it has been neglected by the professional arbiters of country music; it is not even available on iTunes in the UK, where I live.

  38. B.... ....

    I hear you playing, Jesse! This is a great cover - he sang it with feeling.

  39. K.... ....

    Thanks for introducing me to this version, what an improvement on S & G, love the song but always felt it didn't somehow blend with their image when they recorded it in 1969. They might have had that trouble themselves, apparently it took them 100 hours to record! Bet Waylon didn't need that long! XX

  40. K.... ....

    I love this recording,I remember that this came out somewhwere around 1996 and was on an album called "Right for the Time" I think.I remember being suprised at the lack of promotion for this album. I always followed Waylon and loked forward to each new release.This was a GREAT album, but I remember that I had never even heard it was coming out.I just remember finding it on the shelf one day.My FAVORITE track from this album was a tune called "Deep In the West".I think he even did a video for it.

  41. t.... ....

    I love the spin he puts on this one...some great guitar work goin' on too!