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B1.1·folk·5:09

The Boxer

Simon & Garfunkel · 1969

The Boxer by Simon & Garfunkel (1969) — selected for the English-through-music catalog. Use the sing-along prompts and exercises to drill pronunciation, vocabulary, and listening comprehension.

💡 Click the CC button on the player for synced captions.

⏱ Timestamps may not be synchronized — edit them via Personalize on the Songs menu.

Lyrics + translation · letras.mus.br

🎤 Sing along

Sing with the chorus

  • Lie-la-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie, lie-lie-lie-lie-lie
  • Asking only workman's wages, I come looking for a job
  • But I get no offers
  • Just a come-on from the whores on 7th Avenue

Sing it again — final chorus

  • Lie-la-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie, lie-lie-lie-lie-lie
  • Then I'm laying out my winter clothes
  • And wishing I was gone, going home
  • Where the New York City winters aren't bleeding me
homelayinglooking

Definitions: Cambridge Dictionary · Translation: MyMemory

Exercises

Exercise 1

Fill the blank in this line:

Though myseldom told

Exercise 2

Fill the blank in this line:

Still a manwhat he wants to hear

Exercise 3

Fill the blank in this line:

Laying low,out the poorer quarters

Exercise 4

Fill the blank in this line:

I took somethere, la-la-la-la-la-la-la

Exercise 5

Fill the blank in this line:

Leading me,home

Exercise 6

Fill the blank in this line:

Ofglove that laid him down

Exercise 7

Translate this line to Portuguese:

I am just a poor boy

Exercise 8

Translate this line to Portuguese:

When I left my home and my family

Exercise 9

Translate this line to Portuguese:

Looking for the places only they would know

Exercise 10

Translate this line to Portuguese:

I took some comfort there, la-la-la-la-la-la-la

Exercise 11

Translate this line to Portuguese:

And wishing I was gone, going home

Exercise 12

Choose the missing word:

I am just a ? boy

Exercise 13

Choose the missing word:

Still a man ? what he wants to hear

Exercise 14

Choose the missing word:

Laying low, ? out the poorer quarters

Exercise 15

Choose the missing word:

Then I'm ? out my winter clothes

Exercise 16

Choose the missing word:

And a ? by his trade

Exercise 17

Put the words in the right order:

Click the words below in the correct order…

Exercise 18

Put the words in the right order:

Click the words below in the correct order…

Exercise 19

Put the words in the right order:

Click the words below in the correct order…

Exercise 20

Put the words in the right order:

Click the words below in the correct order…

Exercise 21

Put the words in the right order:

Click the words below in the correct order…

Exercise 22

How many times do you hear the word "home" in the whole song?

"home"

Exercise 23

Put these three lines in the order they appear in the song:

  • I am just a poor boy
  • In the company of strangers
  • Leading me, going home

Exercise 24

And these three — put them in the order they appear in the song:

  • And he carries the reminders
  • But I get no offers
  • Though my story's seldom told

Exercise 25

"The Boxer" was released in 1969. Do you think the themes in the song are timeless, or do they feel dated? Give one example from the lyrics.

homelayinglookingthere

Exercise 26

Imagine you are making a short film with "The Boxer" as the soundtrack. What scene would you show while the chorus plays?

homelayinglookingthere

Exercise 27

The singer makes a claim or statement in this song. Do you agree with it? Use evidence from the lyrics to support your answer.

homelayinglookingthere

Exercise 28

Write the full form of each contraction:

  • i'm→
  • aren't→

Exercise 29

If you could ask Simon & Garfunkel one question about "The Boxer", what would it be and why?

homelayinglookingthere

Exercise 30

Describe the mood of "The Boxer" in three adjectives. What part of the song makes you feel that way?

homelayinglookingthere