Finishing Up for Simon and Garfunkel; My Stint As a Writer for NPRs Ask Me Another
One of Simon & Garfunkel’s greatest songs is “The Boxer,” a folk ballad about a young man trying to make it in New York City. It includes this famous refrain:
Lie la lie
Lie la la la lie la lie
Lie la lie
Lie la la lie la lie la-la-la-la-lie
Lie la la la lie la lie
Lie la lie
Lie la la lie la lie la-la-la-la-lie lie (Repeats ad nauseum at song’s end)
Paul Simon (which one is he, anyway?) reportedly said that he meant to replace the refrain with real lyrics, but he never found the right words.
I’m up to the task and will WIN tickets to NPR’s Fantastic New All Star Radio Extravangza. aka:
They are having a contest to provide the missing song lyrics for “The Boxer.”
Here goes, sing along if you like or give me a hummer…
Ask me one
Ask me one and then another
Ask me one
Ophira and N-P-R can’t tell a lie…
Eye yi-yi lyric writing makes me want to die!
or curl into a tiny ball and start to cry…
Eye yi-yi! That’s no lie, just give it a try, eye yi-yi blah blah blah blah eye yi-yi ( make blahs and yis work ad naseaum– because IT’S HARD!!! and because I’m am frazzled!)
Very interesting, I didn’t know the story behind S&G’s “lie la lie” chorus for The Boxer. Your lyrics would certainly work!