113 Paul Simon has expressed in the past that The Boxer is somewhat of an autobiographical song. The young naive boy who is promised the world, that embarks on a tour to conquer the world full of hopes and dreams is struck down by degrading jobs, winter in the big city and lies over lies [«Lie la lie»] by his peers and mentors. The world is a tough one, and you have to be careful who you trust. The boxer serves as an analogy but also as a symbol for someone, who takes in punches and still keeps standing. 114 Written by Ervin Drake in his 40‘s but fittingly sung by Sinatra in his 50‘s, this song reflects on a lifetime of good years. Frank reminisces about the great years of his life and how he enjoyed them. The instrumentation and the melody are urgent and rather melancholic, which hints at the autumn of his years, that he sings about in the last verse. But even then, he doesn‘t sing about it regretfully. No, he compares himself to vintage wine. If there is a happy song with a melancholic melody, this one‘s it.
113 Simon & Garfunkel (27) The Boxer Singer/Songwriter, Folk Pop, Folk Rock
114 Frank Sinatra (*42) It Was A Very Good Year Traditional Pop, Standards
115 Smashing Pumpkins (28) 1979 Alternative Rock
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115 When you see the music video to 1979 the meaning of the lyrics gain a whole extra dimension in a sense that it really becomes an homage to teenaged youth. The lyrics are not clear to me, but little bits and pieces such as: «That we don‘t even care; As restless as we are» or «The street heats the urgency of now; As you can see there‘s no one around» convey some kind of adolescent logic. Somehow you get it. Perfect driving music as it really wears its youthful freedom on its sleeve.
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113
*not written by artist
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