PTSD Patrol "But the fighter still remains"

PTSD Patrol

Kathie Costos

September 20, 2020

(Still sick so no video from me today....but you probably need a break from seeing me.)

Simon and Garfunkel THE BOXER is an iconic song of survival! "In the clearing stands a boxer, And a fighter by his trade, And he carries the reminders, Of every glove that laid him down, Or cut him 'til he cried out, In his anger and his shame, 'I am leaving, I am leaving,' But the fighter still remains"

If you have PTSD, then you are a fighter too, not by "trade" or by choice, but by will to live. To not give into something because fighting it is hard. You fight a good match but sometimes you need a tag team to take this opponent on. The thing is, no one ever won anything by themselves. No wars were ever fought by one person. No discoveries were ever made by one person with no one to help them or support them. Inspirations never came from thin air. 

Having a team to help you does not mean they have to have all the answers or even know how to find them. It means they do the best they can to help you learn what you need to, find what you are searching for, and stand by you until the fighter that still remains is strong enough to take on this match too!

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD

The Boxer

I am just a poor boy

Though my story's seldom told

I have squandered my resistance

For a pocket full 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

Lie la lie, lie la la la lie la lie, lie la lie

Lie la la la lie la lie, la la la la 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 Seventh Avenue

I do declare

There were times when I was so lonesome

I took some comfort there

La la la la la la la

Lie la lie, lie la la la lie la lie, lie la lie

Lie la la la lie la lie, la la la la 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

Leading me

Going home

In the clearing stands a boxer

And a fighter by his trade

And he carries the reminders

Of every glove that laid him down

Or cut him 'til he cried out

In his anger and his shame

"I am leaving, I am leaving"

But the fighter still remains

Lie la lie, lie la la la lie la lie, lie la lie....... 

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Paul Simon

The Boxer lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group 

James Taylor and Alison Krauss pay tribute to Paul Simon at the 2002 Kennedy Centre Honours tribute to Paul Simon.