when i was a boy, there was a lot of fighting in the streets with chains ans zip guns. i was saved from all that by joining the boxing club. we learned how to defend ourselves without hurting our assailants. and when we competed, the objective was not to beat each others brains out, but to win on points. it is different now. it's a bloodsport, all about the knockout. we dont see boxers in the ring. we see savages and it is a shame that the sweet science has come to this. i wrote this song for the artists, the dancers who understood that the man in front of you is yourself in another body. if more people understood this, there would be no more war.
THE MAN IN FRONT OF YOU
Verse 1ar
everything i know
i learned in the ring
how to block a punch
when to take a swing
i always won or lost on points
i never knocked anyone cold
because boxing is the sweetest science
it's all about self-control
Chorus
boxing is all about the man
who is standing iin front of you
to know he is exactly
the same kind of man as you
Verse 2
some people are cursed with a calling
others will call with a curse
there are brutes in it just for the knockout
and some only fight for the purse
the athiest in the foxhole says
"we are all in the foxhole now"
and the only one here who has any faith left
is the cat who is pushing the cow
Bridge
we are not born in sin
the best man always wins
the cat says she has moved it
and she doesnt have to prove it
Chorus
boxing is all about the man
who is standing iin front of you
and know he is exactly
the same kind of man as you
@chipwithrow Mar 2022
Brilliant, compelling words and performance. You have the voice of someone who has lived those words deeply.
I am a boxing fan, and a fan of well-played sport, for the reasons you describe.
@williamjames Mar 2022
You nail this smokey backalley bar type of ambience and performance. I love ho you phrase the words and combine spoken word with vocal lines. Very important message too! The idealisation of a knockout is vey brutal and damaging thing for the whole sport!
@ttg105 Feb 2022
I like the late-night feel of the piano and vocal ... I can picture a man in a nightclub with a cigarette in hand. Some great lines, particularly the cat pushing the cow, and some nicely bizarre effects!
@rayboneor Feb 2022
I love the way you sing "the man in front of you." You could be a smokey jazz singer. I don't know how you create these things. It's mesmerizing, for real. I found myself resurfacing in the world, a little discombobulated. The ending is great, where the singing meets the voiceover
@tjeff Feb 2022
The verses sound like quotes from a documentary of an aging boxer, reminded me of Ken Burns "Ali" - I also got a William S Burroughs vibe like the guy below! Cool listen!!
@cindyrella Feb 2022
Ain't it the truth? We think we are separate. I love to lean about things I have no idea about and this works wonderfully!
@rockstarsmd Feb 2022
Chet Baker meets Bill Burrows... love it!