The Boxer

by Simon and Garfunkel

I am just a poor boy and my story's seldom told
Ive squandered my resistance for a pocketful of mumbles, such are promises
All lies and jest, still the man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest, hmmmm

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, runnin scared
Laying low, seeking out the poorer quarters, where the ragged people go
Looking for the places only they would know

Li la li...

Asking only workmans wages, I come lookin for a job, but I get no offers
Just a comeon from the whores on 7th avenue
I do declare, there were times when I was so lonesome
I took some comfort there

Now the years are rolling by me, they are rockin even me
I am older than I once was, and younger than Ill be, thats not unusual
No it isnt strange, after changes upon changes, we are more or less the same
After changes we are more or less the same

Li la li...

And Im laying out my winter clothes, wishing I was gone, goin home
Where the new york city winters arent bleedin me, leadin me to go 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
Yes he still remains

Cantique de Jean Racine, Op. 11

By Gabriel Fauré

Verbe, égal au Très-Haut, notre unique espèrance,
Jour éternel de la terre et des cieux;
De la paisible nuit nous rompons le silence,
Divin Sauveur, jette sur nous les yeux!

Répands sur nous le feu de ta grâce puissante,
Que tout l'enfer fuie au son de ta voix;
Dissipe le sommeil d'une âme languissante,
Qui la conduit à l'oubli de tes lois!

O Christ, sois favorable à ce peuple fidèle
Pour te bénir maintenant rassemblé.
Reçois les chants qu'il offre à ta gloire immortelle,
Et de tes dons qu'il retourne comblé!

English Translation:

Word, equal to the Almighty, our only hope,
Eternal light of the earth and the Heavens;
We break the peaceful night's silence,
Divine Saviour, cast your eyes upon us!

Spread the fire of your mighty grace upon us
May the entire hell flee at the sound of your voice;
Disperse from any slothful soul the drowsiness
Inducing it to forget your laws!

Oh Christ, look with favour upon this faithful people
Which has now gathered to bless you.
Receive its singing, offered to your immortal glory,
And may it leave with the gifts you have bestowed upon it!

Where Shepherds Lately Knelt

by Jaroslav Vajda and Carl Schalk

1.
Where shepherds lately knelt and kept the angel's word,
I come in half-belief, a pilgrim strangely stirred;
But there is room and welcome there for me,
But there is room and welcome there for me.

2.
In that unlikely place I find him as they said:
Sweet newborn Babe, how frail! And in a manger bed,
A still small voice to cry one day for me,
A still small voice to cry one day for me.

3.
How should I not have known Isaiah would be there,
His prophecies fulfilled? With pounding heart I stare:
A child, a son, the Prince of Peace for me,
A child, a son, the Prince of Peace for me.

4.
Can I, will I forget how Love was born, and burned
It's way into my heart unasked, unforced, unearned,
To die, to live, and not alone for me,
To die, to live, and not alone for me.

Sound of Silence, Heman's Prayer for Darkness, and...Mama Mia!

Just to provide some context: the song "Sound of Silence" has been on my mind recently (primarily for its nice, lyrical melody and harmonies). The lyrics got my attention this week, after reading Psalm 88 from the Bible. Also, I saw Mama Mia and I really like it. I think it has one of the better (if not the best) storylines/plots of the broadway plays I've seen.

Sound of Silence (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VflKiZzb4h4)

by Simon & Garfunkel

Hello darkness, my old friend,
I've come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence.

In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone,
'neath the halo of a street lamp,
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of
A neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence.

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one deared
Disturb the sound of silence.

Fools said I, you do not know
Silence like a cancer grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you,
Take my arms that I might reach you.
But my words like silent raindrops fell,
And echoed
In the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon God they made.
And the sign flashed out its warning,
In the words that it was forming.
And the signs said, the words of the prophets
Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls.
And whisperd in the sounds of silence.

Psalm 88

A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According to mahalath leannoth. A maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.

 1
       O LORD, the God who saves me,
       day and night I cry out before you.

 2 May my prayer come before you;
       turn your ear to my cry.

 3 For my soul is full of trouble
       and my life draws near the grave.

 4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
       I am like a man without strength.

 5 I am set apart with the dead,
       like the slain who lie in the grave,
       whom you remember no more,
       who are cut off from your care.

 6 You have put me in the lowest pit,
       in the darkest depths.

 7 Your wrath lies heavily upon me;
       you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.
       Selah

 8 You have taken from me my closest friends
       and have made me repulsive to them.
       I am confined and cannot escape;

 9 my eyes are dim with grief.
       I call to you, O LORD, every day;
       I spread out my hands to you.

 10 Do you show your wonders to the dead?
       Do those who are dead rise up and praise you?
       Selah

 11 Is your love declared in the grave,
       your faithfulness in Destruction?

 12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
       or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?

 13 But I cry to you for help, O LORD;
       in the morning my prayer comes before you.

 14 Why, O LORD, do you reject me
       and hide your face from me?

 15 From my youth I have been afflicted and close to death;
       I have suffered your terrors and am in despair.

 16 Your wrath has swept over me;
       your terrors have destroyed me.

 17 All day long they surround me like a flood;
       they have completely engulfed me.

 18 You have taken my companions and loved ones from me;
       the darkness is my closest friend

In the name of Poetry...