S&G's Boxer--the missing verse.

Now the years are rolling by me
They are rockin' evenly
I am older than I once was
And younger than I'll be and that's not unusual.
No it isn't strange
After changes upon changes
We are more or less the same
After changes we are more or less the same

What do you think of it? It's not in the studio version but is usually (always?) present live. (I remember the Old Friends concert has a theramin duplicating the instrumental part that replaces it in the studio version, but don't remember offhand if the verse is actually absent or not.)

I used to think it was pretty lame (of course you're older than you were and younger than you will be, and I don't need to be told that this is usual). But as I find myself get older, it makes more sense. I just have to ignore the fact that Simon was 20-something when he wrote it.

BTW, since the album was largely self-produced, was it their own decision to leave it out? It was also released before the album so I'm not sure the three-way producer credit is accurate or not for this song. Anyone know?

 

Garfunkel apparently wrote the theremin bridge part (it's actually a trumpet and steel guitar) but I think they dropped the verse to fit it into the confines of a single. I've seen Simon do versions with and without the missing verse; I happen to like it almost better than any other part of the song.

My favourite rendition is on Live Rhymin' where Paul sings the missing verse and then lets the panflute player from Urubamba play the instrumental bridge at the end:

 

Interesting. Given the verse's presence on the Live in Central Park performance (where I first heard it) and the instrumental part's absence, I had just assumed the instrumental part on the studio version replaced the verse while retaining the backing track.

 

Possibly. They may have been attempting to record a scratch/guide vocal when Garfunkel came up with the bridge melody and the verse was deemed superfluous for the recording only to be reinstated in concert thereafter.

 

I prefer the song without the missing verse.

 

Never thought that verse worked well with or lived up to the others.