The Boxer - Simon & Garfunkel

The Boxer - Simon & Garfunkel

Author: BBC Radio 4 December 11, 2019 Duration: 27:53

'The Boxer' is Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel's 1969 masterpiece.

People who have a deep personal connection with the song and its lyrics, discuss what it means to them.

Seamus McDonagh is a former boxer. He recalls his tumultuous time during and after his famous fight with Evander Holyfield in 1990. He also explains why he identifies closely with the song's lyrics.

Julie Nimoy is the daughter of Leonard Nimoy and co-producer of a film about the much-loved actor’s life story - 'Remembering Leonard Nimoy'. Best remembered as Star Trek’s Mr Spock, Leonard’s favourite song was ‘The Boxer’. Julie describes exactly what it meant to him both throughout his life, and in its closing moments.

Gary Edward Jones is a singer-songwriter who for years rejected comparisons made of him to Paul Simon. Eventually, he embraced the likeness and his life changed after developing a show called 'Something About Simon - The Paul Simon Story'.

Dave Mason is an amateur guitarist who has found deep meaning in The Boxer; meaning that has changed and grown as he has.

Series about pieces of music with a powerful emotional impact.

Producer: Karen Gregor

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2019.


There’s a certain piece of music that, when you hear it, seems to stop time. It might be a melody from your childhood, a song that played at a pivotal moment, or a composition that simply reaches into your chest and grips your heart. Soul Music, from BBC Radio 4, is built around that very phenomenon. This isn’t a program about genres or charts; it’s an intimate exploration of why specific pieces of music carry such profound emotional weight. Each episode focuses on a single, iconic work-from classical adagios to folk ballads, from film scores to pop anthems. The podcast weaves together the voices of people whose lives have been indelibly marked by that music: listeners share personal, often moving stories of grief, joy, love, and remembrance, while composers and performers might shed light on the piece’s creation. You’ll hear the music itself, of course, but framed in a way that reveals its deeper resonance in human experience. It’s a quiet, thoughtful series that reminds us how soundtracks our inner lives. Tuning into this podcast feels like being part of a conversation about the invisible threads that connect us all through notes and rhythms, exploring how a sequence of sounds can become a vessel for collective memory and feeling.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Soul Music
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