Since there aren't any lyrics included with the album, or any Boxer lyrics posted on the band's website (I want to thank the band for recently linking this post on their band site) these uncredited transcriptions will have to do. If you have any corrections or opinions on these lyrics, please leave a comment.
If you haven't got the album yet, go here... or your nearest record store of choice and buy the disc. Boxer was released on May 22nd and has garnered acclaim from many in-the-know.
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The National: Boxer: Lyrics
FAKE EMPIRE
Stay out super late tonight picking apples, making pies
put a little something in our lemonade and take it with us
we’re half-awake in a fake empire
we’re half-awake in a fake empire
Tiptoe through our shiny city with our diamond slippers on
Do our gay ballet on ice
bluebirds on our shoulders
we’re half-awake in a fake empire
we’re half-awake in a fake empire
Turn the light out say goodnight
no thinking for a little while
lets not try to figure out everything at once
It’s hard to keep track of you falling through the sky
we’re half-awake in a fake empire
we’re half-awake in a fake empire
MISTAKEN FOR STRANGERS
You have to do it running but you do everything that they ask you to
cause you don’t mind seeing yourself in a picture
as long as you look faraway, as long as you look removed
showered and blue-blazered, fill yourself with quarters
showered and blue-blazered, fill yourself with quarters
You get mistaken for strangers by your own friends
when you pass them at night under the silvery, silvery citibank lights
arm in arm in arm and eyes and eyes glazing under
oh you wouldn’t want an angel watching over
surprise, surprise they wouldn’t wannna watch
another uninnocent, elegant fall into the unmagnificent lives of adults
Make up something to believe in your heart of hearts
so you have something to wear on your sleeve of sleeves
so you swear you just saw a feathery woman
carry a blindfolded man through the trees
showered and blue-blazered, fill yourself with quarters
showered and blue-blazered, fill yourself with quarters
You get mistaken for strangers by your own friends
when you pass them at night under the silvery, silvery citibank lights
arm in arm in arm and eyes and eyes glazing under
oh you wouldn’t want an angel watching over
surprise, surprise they wouldn’t wannna watch
another uninnocent, elegant fall into the unmagnificent lives of adults
You get mistaken for strangers by your own friends
when you pass them at night under the silvery, silvery citibank lights
arm in arm in arm and eyes and eyes glazing under
oh you wouldn’t want an angel watching over
surprise, surprise they wouldn’t wannna watch
another uninnocent, elegant fall into the unmagnificent lives of adults
BRAINY
I’ve been draggin around from the end of you coat for two weeks, ah ah.
Everywhere you go is swirlin, everything you say has water under it, ah ah.
You know I keep your fingerprints in a pink folder in the middle of my table
you’re the tall kingdom I surround
think I better follow you around
You might need me more than you think you will
come home in the car you love, brainy brainy brainy
I’ve been draggin around from the end of you coat for two weeks, ah ah.
You keep changing you’re fancy fancy mind every time I decide to let go
I was up all night again, boning up and reading the American dictionary
you’ll never believe me what I found
think I better follow you around
You might need me more than you think you will
come home in the car you love, brainy brainy brainy
You might need me more than you think you will
come home in the car you love, brainy brainy brainy
SQUALOR VICTORIA
Underline everything, I’m a professional in my beloved white shirt
Underline everything, I’m a professional in my beloved white shirt
I'm going down among the saints
Raise our heavenly glasses to the heavens! Squalor Victoria! Squalor Victoria!
Raise our heavenly glasses to the heavens! Squalor Victoria! Squalor Victoria!
Out of my league, I have birds in my sleeves and I wanna rush in with the fools
Out of my league, I have birds in my sleeves and I wanna rush in with the fools
Raise our heavenly glasses to the heavens! Squalor Victoria! Squalor Victoria!
Raise our heavenly glasses to the heavens! Squalor Victoria! Squalor Victoria!
3:30 in the last night for you to save this
You’re zoning out, zoning out, zoning out, zoning out
3:30 in the last night for you to save this
You’re zoning out, zoning out, zoning out, zoning out
This isn’t working, you, my middlebrow fuck-up
GREEN GLOVES
Falling out of touch with all my
friends are somewhere getting wasted,
hope they’re staying glued together,
I have arms for them.
Take another sip of them,
it floats around and takes me over
like a little drop of ink in a glass of water
Get inside their clothes
with my green gloves
watch their videos, in their chairs.
Get inside their beds
with my green gloves
Get inside their heads, love their loves.
Cinderella through the room
I glide and swan cause I’m the best slow dancer
in the universe
Falling out of touch with all my
friends are somewhere getting wasted,
hope they’re staying glued together,
I have arms for them.
Get inside their clothes
with my green gloves
watch their videos, in their chairs.
Get inside their beds
with my green gloves
Get inside their heads, love their loves.
Now I hardly know them
and I’ll take my time
I’ll carry them over, and I’ll make them mine.
Get inside their clothes
with my green gloves
watch their videos, in their chairs.
Get inside their beds
with my green gloves
Get inside their heads, love their loves.
SLOW SHOW
Standing at the punch table swallowing punch
can’t pay attention to the sound of anyone
a little more stupid, a little more scared
every minute more unprepared
I made a mistake in my life today
everything I love gets lost in drawers
I want to start over, I want to be winning
way out of sync from the beginning
I wanna hurry home to you
put on a slow, dumb show for you
and crack you up
so you can put a blue ribbon on my brain
god I’m very, very frightening
I’ll overdo it
Looking for somewhere to stand and stay
I leaned on the wall and the wall leaned away
Can I get a minute of not being nervous
and not thinking of my dick
My leg is sparkles, my leg is pins
I better get my shit together, better gather my shit in
You could drive a car through my head in five minutes
from one side of it to the other
I wanna hurry home to you
put on a slow, dumb show for you
and crack you up
so you can put a blue ribbon on my brain
god I’m very, very frightening
I’ll overdo it
You know I dreamed about you
for twenty-nine years before I saw you
You know I dreamed about you
I missed you for
for twenty-nine years
You know I dreamed about you
for twenty-nine years before I saw you
You know I dreamed about you
I missed you for
for twenty-nine years
APARTMENT STORY
Be still for a second while I try and try to pin your flowers on la la la la
Can you carry my drink I have everything else
I can tie my tie all by myself
I’m getting tied, I’m forgetting why
Oh we’re so disarming darling, everything we did believe
is diving diving diving diving off the balcony
Tired and wired we ruin too easy
sleep in our clothes and wait for winter to leave
Hold ourselves together with our arms around the stereo for hours, la la la la
While it sings to itself or whatever it does
when it sings to itself of its long lost loves
I’m getting tied, I’m forgetting why
Tired and wired we ruin too easy
sleep in our clothes and wait for winter to leave
but I’ll be with you behind the couch when they come
on a different day just like this one
We’ll stay inside til somebody finds us
do whatever the TV tells us
stay inside our rosy-minded fuzz for days
We’ll stay inside til somebody finds us
do whatever the TV tells us
stay inside our rosy-minded fuzz
so worry not
all things are well
we’ll be alright
we have our looks and perfume
stay inside til somebody finds us
do whatever the TV tells us
stay inside our rosy-minded fuzz
so worry not
all things are well
we’ll be alright
we have our looks and perfume on
START A WAR
We expected something, something better than before. We expected something more
Do you really think you can just put it in a safe behind a painting, lock it up and leave
Do you really think you can just put it in a safe behind a painting, lock it up and leave
Walk away now and you’re gonna start a war
Whatever went away I’ll get it over again. I’ll get money, I’ll get funny again
Whatever went away I’ll get it over again. I’ll get money, I’ll get funny again
Walk away now and you’re gonna start a war
We expected something, something better than before. We expected something more
You were always waiting but I never had to hold you by the edges like I do now
You were always waiting but I never had to hold you by the edges like I do now
Walk away now and you’re gonna start a war
Whatever went away I’ll get it over again. I’ll get money, I’ll get funny again
Whatever went away I’ll get it over again. I’ll get money, I’ll get funny again
Walk away now and you’re gonna start a war
Walk away now and you’re gonna start a war
GUEST ROOM
They’re gonna send us to prison for jerks
for having vague ideas of the way to turn each other on again
They’re gonna send us to prison for jerks
They’ll find us here here here in the guest room
where we throw money at each other and cry, oh my
We miss being ruffians, going wild and bright
in the corners of front yards
getting in and out of cars
we miss being deviants
They’ll find us here here here in the guest room
where we throw money at each other and cry, oh my
We can’t stay here
we’re starting to stay the same
We can’t stay here
we can’t stay this way
Just tie your woman to your wrist
give her room to tie the other
They’ll find us here here here in the guest room
where we throw money at each other and cry, oh my
RACING LIKE A PRO
You’re pink you’re young you’re middle-class
they say it doesn’t matter
Fifteen blue shirts and womanly hands
you’re shooting up the ladder
Your mind is racing like a pro, now
Oh my god it doesn’t mean a lot to you
One time you were a glowing young ruffian
Oh my god it was a million years ago
Sometimes you get up and bake a cake or something
sometimes you stay in bed
sometimes you go la di da di da di da da
til your eyes roll back into your head
Your mind is racing like a pro, now
Oh my god it doesn’t mean a lot to you
One time you were a glowing young ruffian
Oh my god it was a million years ago
You’re dumbstruck baby
You’re dumbstruck baby now you know
You’re dumbstruck baby
You’re dumbstruck baby now you know
Your mind is racing like a pro, now
Oh my god it doesn’t mean a lot to you
One time you were a glowing young ruffian
Oh my god it was a million years ago
You’re dumbstruck baby
You’re dumbstruck baby now you know
You’re dumbstruck baby
You’re dumbstruck baby now you know
You’re dumbstruck baby
ADA
Ada don’t talk about reasons why you don’t want to talk about reasons
why you don’t wanna talk
Now that you got everybody you consider sharp
all alone. all together, all together in the dark
Leave it all up in the air
Leave it all up in the air
Leave it all up in the air
Ada put the sounds of your house in a song
try to be speechless for a minute
If you think you gonna faint go out in the hallway
Let them all have your neck
Ada don’t stay in the lake too long
it lives alone and it barely knows you
It’ll have a nervous breakdown and fall
into a thousand pieces around you
Stand inside an empty tuxedo with grapes in my mouth
waiting for Ada
Ada hold onto yourself by the sleeves
I think everything counts a little more than we think
Leave it all up in the air
Leave it all up in the air
Leave it all up in the air
Ada Ada Ada Ada
Ada I can hear the sound of your laugh through the wall
Ada don’t talk about reasons why you don’t want to talk about reasons
why you don’t wanna talk
Now that you got everybody you consider sharp
all alone. all together, all together in the dark
Leave it all up in the air
Leave it all up in the air
Leave it all up in the air
Ada Ada Ada Ada
Ada I can hear the sound of your laugh through the wall
Ada Ada Ada Ada
Ada, I’ve been hoping you know your way around
GOSPEL
I got two armfuls of magazines for you
I’ll bring em over
so hang your holiday rainbow lights in the garden
hang your holiday rainbow lights in the garden and I’ll
I’ll bring a nice icy drink to you
Let me come over I can waist your time I’m bored
Invite me to the war every night of the summer
and we’ll play G.I. blood, G.I. blood
we’ll stand by the pool
we’ll through out our golden arms
Darlin can you tie my string
killers are callin on me
my angel face is fallin
feathers are fallin on my feet
Darlin can you tie my string
killers are callin on me
Stay near your, stay near your television
Set it up outside
and hang your holiday rainbow lights in the garden
hang your holiday rainbow lights in the garden and I’ll
I’ll bring a nice icy drink to you
Let me come over I can waist your time I’m bored
Invite me to the war every night of the summer
and we’ll play G.I. blood, G.I. blood
we’ll stand by the pool
we’ll through out our golden arms
Darlin can you tie my string
killers are callin on me
my angel face is fallin
feathers are fallin on my feet
my angel face is fallin
feathers are fallin on my feet
Darlin can you tie my string
killers are callin on me
Darlin can you tie my string
killers are callin on me
