Boxers
Words by Morrissey - Music by Alain Whyte

Losing in front of your home crowd
you wish the ground
would open up and take you down
and will time never pass?
will time never pass for us?
your weary wife is walking away
your nephew is true
well, he thinks the world of you
and I have to close my eyes
losing in front of your hometown
the crowd call your name
they love you all the same
the sound, the smell, and the spray
you will take them all away
and they'll stay till the grave
your weary wife is walking away
your nephew is true
well, he thinks the world of you
and I have to close my eyes
losing in your hometown
hell is the bell
that will not ring again
you will return one day
oh, because of all the things
that you see
when your eyes close
your weary wife walking away
your nephew is true
he still thinks the world of you
and I have to dry my eyes, oh

Players
Boz Boorer (guitar)
Alain Whyte (guitar)
Jonny Bridgewood (bass)
Woodie Taylor (drums)

Officially Released Versions
"Boxers" single (August 1995) - Produced by Steve Lillywhite. Also included in the World Of Morrissey and My Early Burglary Years compilations.

Live History
This song was played extensively during the 1995 "Boxers" tour (quite naturally) but did not make another appearance until the Chicago show on the Oye Esteban tour in 2000 (February 12). It has since gone dormant again.

Video
The official video stars boxer Cornelius Carr and was released on the Oye Esteban DVD compilation. The only footage of Morrissey is near the end, when he walks up to shake the losing boxer's hand. A clip from this video was used for the cover of the World Of Morrissey CD.

Additionally, the song was included on the live "Introducing Morrissey" video.
There is also some poor footage of the song from the Boxers tour on YouTube.Com.

Comtesse Review (as if you care)
"Boxers" was the culmination (thankfully) of Morrissey's mid-90's lad obsession. During this time, he had become obsessed with boxing and attended as many matches as he could. Undoubtedly, his best friend of the time, ex-boxer/assistant Jake Walters, was the influence behind this strange transformation to brass knuckle-branding, beer-guzzling, bloodied and bruised "tough". I found the whole thing to be very annoying and I felt increasingly alienated by this new macho version of Morrissey. I can look back at it now and realize that Morrissey hadn't really changed all that much and for every "Boxers" there was a "Whatever Happens, I Love You" to balance things out, but at the time it was terrible. "Boxers" itself is one of the most minor singles Morrissey has ever concocted and it's obvious that the only reason it was even released as a single is because Morrissey was a time-tested commodity. If any new band came up with a song as uninspired as "Boxers" and suggested it be released as a single, they would be laughed out of the office. The music is minor league - both of the b-sides ("Have-A-Go Merchant" and "Whatever Happens, I Love You") are far superior - but it's really the lyrics that disappoint. When Morrissey is at his best, you get the feeling that he LIVES what he is singing about and that makes the lyrics ring true; however, with "Boxers" Morrissey does a very poor job of trying to convey the disappointment of the failed boxer. It sounds as genuine as if he had woken up that morning, grabbed the dictionary and randomly picked a word to write a song about. "Okay, let's see... the topic for today is.... boxing!" (This same detached feeling haunts other Morrissey songs like "This Is Not Your Country" and "Mexico".) Lyrically dull and unconvincing on top of musically uninspired makes for one of Morrissey's weakest songs of the 90's.