Really? The song is about perseverance in the face of adversity.
It starts out describing a young, poor boy leaving home to find a life. He’s not asking for anything but workman’s wages - he’s not dreaming of stardom or fame and fortune - just a good job where he can make a living.
It’s damned tough, and he gets screwed over, ignored, beaten down by the city. He’s thought about running home to his family, but doesn’t.
In the last verse the perspective changes from first person to omniscient, and the narrator describes the boy as seen from the outside - an analogy is drawn between the boy and a boxer, carrying the scars of battles past. But no matter how many battles he’s lost and how many scars he’s carrying, he’s still a fighter, and there’s always another fight. He won’t give up.
That’s pretty damned inspirational, if you ask me.
As for Lee’s performance… meh. You don’t change the song’s melody like that. Not that song, and not in that way. It showed poor taste on his part. I’m sure someone like David Cook could come up with a Leonard Cohen-ish take on the song that would work, but Lee’s wasn’t it.
I did like the emotion he put into it.
As for the others… Casey was just okay. I’m getting a bit tired of him just standing there grinning and singing. He’s got to put a little more emotion into what he’s playing. I had to fast-forward through everyone else because they were boring me to tears. Siobhan did nothing for me again,
Crystal was good, but it was a strange performance of that song. I don’t think she interpreted it all that well, but she made up for it with emotion and enthusiam, so she was the best of the night.
If Casey or Crystal go home tonight, this show is dead to me. I can barely even stand to listen to the rest of them.
