Songfacts®:

• This is the opening track from The Boxer, the debut solo long player by Kele Okereke, who is the lead singer of UK indie rock band Bloc Party. While writing the album, Okereke decided not to overthink the lyrics and he only realized it had a governing theme after he'd finished the album. He told The Guardian: "All the songs are about something ending and something starting. They're all about saying that this way of behaving has to stop."
• Okereke went with a more dance/electro sound for The Boxer. In an interview with Billboard magazine, Okereke was asked if he intended this opening track to be an intentionally unapologetic introduction to his new electronic direction. He replied: "It wasn't really about the sound of the record, although for the people who know me from Bloc Party, I guess that track will be a departure. It was more about this idea of holding your head high, which I'm realizing is a recurring theme in the record, this idea of internal strength. Even the title, "The Boxer: It's about keeping on going when things are tough, keeping on with the fight."