I Built a Friend – English Lyrics

• By: Alec Benjamin
• Album: These Two Windows

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the evocative storytelling of Alec Benjamin's "I Built a Friend." This poignant pop narrative, with its clear and accessible lyrics, offers a compelling way to engage with English, exploring universal emotions like loneliness and the complexities of human connection through a unique, metaphorical story. Its emotional depth makes it a powerful song for language learners to connect with and understand.

[English]

I built a friend with three pieces of plastic and a pen

I made him on the table in the den

I gave him my old cell phone for a head, for a head

And we spent holidays at my house

And we left presents in a stocking

And we bought bolts and things and strings

And a new watch, that's what he got

And we had so much fun together

We knew we'd be friends forever

And we had so much fun together

We had so much fun

Then I left for college in September

And we wept cause we can't be together

So I kept pictures to remember my old friend, my old friend

Then I met this girl at graduation

And forget my oldest creation

And I guess I'll see him next vacation

Send my best, I send my best

And we had so much fun together

We knew we'd be friends forever

And we had so much fun together

We had so much fun

I came home to find him on the table

With a note, scribbled out in pencil

And he wrote, that he just wasn't stable all alone, all alone

Next to him, an empty glass of water

That he spilt, all over the body

That I built, it fizzled and it popped

And then it killed, and then it killed

And we had so much fun together

We thought we'd be friends forever

And we had so much fun together

We had so much fun

I built a friend

...

Key Grammar Structures

• I **built** a friend with three pieces of plastic and a pen

  ➔ Simple Past Tense

  ➔ The verb "built" is the past tense of "build", indicating an action completed in the past.

• I **gave** him my old cell phone for a head, for a head

  ➔ Simple Past Tense (Irregular Verb)

  ➔ The verb "gave" is the irregular past tense of "give."

• And we **spent** holidays at my house

  ➔ Simple Past Tense (Irregular Verb)

  ➔ The verb "spent" is the irregular past tense of "spend".

• And we **knew** we'd be friends forever

  ➔ Simple Past Tense (Irregular Verb) and Conditional Perfect (contraction)

  ➔ "Knew" is the past tense of "know", and "we'd" is a contraction of "we would", indicating a hypothetical situation in the past.

• Then I **left** for college in September

  ➔ Simple Past Tense (Irregular Verb)

  ➔ "Left" is the past tense of "leave".

• And I guess I'll see him next vacation

  ➔ Future Simple Tense (with 'will')

  ➔ Uses "will" to express future actions or predictions.

• I **came** home to find him on the table

  ➔ Simple Past Tense (Irregular Verb)

  ➔ "Came" is the past tense of "come".

• That I **built**, it fizzled and it popped

  ➔ Simple Past Tense (Irregular Verb)

  ➔ Repetition of the past form "built" for emphasis and to connect to the beginning of the song. Additionally "fizzled" and "popped" are verbs in the past tense