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 penI 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 Vocabulary
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Key Grammar Structures
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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.
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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."
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And we **spent** holidays at my house
➔ Simple Past Tense (Irregular Verb)
➔ The verb "spent" is the irregular past tense of "spend".
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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.
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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.
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I **came** home to find him on the table
➔ Simple Past Tense (Irregular Verb)
➔ "Came" is the past tense of "come".
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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
