Ain’t my friend (lyrics/chords).
in Performance, Thoughts and Feelings
as baby, bridge, call, everything, feelings, fly, friendship, fuss, little bit, lyrics and chords, melodies, Oh-oh-oh, pain, redemption, song, time, truth, two cents, wanna, way
I’ve seen a lot of requests for the lyrics and chords of this song bouncing around the Internet. So, I figured I’d put them in one place to refer people to, when asked.
It’s funny, when I wrote this song over the summer, I never imagined so many people would hear it, let alone like it. It was just the way I was feeling at the time.
For me, putting my feelings into words and melodies is like a little bit of redemption NOW. A way of saying, This hurts so much, but maybe it’s worth it–cause look. Here’s a song, now, and that’s directly related to what I was feeling. Couldn’t have one without the other.
It doesn’t necessarily make it easier while you’re in it–but pain can produce good things. Worthwhile things. So what I’ve learned is not to run from your pain, but to sit there. Listen to it. And then use it to make things. Just my two cents.
Ain’t my friend:
Chorus: Baby, you ain’t my friend, and I ain’t your last call, nor can I let my heart wonder how you feel about me at all. Cause you got all your fans, people who are on call, but I ain’t one of them, nor can I let myself pretend…
Oh-oh-oh…baby, you ain’t my friend
Oh-oh-oh
See, I don’t really really wanna just be your friend; we’re either gonna play this game or let the game end. I mean, sure, I’ll be polite and wave as I walk by, but it hurts way too much to act like we’re still fly after everything that happened, that happened between us; you’re so good at pretending while I just make a fuss; now, I ain’t saying that it’s now or it’s never gonna be, I’m just saying that this friendship feels impossible to me. And maybe someday it’ll be just fine between us, but that day ain’t today, and maybe there’s some truth to the way they always say that, baby, you’re from mars, and maybe I’m from, I’m from, I’m from Venus.
Chorus
It’s not like you were wrong when you decided that I didn’t belong next to you, it’s just hard to stand here with you, when I’m not really with you, do you know what I mean? Don’t think I’m trying to be mean–no! I think you’re just great! Too great, in fact, that’s why I take a step back; it’s just a matter of survival as I walk through this new trial, don’t take it personally, cause I’m just trying to live free, to take a deep breath now and feel what I feel. As I keep walking, watch me walking, no I won’t stop. Though you ain’t here–stop with all the fear, I tell myself again and again just as long as you say that you are my friend, so…
Bridge: Hey hey hey, a baby (bay bay bay); you live your life now and I’ll be busy living mine; Hey hey hey, a baby (bay bay bay); I already got quite enough friends now, thank you, yeah, I’ll be fine, fine, fine….
Chorus.
Chords: chorus/rap: C,G,Amin,F,G (with an occasional extra F and G thrown in for good measure; I trust you to figure out when)
Bridge: Amin, C, Amin, F, G
(yes, the chords are simple…have I mentioned I haven’t playing the ukulele for that long…?)
And there you go.
Peace!
yellow.
in I Lift My Eyes Up, Loved Ones, there are pictures here, Thoughts and Feelings
as bellies, booth, car, color, dinner, dream, favorite color, friendship, hearts, Important, LOVED, many things, parking, parking lot, truth, while, yellow, yellow roses
Once, a friend and I went to dinner.
It had been a while.
Too long, truth be told.
We talked of many things and told each other not to settle for less than the things we dream of.
We drove away that night, bellies full and hearts fuller.
And then another month or so went by and that same friend told me he had something for me.
“Walk with me to my car,” he said.
I did, and once we got there, he handed me this.
“Do you remember that night we had dinner?” he asked.
I nodded as he continued.
“When we drove out of the parking lot, respectively, the lady at the booth was selling these.”
“I remember that!” I interjected.
“I bought this for you that night,” he continued, ”It’s yellow–”
“My favorite color…” I interrupted, smiling.
“And also the color of friendship,” he said, smiling, too, now.
“It’s perfect,” I said, “Thank you so much…”
And now whenever I look at that yellow rose, I remember that I am loved.
And liked, too.
And never, never alone.
And this is good.
Maybe even important.
To surround ourselves with the things that remind us of who we are.
Loved.
Important.
Worth knowing.
Worth eating dinner with.
And buying roses for.
Even yellow roses, for friendship.
Especially yellow roses, for friendship.
what we say backstage.
in Funny Stuff, I Lift My Eyes Up, Performance, Thoughts and Feelings
as call, cheater, God, kind, long time, none, none of that stuff, nothing but the truth, proverb, question, relationships, something, something is better than nothing, stage, tastes, time, truth, witness
I have this lovely friend. She and I talk about boys. The lovely and the lame–we talk about them all. Well, the ‘all’ that we’ve known at least. We sit on the set bed while it’s backstage and we discuss. We don’t sit on it while it’s onstage and discuss, cause we’d probably be fired [...]
I’d be the waves, you’d be the shore.
in words all strung together
as bones, cruel teacher, drop, Faith, God, gravity, kind, love, niagra, ocean, reason, shape, shore, time, truth, wake, waves
I am not quite sure what part of the ocean I would be, were I suddenly to wake up all water, the cage of my bones having finally broken free of itself. But just for now, I’m gonna say I’m the waves. And I’m gonna ask you–no, I’m gonna tell you–that I need you to [...]
not the best, but it doesn’t even matter, really.
in I Lift My Eyes Up, Performance, Thoughts and Feelings
as anything, beat, blue eyed girl, body, BOOM, boom boom boom, bum, change, class, corner, crazy things, dancer, dreams, drummers, girl, Guy, half, heart, hour and a half, kind, love, mea, person, poem, presence, Read, samba, Shakespeare, Shakespeare--maybe, shy, something, tra, truth, wonderful things, wonderland, world
I will say it: I am not the best dancer in the world. Truth is, I am not the best anything in the world. But that doesn’t really matter. Because who is? Not being The Best In The World is peripheral compared to this: What is it that you love? And I mean real love. [...]
oh, it’s monsoon season.
in Funny Stuff, I Lift My Eyes Up, Thoughts and Feelings
as Cause, chagrin, gleam, life, messes, MONSOON, monsoon season, pair, puddles, Pussycat, pussycat dolls, sky, slippage, song, tectonic plates, truth, ukelele, umbrella, way, wet socks, white dress, WORSE, yeah
I am not sure that you are aware of this, but it is apparently monsoon season in New York City. Also known as: JESSICA, DON’T FORGET YOUR UMBRELLA AGAIN! SEASON. Also known as: IS THERE ANYTHING WORSE THAN WET SOCKS? SEASON. And yes, there is something worse than wet socks. But just one thing, really: [...]
late late late late late night.
in Thoughts and Feelings
as blast, chorus line, conversations, course, friend john, home, kind, last word, late night, life, love actually, lovely thing, mid town, recent article, something, time, time jess, train, truth, way
Oh man oh man oh man. I did not intend to stay out until three-thirty tonight. We had an A Chorus Line reunion down in mid-town and I totally thought I’d go hang out for a bit and then hop on the train and make my way home. I forgot to take into consideration how [...]
sticks and stones.
in MP3, video
as afro, balance, braid, cavewoman, darndest, fauxhawk, fever, freedom, girl, Shane, soft hair, song, sticks and stones, today, truth, ukelele, white girl
This is my latest (imperfect) song. Have I mentioned that I really love my ukelele? Yes, I do. Anyway, here it is. And also? Last night I dreamt that I had a fever and then woke up with a fever. Shane says that’s because I knew it without really knowing it. I wonder what else [...]
after the storm.
in I Lift My Eyes Up, Thoughts and Feelings
as basis, conniption, distance, fear, home, kind, lot, lunch, mess, miracle, peace in my heart, person, practical reason, sake, storm, truth, walking dead, zombie, zombie apocalypse
“Do you guys still, like, talk?” That seems to be the predominant question when it comes to me and The Guy I Used To See A Lot. And honestly, we don’t talk on a regular basis. Though, I can say in truth that it’s not an angry distance. It’s more like a well-why-would-we-talk-really? kind of [...]
smh.
in Funny Stuff, Thoughts and Feelings
as axe, darkest, facebook, honest truth, kind, life, lips, lipstick, livin, real feelings, reply, request, story, tape, tiny bit, truth, way
I will tell you two ridiculous things about me. Lately, life has felt bleak. This is the honest truth. It does not mean that things will always be this way, and I am trying to recognize that it is simply a feeling, and though feelings are important, they must be put in their place. As [...]
