All I Ever Wanted

I think back to my schooldays –

battles in the playground,

stick from the teachers,

muddy bike rides on the weekend:

all I ever wanted was a friend.

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Then the years of girls –

the games, the rules, the gossip,

“Who you goin’ out with?”

Everyone’s got something to defend:

all I ever wanted was a friend.

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Working life’s a desert –

men jockey for position

women go in posses.

How do I fit in? I just pretend.

All I ever wanted was a friend.

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Girlfriends, lovers, couples-time –

intimate companions,

sex just complicates,

starts a fire that’s always doomed to end:

all I ever wanted was a friend.

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Looking back from here

on all those I have known –

few have stayed the course.

What counts is being able to depend:

all I ever wanted was a friend.

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