"A, B & C" was recorded in bits and pieces on a large handful of weekends between 2004 and 2007. It is the first major release by Imaginary Friend.
Somewhere along the way, the concept of dividing the album into sections began to take shape and it was decided to name them "A, B & C" in reference to an episode title of The Prisoner, an obscure television show from the late 60's. Indeed, this is but one of many Prisoner references that can be found in the final product. The other main source of running references on the album is a band called dada. It is a long-standing tradition for us to throw as many dada references as possible into our albums, and "A, B & C" is our most ambitious effort yet in this regard (dada fans should be very pleased).
Why is this album so damn long? Why aren't either of the "blues"-titled songs actually blues songs? Will Neal ever play guitar on an Imaginary Friend album ever again? Who is your only friend, and how well exactly do we know him?
If you yearn for the answers to these (and more) questions, you'll be happy to know that this album also features a second disc containing a full-length track-by-track audio commentary by the band. Two CDs for the price of one? That's not a bad deal at all... (we think).
CLIPS, LYRICS & CHORDS
To hear sound clips and view details for each song, click on the track titles to the left (the information will be displayed in this box). Lyrics and chords for each individual track can be downloaded from their respective detail pages.
Lyric and chord files for the entire album are also available. Use the following links to download the complete set of lyrics/chords all at once:
download: lyrics (all) | chords (all)
NOTES: Lyric/chord files are encoded in pdf format, which can be opened in Acrobat Reader. To save the files to your computer, right-click a link and select "Save Link As" or "Select Target As". Sound clips are presented using an embedded Flash player. If the player doesn't load, you will need to download the Flash Player from Adobe.
She Don't Believe In Time
Copyright 2007 Imaginary Friend; Written and Performed by Imaginary Friend, from the album "A, B & C"; Published by Your Only Friend Music (BMI); All rights reserved.
download: lyrics | chords
She smokes her cigarette
And tosses it out the window
It dances through the sky
And bounces across the road
She don't believe in time
And you don't really know
If she's even here
Or just a faded afterglow
'Cause she ain't making promises to keep
And you never see her when you wake...
Up from your sleep
(From your sleep)
She can't be defined
Not by verse or prose
Her meter breaks the rhyme
Her eyes are an inferno
(An inferno)
She don't believe in time
And you don't really know
If she's here today or gone tomorrow
(Gone tomorrow)
'Cause she ain't making promises to keep
And she's never there to wipe away the tears...
That you weep
(That you weep)
*solo*
She don't believe in time
And you don't really know
If she's wasting all your life
Waiting for tomorrow
Welcome Back
Copyright 2007 Imaginary Friend; Written and Performed by Imaginary Friend, from the album "A, B & C"; Published by Your Only Friend Music (BMI); All rights reserved.
download: lyrics | chords
Welcome back, you've been gone for so long
Welcome back, now you can belong
Welcome back, well you're out of your cocoon
Welcome back, here's your old room
Where all your posters still hang
Why don't we dust off your old Mustang
And cruise the town the way we did
When we still didn't know how to live
Welcome back, to this bitter fruit
Welcome back, our strength is resolute
Welcome back, to the world that they created
Welcome back, how does it feel to be hated
By the people that you don't even know
Where the roadsides always explode
Ever since things been falling down
Welcome back and take a good look around
'Cause no one really knows
For what they're supposed to stand
Welcome back, well you're
A stranger in a strange land
*solo*
Welcome back
Put a sticker on your minivan
Welcome back
And hope everyone will understand
Welcome back
Welcome back
Her
Copyright 2007 Imaginary Friend; Written and Performed by Imaginary Friend, from the album "A, B & C"; Published by Your Only Friend Music (BMI); All rights reserved.
download: lyrics | chords
Her
It's just her
You say you want her
You think you need her
You wanna clothe her, feed her
Always just to be with her
But has it occurred
That she might prefer
Someone not hurting, flirting
Or skirting about her
Her
It's just her
Well she says that it's her and not you
And there's nothing that you can do
Well "best friends" is pretty good too
And you wanna get through
To start something new
Her
It's just her
One night it's a blur
And your speech is slurred
You've been out drinking, thinking
That you're sinking without her
And you can't deter
The wrath you've incurred
She trusted you, and must you
Always let your lust get through
Her
It's just her
Well it looks like this is at an end
And she won't be calling you a friend
You won't see her until god knows when
And this will never mend
She won't call you again
Her
It's just her
Down In The Sun
Copyright 2007 Imaginary Friend; Written and Performed by Imaginary Friend, from the album "A, B & C"; Published by Your Only Friend Music (BMI); All rights reserved.
download: lyrics | chords
Well maybe baby the sun ain't shining
It rarely does inside
And while the light is slowly declining
You wanna run and hide
I know you think you're running behind
Off into the night
I'm not sure what you're trying to find
But I'm sure it feels right
'Cause I know you'll never be satisfied
You wanna live, well at least you gotta try
Why can't you just stay where you are?
You don't need no fast car
You gotta stop your running sometime
Why not stop it tonight?
It's time to face the baggage in your mind
It's time to live your life
Well look it baby the sun is shining
It always does outside
And all the plans that you were designing
Just push them aside
'Cause I know you'll never be satisfied
You wanna live, well at least you gotta try
Why can't you just stay where you are?
You don't need no fast car
You don't need no fast car
(Just be the star that you are)
(Aah) You don't need no fast car
(Just be the star that you are)
(Aah) You don't need no fast car
(Just be the star that you are)
(Aah) You don't need no fast car
(Just be the star that you are)
Britain Baby Blues
Copyright 2007 Imaginary Friend; Written and Performed by Imaginary Friend, from the album "A, B & C"; Published by Your Only Friend Music (BMI); All rights reserved.
download: lyrics | chords
I'm a cheeky trainspotter
My life's all up in the gaff
Kinda lairy with no lolly
I hit the pub for bangers & mash
My mate's a total wanker
The bloke's jokes are totally naff
I take the tube to London
So I don't have to wait in the queue
Saw Liam kiss a Bobby
He's arse-over-tit and he's tooled
Now I'm kinda dicky
And I think I'm gonna chunder my food
Feelin' kinda knackered
I stuff my gob with ale & chips
(Ale & chips)
I found myself a Doris
And shagged her even though she's a git
(She's a git)
Now she's up the duff
But I guess that's what you get when you
Have it off
Now that's the full monty
My sis'll be an auntie
And I abso-bloody-lutely
Am an arse of a ponce
Well I'm headed down to the bar
I'll have myself a jar
Here in bloody brilliant
Simply smashing
Jolly old England
(Not Your) #6
Copyright 2007 Imaginary Friend; Written and Performed by Imaginary Friend, from the album "A, B & C"; Published by Your Only Friend Music (BMI); All rights reserved.
download: lyrics | chords
You say you want to know
What I'm thinking
You say you already know
That I've been drinking
You just want to know all I am
You think I act just like a
Secret Agent Man
You say you want to know
Where I'm going
You say you already know
All the cards I'm showing
You just want to know all I am
You think I act just like a
Secret Agent Man
(Man) All I am I am is gone
(Man) All I am I am is gone
(Man)
*solo*
You say you're gonna go
You're through with screamin'
You say you don't wanna know
What I've been dreamin'
Well this will end how it began
The one thing you don't really need is a
Secret Agent Man
(Man) All I am I am is gone
(Man) All I am I am is gone
(Man)
Quietly, Slightly
Copyright 2007 Imaginary Friend; Written and Performed by Imaginary Friend, from the album "A, B & C"; Published by Your Only Friend Music (BMI); All rights reserved.
download: lyrics | chords
When he first met her she seemed quite manic
Screaming out lyrics at passing traffic
Grooving away to her inside song
He heard the chorus so he sung along...
(Junk bond trader)
He took her to a place that dealt in organics
I think it was called a "Mother Nature's Planet"
He paid for her large chai tea
But all the while he was invading her reality
Spoke to her with words by Yeats
Or maybe it was Hendrix, maybe it was Keats
Stole his way back to her bed
But he could never stop the music
Playing in her head...
Because her music still plays (da da da)
Her music still plays (da da da)
Her music still plays (da da da)
Her music still plays... quietly, slightly
(And quietly, slightly)
The dawn light brought her nothing to borrow
And neither did a hundred, thousand tomorrows
Most mornings she found him in a corner
A condition that he had
And always failed to warn her
He only feels joy when he suffers
Which is great for a poet but it's
Lousy for a lover
And so he'd stumble to a different venue
Where you have to pay and "click to continue"
Like everyone they found their own meaning
But he never could stop that girl from dreamin'
Because her music still plays (da da da)
Her music still plays (da da da)
Her music still plays (da da da)
Her music still plays... quietly, slightly
Wireless 2.0
Copyright 2007 Imaginary Friend; Written and Performed by Imaginary Friend, from the album "A, B & C"; Published by Your Only Friend Music (BMI); All rights reserved.
download: lyrics | chords
Long and lean ain't their advice
'Cause they don't know the way to splice
Streaming video through the air
You can do it from anywhere
The LED on my PDA
Don't you know I never put it away
It's a phone and it tells the time
The wireless wonder's a friend of mine
It guides my life every day
(Can't live without it, can't live without it)
It guides my life in every way
(No doubt about it, no doubt about it)
I don't have any credit cards
Got a chip that can reach the stars
I can buy you diamonds or even sand
It's a new world, it's on demand
It guides my life every day
(Can't live without it, can't live without it)
It guides my life in every way
(No doubt about it, no doubt about it)
*solo*
There's nowhere to go without getting back
Mystery in life is what I lack
Like a string that I can't quite feel
Or like a leash and I'm ready to heel
It guides my life every day
(Can't live without it, can't live without it)
It guides my life in every way
(No doubt about it, no doubt about it)
It hides my life, can't get away
(Get me out of it, get me out of it)
It hides my life, can't get away
(Get me out of it, get me out of it)
She's Online Right Now
Copyright 2007 Imaginary Friend; Written and Performed by Imaginary Friend, from the album "A, B & C"; Published by Your Only Friend Music (BMI); All rights reserved.
download: lyrics | chords
She's online right now
She knows me somehow
She lives in Omaha
I've never been to Omaha
But I dream of that place where she can
Take the FosterGrants off my face
I live in Rhode Island
My private asylum
Five minutes from the ocean
She's never seen the ocean
Never felt its waves as it
Washes all of your sins away
We'd have a pleasant valley house
With a hole for a mouse
And a white picket fence
(That's just common sense)
We'd move in together
Livin' forever
Just the two of us…
But she's online right now
I'm still here somehow
A million miles away
I think I'll stay in bed today
Stay in bed today
Stay in bed today
Blue Oyster Blues
Copyright 2007 Imaginary Friend; Written and Performed by Imaginary Friend, from the album "A, B & C"; Published by Your Only Friend Music (BMI); All rights reserved.
download: lyrics | chords
Well I'm alone in the deep blue ocean
All alone that's me
So alone in the deep blue ocean
The loneliest thing in the sea
I got a home in the deep blue ocean
My shell follows me
But I'm alone in the deep blue ocean
As blue as an oyster can be
Well do you know someone
Who could love me?
Maybe a mussel or even a clam
So I won't have to be
Just alone in the deep blue ocean
All alone that's me
So alone in the deep blue ocean
The loneliest thing in the sea
I got a home in the deep blue ocean
My shell follows me
But I'm alone in the deep blue ocean
As blue as an oyster can be
Well I gotta find someone
That'll treat me right
A scallop or even a quahog
That'll spend the night... I'm so alone
*solo*
He's alone in the deep blue ocean
He's tired of being free
So alone in the deep blue ocean
The loneliest thing in the sea
He's got a home in the deep blue ocean
A shell for all to see
But he's alone in the deep blue ocean
As blue as an oyster can be
He's gotta find someone
That'll spend the night
A clam, mussel or even a quahog
That'll treat him right
SDT
Copyright 2007 Imaginary Friend; Written and Performed by Imaginary Friend, from the album "A, B & C"; Published by Your Only Friend Music (BMI); All rights reserved.
download: lyrics | chords
Every time you build me up
Well I always fall down
And every time you fill me up
I always seem to drown
I can never deny the martyr inside of me
I'm all set to suffer all the slings and arrows
All the hurt that you can throw
Because the pain just goes around
Around, around, around, around, 'round
I'm all set to suffer through your hate and sorrow
And it seems so apropos
Because the pain just goes around
Around, around, around, around, 'round
Every time you stalk me
I let myself be found
And I'll let you walk on me
To keep you off the ground
I can never deny the martyr inside of me
I'm all set to suffer all the slings and arrows
All the hurt that you can throw
Because the pain just goes around
Around, around, around, around, 'round
I'm all set to suffer through your hate and sorrow
And it seems so apropos
Because the pain just goes around
Around, around, around, around, 'round
(Around...)
Got myself some self-destructive tendencies
(Around...)
From the martyr somewhere inside of me
(Around...)
Please will you look at me?
*solo*
(Around...)
Got myself some self-destructive tendencies
(Around...)
Just the slightest cut and I will bleed
(Around...)
Please will you crucify me?
Your Only Friend (Part 1)
Copyright 2007 Imaginary Friend; Written and Performed by Imaginary Friend, from the album "A, B & C"; Published by Your Only Friend Music (BMI); All rights reserved.
download: lyrics | chords
And so you realized
That life ain't really what it should be
It's what's you've learned
But unfortunately lessons aren't free
Been down and out
Among the soldiers of the daily war
But no one ever seems to
Tell you what they're fighting for
Your only friend, I know him well
(And he's sitting alone by the side of the night)
Met him deep inside your wishing well
Your personal hell
The end is here and yet you're
Still just waiting to be saved
The unbeliever who was
Always rather so well behaved
"Give in and keep on going"
That is what the people say
The revolution is still coming
It's just on tape delay
Your only friend, I know him well
(And he's sitting alone by the side of the night)
Met him deep inside your wishing well
(And he's waiting to know how to do you right)
*fade*
Your Only Friend (Part 2)
Copyright 2007 Imaginary Friend; Written and Performed by Imaginary Friend, from the album "A, B & C"; Published by Your Only Friend Music (BMI); All rights reserved.
download: lyrics | chords
Your only friend
Comprehends but doesn't blindly believe
Your only friend
Is the halogen by which you see
Your only friend
Is a misguided visionary
Your only friend
Is sometimes imaginary
Your only friend
Knows just when to ground you in reality
Your only friend
Won't descend and crush you like the Pharisee
Your only friend
Don't depend on the parting of some sea
Your only friend
Isn't on the radio
Your only friend
Doesn't watch any reality shows
Your only friend
Won't suspend all of your fantasies
Your only friend, baby
He's your only pal
Your only friend, maybe
They'll let you get away
With more than others will allow
It's just your only friend...
*solo*
Your only friend
Will defend you from your tragic destiny
Your only friend
Is the trend that carries your symphony
Your only friend
Is trying to get it right
Your only friend
Is a soul that is sleeping in light
Your only friend
Is the oxygen for all your sympathies
Your only friend, I know him well
(And he's sitting alone by the side of the night)
Met him deep inside your wishing well
(And he's waiting to know how to do you right)
Your only friend, I know him well
(Where the souls of the lonely
Are sleeping in light)
Met him deep inside your wishing well
Your personal hell
Have Fun In Lisbon
Copyright 2007 Imaginary Friend; Written and Performed by Imaginary Friend, from the album "A, B & C"; Published by Your Only Friend Music (BMI); All rights reserved.
download: lyrics | chords
Well, your bags are by the door
And my jaw is on the floor
From what you said to me
Well, I just nodded silently
You said it's best for you
And there ain't nothing I can do
You said you've made up your mind
And your train was right on time
'Cause you said we were over and done
And you said there's no need for me to come
So have fun in Lisbon
I hope you get your kicks in
At least it wasn't something that I
It wasn't something that I did
It's just how you wanna live
I don't know how I will explain
Well, every time I hear your name
They'll ask me what went wrong
I guess you didn't belong
'Cause you said we were over and done
And you said there's no need for me to come
So have fun in Lisbon
I hope you get your kicks in
*solo*
You keep telling me it's not my
That it's not my fault
Well, some things you can't halt
At least you're with your crowd
You're living large, you're living proud
I'll visit you sometime
If I can find enough dimes
I'll give you a call
It won't be awkward at all
'Cause you said we were over and done
And you said there's no need for me to come
So have fun in Lisbon
I hope you get your kicks in
I hope you get your kicks in
I hope you get your licks in
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Cut Of Attention
Copyright 2007 Imaginary Friend; Written and Performed by Imaginary Friend, from the album "A, B & C"; Published by Your Only Friend Music (BMI); All rights reserved.
download: lyrics | chords
She says there's something
Something that she needs
Just a little taste of
Just a little, little, little comprehension
Because it's her contention
That redemption is rarely free
That's why she seeks what she needs
What she thinks that she needs
She's a Jesus lover
Who's like a cookie cutter
But she ain't cutting me
(She ain't cutting me)
She ain't cutting me... no, no, no
The cut is her new invention
I said the cut is her new invention
So she lets it pour
I said she lets it pour
Well she pours like the moonlight
Falling on the shore
And she roars like a fire
Churning at its core
She pours like red wine
Staining the floor
And she roars like the heart
Of a drunken, drunken, drunken troubadour
It's what she needs
What she believes
She loves her crimson strings
They tell her everything
But they don't come for free
(They don't come for free)
They don't come for free... no, no, no
It's just a little
I said it's just a little cut
A cut of attention that she needs
Well, that she thinks that she needs
She don't see
Because she pours like the moonlight
She roars like a firefight
She pours like red wine
And she crawls like a green
A very, very, very green vine
*fade*
My Favourite Hand-Me-Down
Copyright 2007 Imaginary Friend; Written and Performed by Imaginary Friend, from the album "A, B & C"; Published by Your Only Friend Music (BMI); All rights reserved.
download: lyrics | chords
Well, I just wanted to thank you
For what you gave to me
And if you only knew
How much it means to me
Because can't you see that
I can't pretend to know
All the reasons why you let go
I love having her around
So thank you for my favourite hand-me-down
I take her everywhere
Even if I don't have to
It goes to show how much I care
She's in everything that I do
And baby can't you see that
I can't pretend to know
All the reasons why you let go
I love having her around
So thank you for my favourite hand-me-down
She's like the sweetness you find
At the bottom of every cup
The lonely desperate smile
That always brings you up
So I end this letter
That I'm writing to you
I know that you'll read it never
'Cause it's just a game that we do
And baby can't you see that
I can't pretend to know
All the reasons why you let go
I love having her around
So thank you for my favourite hand-me-down
My favourite hand-me-down
My favourite hand-me-down
My favourite hand-me-down
My favourite hand-me-down
Well, I just wanted to thank you...
Drug Perfect
Copyright 2007 Imaginary Friend; Written and Performed by Imaginary Friend, from the album "A, B & C"; Published by Your Only Friend Music (BMI); All rights reserved.
download: lyrics | chords
Well, I can tell
'Cause I can see
Yeah, I can tell
Your passion plays
I know them so well
'Cause you can't move
I'm not sure what you're trying to prove
You need your relief
But the fix is so emotionally cheap
I know that it's hard for you to accept
You know I'll keep on fighting for you
But you're so hard to protect
So hard to protect
It starts inside
And you can't hide
It only wants one thing
It only wants to take every single thing
So you found a space
In between the wind
Where there's no embrace
And where you can never let anybody in
You know what you have to do
But still you reject
I know about your point of view
But you just have to accept
That you're drug perfect
'Cause you want to feel
The pain that you've found
(Can you feel it? No, you can't deal it)
You say it's the only thing
That keeps you around
That keeps your feet on the ground
You know what you have to do but
Still you reject
And I know about your point of view
But you just have to accept
That you're drug perfect
Drug perfect (Uh huh, alright)
Mangos & Peaches
Copyright 2007 Imaginary Friend; Written and Performed by Imaginary Friend, from the album "A, B & C"; Published by Your Only Friend Music (BMI); All rights reserved.
download: lyrics | chords
She only wears her pearls with her
Jean jacket
And she used to have curls until she said
"Hey, screw it"
And straightened them out
(And straightened them out)
And straightened them out
(And straightened them out)
I never caught her name because she
Never threw it
And often does she change but I see
Right through her disguise
(Right through her disguise)
Because I realized
('Cause I realized)
That mangos and peaches
Is what she smelled like
Mangos and peaches
Is what she felt like
She was just out of reach
When I turned off my night light
And mangos and peaches
It's what I feel like tonight
But this is just another stupid song
That you've heard before
'Bout the one that got away
And you pine after forever more
*solo*
(Second verse, almost the same as the first)
She only wears her pearls with her
Suede jacket
And she used to wear curls until she said
"Aw, fuck it"
And straightened them out
(And straightened them out)
And straightened them out
(And straightened them out)
Mangos and peaches
Is what she smelled like
Mangos and peaches
Is what she felt like
She was just out of reach
When I turned off my night light
And mangos and peaches
It's what I feel like tonight
*solo*
She drinks her mango martinis
In late afternoon in the daylight
(She's not looking back, she's not only numb)
She drinks her mango martinis
In late afternoon in the daylight
(She's not looking back, she's not only numb)
Think It Over (Smile)
Copyright 2007 Imaginary Friend; Written and Performed by Imaginary Friend, from the album "A, B & C"; Published by Your Only Friend Music (BMI); All rights reserved.
download: lyrics | chords
You turn your head
And look at the ground instead
A strand of hair
Makes you wonder if...
You're really even there
You're really even there
Just standing in line
You get cut for the fiftieth time
And so your ego fades
Like a stone soldier marching
In a parade
(If you leave it alone, think it over, yeah)
In a parade
(If you leave it alone, think it over)
(Smile, baby, please)
Think it over, think it over
Before you do something that you'll regret
(Smile, baby, please)
Think it over, think it over
All of these people try to... to forget
And baby, please just forget
(Doo doo doo doo doo...)
Well everyone
Seems to already know someone
And the words you hear
They cut so close, they cut...
They cut you so clear
You know they cut you so clear
These boys and girls
They all think they can rule the world
But that's not your style
You'd trade it all away
For an easy smile
(If you leave it alone, think it over, yeah)
For an easy smile
(If you leave it alone, think it over)
(Smile, baby, please)
Think it over, think it over
Before you do something that you'll regret
(Smile, baby, please)
Think it over, think it over
All of these people try to... to forget
And baby, please just forget
(Doo doo doo doo doo...)
*solo*
Our CDs can be purchased through a number of online retailers. Individual tracks are also available via digital distribution. Please see below for more details.
