Alec Benjamin: I Built a Friend Meaning

Song Released: 2017

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I Built a Friend Lyrics

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...

1. 1TOP RATED

   #1 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

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   Jul 24th 2020 report

   Alec has a childhood friend that he loved very much, then he went to college and didn’t really think about it remember his friend, and his friend felt sad that they lost touch so he killed himself. This is a sad but true reminder to keep your friends close and if/when you leave them, stay in touch because even if they don’t say it, they miss and love you, too.

2. 2TOP RATED

   #2 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

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   Jul 20th 2020 report

   Alec had a childhood friend, who spent a lot of time with him. When college came around Alec left his friend behind and forgot about him when he met a girl. His friend became lonely and after a while killed himself. Alec came back and found out and he was devastated. The song is a metaphor for things that happen to people around the world so be cautious.
   

3. 3TOP RATED

   #3 top rated interpretation:
   CertifiedRat

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   Oct 12th report

   personally, i believe that alec is describing the story of a boy and his childhood friend. as the boy grows, he begins his own life, leaving for college, etc. they continue to stay in contact, that is, until the boy meets a girl at graduation. they stop contacting each other completely, and the boys' friend feels abandoned. this leads the friend to commit suicide. eventually, the boy remembers his old friend, and feels bad that he left him hanging for so long. but when he goes back to see his old friend, he only discovers that the person that was once his best friend is gone. i think the moral that alec was trying to tell is that friendship means a lot. alec tends to mention this in a lot of his songs, talking about how much family and friends means to people. like in the song "if we have each other" he dedicates a verse to talking about how much he cares about his sister.
4. anonymous

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   Jan 29th report

   I guess I boy had built a friend and they were great friends. The boy grew up and went to college. He met a girl, and forgot about the robot he built. The robot was abandoned and he committed suicide because he was so sad that the boy never came back to him. The boy came home realizing how long he had not kept in touch with his old friend.
5. anonymous

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   Jan 16th report

   This song is about two friends who were close growing up until College hit. The friend who was left behind wasn't stable all alone and couldn't function properly because of mental/internal issues most likely, and so in result of that that friend killed themselves because of the thoughts and not being able to keep himself in check because their only reality and stable thing in their life was their friend that was at college hanging out with a girl instead of them.
   So, he wrote a note saying "I couldn't do this anymore, things got to hard" basically and his friend was crushed about that that his oldest "creation" (friend) wasn't there anymore.
6. anonymous

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   Dec 17th report

   A kid and his robot were very close friends and promised they would be friends forever, but then the kid grew up and left for college, they each had pictures of each other so they could remember, then at graduation he met a girl, and was more focused of her then remembering his old friend. Because of this, his friend got lonely and committed suicide.
   Lesson: Hold on to your friends tight and don’t let them go, because they might be able to hide it (That they miss you) but either way, keep in touch.
7. anonymous

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   Dec 16th report

   I feel like this song is about a boy who built a best friend. Then one day he left for collage, forgot abt his best friend, and he met a girl. Then when he got home, the friend had a note that said he wasnt stable all alone. So he poured a glass of water on his old phone head.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
8. anonymous

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   Nov 17th report

   Alec had a childhood friend, they were really good friends. Alec left for college and soon forgot about him because of a girl he had met, but his friend missed him too much. Alec came home after a while to find his beloved friend had killed himself. I believe this is trying to tell you to never forget your loved ones, friends or anyone that matters to you.
   
   - Anonymous 17/11/20
9. anonymous

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   Oct 17th report

   Alec had a childhood friend that he loved a lot, but then he went to college and met a girl he lied, so he forgot about him. When he came home, he found that his friend had committed suicide because he felt lonely. The moral of the story is to never lose touch with your friends because even if they don't say it, they love you a lot too.
10. anonymous

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    Oct 5th report

    I think he had a childhood friend, who felt neglected after he left him behind for college. He then committed suicide. This song represents losing friends and how life changes. I hope after hearing this song friends will value each other more.
11. anonymous

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    Oct 5th report

    I was more inclined to think that it was a story where Guy1 and Guy2 were swore brothers but then Guy1 found a girl that he really like and because of that Guy1's attention had been entirely focused on the girl whereas Guy2 found that he is slowly losing his friend and is getting his own new life. And it might not necessarily mean that Guy2 commited suicide or something, he might just have moved to a new place or something

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
12. anonymous

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    Sep 10th report

    He uses the meaning of old phone because thats what they used to use to communicate but then when he went off to college they lost touch. When he came back he realized that his friend committed. This is a song about how he misses his friend.
13. anonymous

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    Aug 14th 2020 report

    Alec has a childhood friend , the head of the friend is an old cell phone , later on he talks abt how the friend spilled a cup of water over itself, which killed him since the friend had a cell phone for a head. In my point of view the frd is addict to the internet/ media and the toxicity of the online world killed him
14. anonymous

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    Jun 1st 2020 report

    alec made a childhood friend and when he left for college, they lost touch. he came back to find that his friend had killed himself.
15. anonymous

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    Apr 5th 2020 report

    Alec built a robot and thought they were friends, the Christmas gifts were for fixing the robot but after he left for college he left his friend behind. His friend, who is actually a representation of a childhood friend who is very much real, starts feeling lonely and spills a cup of water on himself.
    Since he is represented as a robot, this bugs him out and kills him.