[Intro: lush strings and vibraphone, a soft falsetto hum] [Verse 1] Nine o'clock on Sunday in the back booth on Lorain Bev pours coffee 'fore we're sittin', two eggs over, rye toast, plain My boy's talkin' 'bout his daughters and the leak above his door And I'm stirrin' in a sugar that I never take no more I been practicin' all mornin' in the mirror and the car Sixty seven years of practice, and I only got this far [Verse 2] There's a man who's sat beside me nineteen years at every game Carved the turkey every Thanksgiving, knows my grandbabies by name He knows I take it black at home, and sugar when I'm scared He's held my hand in every waitin' room, and he was always there And whenever someone asked me, at the barber or the store I said, that's Walter, he's a friend of mine, I never said no more [Chorus: background group answers] He's a friend of mine (just a friend) That's what I'd say A friend of mine (just a friend) Every Christmas, every Easter, every birthday I said it with a smile so nobody would see And it cost him, Lord, it cost him, and it cost me He's a friend of mine [Verse 3] So I open up my mouth, and my voice goes way up high Like I'm seventeen again and hidin' in the choir I say, son, there's somethin' I been meanin', and he sets his fork down on the plate Says, Pop, I've known since I was twelve, and I was glad to wait It was yours to tell me, it was never mine to take So tell me now, Pop, tell it for your own sake [Bridge: strings swell, the band drops to bass and a soft kick] Then the bell above the door rings, and it's Walter in his good gray coat He's been sittin' in the car since half past eight with his heart up in his throat And I stand up in that diner, and I hold out my right hand And I say, son, this is Walter (tell him) And he was never just a friend [Final Chorus: background group answers] He's not a friend of mine (no, no) Not a single day Not a friend of mine (no, no) He's the man I love, and I'm sayin' it today And my boy just slides the syrup, says, sit down, Walter, here And Bev sets down a third cup she's been holdin' nineteen years Not a friend of mine [Outro: strings and vibraphone, falsetto fades] Not a friend of mine He's mine
