Billy - Lou Reed

Billy was a good friend of mine

We grew up together ever since we were nine

We went to school, he was my best friend

And I thought our friendship would never end

In high school he played football

And me, I didn’t do anything at all

He made touch-downs, while I played pool

And no one could figure out which one of us was the fool

Then we both went to college

He studied medicine while I studied foliage

He got A’s and I got D’s

He was going for his Ph. D

Then I decided to drop out

Things were getting a little too hot

Billy stayed there, became an intern and then a doctor

Then war broke out and he had to go

But not me, I was mentally unfit, or so they say, so, so

When he came back, he wasn’t quite the same

His nerves were shot, but not me

Last time I saw him, I couldn’t take it anymore

He wasn’t the Billy I knew, it was like talking to a door

Billy was a friend of mine

I grew up with him ever since I was nine

We went together through school

And now I often wonder, which one of us was the fool