My Own Best Friend

WannabeTroubador

I’m hard on myself.
But not as hard as everyone else is.
I’m down on myself.
Can’t get as high as everyone else is.

I’m proud of myself.
But not as proud as everyone else is.
I doubted myself.
Can’t be as loud as everyone else is.

I was my own worst enemy.
Now I’m my own best friend.
It’s amazing what can happen,
Once you learn limits are pretend.

I know I pretended.
I did for far too long.
But now I’ve gotten through it.
If you have too, then sing along.

I was my own worst enemy.
Now I’m my own best friend.
It’s amazing what can happen,
Your limits have no end.

I was my own worst enemy.
Now I’m my own best friend.
Life gets so much better,
When you don’t have to pretend.

My life is just beginning,
I’m old, that’s true enough.
But like I said in the last song,
I’m still young enough.
And so are you.

I was my own worst enemy.
Now I’m my own best friend.
And for the first time I remember,
I don’t want my life to end.
I hope you don’t either.

If you’re still your own worst enemy,
I swear you’ll be OK,
Just search your soul,
And find the mold.
Then break it.

You and your soul aren’t enemies,
You’re frenimies at worst.
The worlds there for the taking.
But you have to fix you first.
You can do it.

Don’t be your own worst enemy.
Be your own best friend.
What happened then was yesterday.
You still control the end.

You may have lived a sad song,
Sometimes that’s how it goes,
No life will be a movie,
If the ending blows.

Don’t be your own worst enemy.
Be your own best friend.
Life’s a fight, like, every night—I know.
Stay in it til the end.

I used to want to leave this earth,
Before I saw my daughter’s birth.
Imagine what I would have missed?
And what they would…

I used to be my own worst enemy.
Now I’m my own best friend.
And if I can do it, so can you.

Now sing along.

I used to be my own worst enemy.
Now I’m my own best friend.
My life’s a fight, but I’m alright.
I’ll stay in it til the end.

I’m not my own worst enemy.
I’m my own best friend.
I’m your best friend.
You’re my best friend.

My soul is my best friend, now.
And so is yours.

You’ll never be alone again.
You never were.
So get on now.
Go be your own best friend.

RainyDayMan

I think this is my favorite of yours that I've read so far.

Just reading it, I fall into a rhythm, which should make it much easier to set to music. Do you have music in mind when writing the lyric?

I like the structure at the start, the 2 x verses then the chorus, is proven to work.

Your earlier verses have 4 lines, but some of the latter ones have 5. That can be awkward if you're trying to set them to the same melody. Personally the 4 line ones feel tighter to me, but either way it may be helpful if they're consistent.

I feel like not liking yourself is a universal theme that many people are going to empathize and engage with. With that in mind, the verse about your daughter's birth reduces the ability to project yourself into the song, making it feel more specific to you the songwriter. This is a tough call, because it's a poignant verse, and specific details are often memorable and make a song unique. It's also possibly the change that makes you switch from being your own enemy to your own friend, so a pivotal point in the story. If this song is a personal history then you should definitely leave it in. If you think of it more as a song to be shared and enjoyed then you might consider removing that part - though again it's debatable.

If the ending blows. I think this is a weaker line. I'd look for something else there.

The "You'll never be alone again" part might be better used in the middle as a bridge rather than at the end. Set that up to have a different melody, and maybe re-order the lines:

You’ll never be alone again.

You never were.

Go be your own best friend.

So get on now.

And overall, if you're not already doing so, I would suggest thinking about the music for the song. From your posts to date I'm guessing you write lyrics only (which is fine), but even so, thinking about mood, style, musical breaks, which words might be sung out for emphasis can only help you write. I've read lyrics where I can almost hear the music playing because the rhythm, structure and mood come through so clearly. You're already writing song lyrics and not poetry that's very clear. See if you can also shape them with music in mind.