Just a Friend

Just A Friend
Written by	Biz Markie, Tally Hall (Cover version)
Appears on	The Pingry EP, Download code with 2008 Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum, Admittedly Incomplete Demos, Just a Friend EP
Sung by	Rob Cantor, Zubin Sedghi
Genre	Rap/Hip-hop
Language	English
Links:	Youtube Spotify Bandcamp The Pingry EP (Youtube)

Just a Friend is a song by 1980's hip-hop artist Biz Markie, and covered by Tally Hall many times both live and in-studio. This cover is sung by Rob Cantor during the verses and Zubin Sedghi during the chorus. It is one of Tally Hall's most well known covers, as they closed out nearly every show with it for years.

Studio Recording

Mockup of the 2021 vinyl release from Needlejuice Records

In 2006, Tally Hall recorded a studio version of Just A Friend at Studio A Recording in Dearborn Heights, Michigan with producer Eric Morgeson. However, the band decided not to release the recording because they weren't happy with it and were likely tired of the song in general after playing it live nearly hundreds of times. When asked about it in 2007, they had stated that they didn't believe it was very good in hindsight.

Through a change of heart, they fixed some things they weren't happy with and decided to release it as a bonus download code for those who bought the 2008 Atlantic Records re-release of Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum.

In December 2015 Tally Hall's cover version was released as part of the bandcamp exclusive release: Admittedly Incomplete Demos

In August 2019, after years of inactivity, the band came together to make the combined decision to distribute Just a Friend on all popular streaming platforms for the first time. It is believed that this was done in response to a strong and growing monthly listenership on Spotify (nearly 350k at the time of the release) despite the band's hiatus since 2011.

With the 2021 Needlejuice Records reissue of Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum, a 7" single containing Just A Friend, Mucka Blucka, and Dream was released and all three bonus tracks were included on the standard CD and cassette releases.

Live Performances

Just a Friend was played many times at Tally Hall concerts, mostly at the end/encore of a concert. It soon became popular with their audience. The band however soon got a bit tired of it and didn't want to be known solely by this cover, so they decided to retire it around 2005-6 from their live sets. However, due to popular demand, it was put back into the set not long after, which arguably makes this song one of the reasons that helped the band stand out amongst its peers in the early days and led to sold out shows at places like The Blind Pig in Ann Arbor.

Some of these live performances included Rob Cantor going into the audience with a megaphone to sing the last verse of the song. Later performances would include the band switching instruments (i.e. Zubin on guitar, Joe on drums, Bora on bass, Ross on keyboard). A performance at Sin-é in June of 2006, the band decided to play the last verse twice as fast up to "Oh snap".

In the last chorus after the "you got what I need, 'do wah'" Joe Hawley was known to say a random four syllable word to fill in the musical gap during live performances. (i.e Barbecue Sauce, Chicken Nugget, Dr. Pepper, Michael Jackson, Play Nintendo, Stegosaurus, etc...)

Trivia

• The studio recording was first heard at the end of the MTV's "You Hear It First" which was filmed in 2006.
• The final chorus is sung (from lowest to highest) by Joe Hawley, Zubin Sedghi, and Rob Cantor
• An easy way to spot photos of them performing Just a Friend is if Rob is holding the microphone while singing, this only happens in live performances of the song.

Lyrics

(Tally Hall's lyrical addition/changes have been added in parentheses)

Have you ever met a girl that you tried to date but a year to make love she wanted you to wait?
Well, let me tell you a story of my situation. I was talking to this girl from the U.S. Nation.
The way that I met her was on tour at a concert.  She had long hair and a short mini-skirt.
I just got on stage dripping, pouring with sweat. I was walking through the crowd and guess who I met?

I whispered in her ear "Come to the picture booth so I can ask you some questions to see if you’re a hundred proof."
I asked her her name. She said "Blah-blah-blah," she had 9/10 pants and a very big bra.
I took a couple of flicks and she was enthused. I said, "How'd you like the show?" She said, "I was very amused."

I started throwing bass, she started throwing back mid-range.
But when I popped (swung) the question, she acted kind of strange.
When I asked if she had a man, she tried to pretend.
She said "No, I don’t. I only have a friend."  (C'mon!)

Oh baby, you. You got what I need. But you say he’s just a friend. But you say he’s just a friend.
Oh baby, you. You got what I need. But you say he’s just a friend. But you say he’s just a friend.

So I took Blah-blah’s word for it at this time. I thought, having a friend couldn’t be no crime.
'Cause I got friends and that’s a fact; like Agnes, Agatha, Germaine, and Jack.
But forget about them, let’s go into the story about a girl named Blah-blah-blah that adored me.

So we started talking, getting familiar. Spending a lot of time so that we could build a relationship...
or some understanding how it’s gonna be in the future we was planning.
Everything sounded so dandy and sweet, I had no idea I was in for a treat.

After this was established everything was cool. The tour was over and she went back to school.
I called every day to see how she was doing.
But every time I called her it seemed something was brewing.
So, I called on my dime, picked up and called again. (*ring* Hello?)  "Hey, yo, who was that?"  "Oh, he’s just a friend." (Hahahahahaha! OH NO!)

Oh baby, you. You got what I need. But you say he’s just a friend. But you say he’s just a friend.
Oh baby, you. You got what I need. But you say he’s just a friend. But you say he’s just a friend.

(Damn, girl. What you want from me, I'll give you anything. You want any kind of subscription to a magazine? Give you a potato?  A mask of some sort?  I love you.)

So I went to her college on a surprise visit. To see my girl that was so exquisite.
It was a school day.  I knew she was there.  The first semester of the school year.
I went to the gate to ask where was her dorm.  This guy made me fill out a visitors form.
So I did and I was on my way to see my baby girl, I was happy to say.

I rolled up to her dormitory.  "Yo, could you tell me where is Door 3?"
He told me where it was and for the moment, I didn’t know that I was in for such an event.

I went to her room. I opened the door. "Oh, snap!"  Guess what I saw?!

A fella tongue-kissing my girl in the mouth, I was so in shock my heart went down south.
Please listen to the message that I say.  Don’t ever talk to a girl who says she just has a friend!

Oh baby, you. You got what I need. (Doo-wah) But you say he’s just a friend. (Hawley improv) But you say he’s just a friend.
Oh baby, you. You got what I need. But you say he’s just a friend. But you say he’s just a friend.
Oh baby, you!
Girl.

Tabs/Chords

Nothing here, yet!