This article is about the song. You may have been looking for the album.
"Ben" is the first track and only single on Michael Jackson's album of the same name. It was released on July 12, 1972, and later became Michael's biggest hit under the Motown label.
Background[]
The song was written and recorded for the 1972 movie of the same title. The name refers to the pet rat featured in the film. It was nominated for The Academy Award for Best Original Song, although it lost.
Michael in the Moonwalk book: "Ben meant a lot to me. Nothing had ever excited me as much as going to the studio to put my voice on film. I had a great time. Later, when the movie came out, I’d go to the theater and wait until the end when the credits would flash on, and it would say, “ ‘Ben’ sung by Michael Jackson.” I was really impressed by that. I loved the song and loved the story. Actually, the story was a lot like E.T. I. It was about a boy who befriended a rat. People didn’t understand the boy’s love for this little creature. He was dying of some disease and his only true friend was Ben, the leader of the rats in the city where they lived. A lot of people thought the movie was a bit odd, but I was not one of them. The song went to number one and is still a favorite of mine. I have always loved animals and I enjoy reading about them and seeing movies in which they’re leads."[1]
Audio[]
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1]
Ben, the two of us need look no more
We both found what we were looking for
With a friend to call my own
I'll never be alone
And you, my friend, will see
You've got a friend in me
(You've got a friend in me)
[Verse 2]
Ben, you're always running here and there
(Here and there)
You feel you're not wanted anywhere
(Anywhere)
If you ever look behind
And don't like what you find
There's something you should know
You've got a place to go
(You've got a place to go)
[Bridge]
I used to say "I" and "me"
Now, it's "us", now, it's "we"
(I used to say "I" and "me")
(Now, it's "us", now, it's "we")
[Verse 3]
Ben, most people would turn you away (Turn you away)
I don't listen to a word they say (A word they say)
They don't see you as I do
I wish they would try to
I'm sure they'd think again
If they had a friend like Ben
[Outro]
(A friend)
Like Ben
(Like Ben)
Like Ben