"My Favourite Game" is an alternative rock song written by Peter Svensson and Nina Persson for The Cardigans' 1998 album Gran Turismo. The song is the album's eighth track, and was released as its first single.
"My Favourite Game" was written by guitarist Peter Svensson and lead singer Nina Persson during the recording sessions of the band's fourth studio album Gran Turismo between May and July 1998. The song, like the other songs from the album, was recorded in Tore Johansson's newly developed Country Hell recording studio in Skurup, Sweden. Persson started with the chorus, which "married the music so quickly that you couldn't tear them apart". Afterwards she wrote verses to "give the chorus meaning", which enabled her to "cram in a lot of lyrics into the verses" in contrast to other Cardigans songs with less lyrics such as "Erase/Rewind".
Before recording on the song commenced, Svennson presented the song to producer Tore Johansson by playing the track on acoustic guitar. Although the song was originally taking shape as a slow country/rock shuffle, similar in style to Neil Young's "Old Man", the tempo was doubled upon request of Tore Johansson. Svennson declared that this helped as the band knew the song "was a single, but it wasn't working at first" under "the shuffle beat at half the tempo". It was soon after changing the musical direction of the song when the song's distinctive guitar hook evolved.
best friend
lie to me
call me your best friend
sell me out
make me a fool
right or wrong
i tried my best just to stay so true
acting so cool
call it denial or blindness
you don't treat your friends like this
cuz you're lyin (oh yeah)and hurtin(oh yeah)
you play your stupid games
you play your dirty tricks
you're lyin(oh yeah) and hurting(oh yeah)
friends don't treat friends like this
best friend
say bad things, call me a user
i'm confused, who's getting used
criticize behind my back yeah
yeah that i'm no good,
that i'm so damn rude
creeping like an assassin in the night
hurting your friends it just ain't right
cuz you're lyin(oh yeah) and hurtin(oh yeah)
you play your stupid games
you play your dirty tricks
your lyin(oh yeah) and hurtin(oh yeah)
friends don't treat friends like this
best friend
why can't you understand
stab my back and shake my hand
can't you see...it's killing me
you play it cool, but i'm on to you
for i know that i'll make it through
all the mud
you sling it so well
but tonight it comes back to you
call it denial or blindness
you don't treat your friends like this
cuz you're your lyin ( ohyeah)
and hurting ( ohyeah)
you play your stupid games
you play your dirty tricks
you're lying(oh yeah) and hurting(oh yeah)
friends don't treat friends like this (2x)