Most of us have at least one really close friend.
But do you have a best friend so special you want to sing about them?
I do not, if I’m honest.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t love listening to other singers sing about their best friends.
And lucky for us, many have done it well over the years.
Keep reading for some of the best songs about best friends ever written. Count yourself lucky if you have a friendship in your life that is as strong as what these artists are singing about.
Table of Contents
- 1 Songs About Best Friends
- 1.1 See You Again by Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth
- 1.2 You’ve Got A Friend In Me by Randy Newman
- 1.4 I’ll Be There For You by The Rembrandts
- 1.5 Count On Me by Bruno Mars
- 1.6 Friend For Life by Rod Stewart
- 1.7 Gift Of A Friend by Demi Lovato
- 1.8 It’s Nice To Have A Friend by Taylor Swift
- 1.9 Anytime You Need A Friend by Mariah Carey
- 2 Best Friend Songs: Final Thoughts
Songs About Best Friends
The following songs are all about friendships so strong, they inspired artistic creation. We tried to include songs from a variety of genres, so there should be at least one song here you will love.
See You Again by Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth
Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s See You Again is a beautiful tribute to friendship. It was aptly played at the end of Fast and Furious 7 as a tribute to the late actor Paul Walker.
The song’s official video also shows Paul’s and Vin Diesel’s characters driving off in separate directions. See You Again begins with Charlie singing the following lines:
It’s been a long day without you, my friend
And I’ll tell you all about it when I see you again.
The interpretation could be that two friends are separated for some reason and they are now reminiscing over all the good and bad times they had when they were together.
See You Again is a song about friendship but could also be a goodbye said to a parent, sibling, spouse, and even a pet.
The lyrics could be interpreted to mean that we would all like a last ride with our best friends. But if they choose another path in the end, it is still okay and we will only remember good times when we are together again.
The song was very well received and it even toppled other 2015 hits including Bruno Mars’s Uptown Funk. In 2015, it dominated multiple Billboard charts and was nominated for a Grammy for Song of The Year.
There is even a rumor that Wiz Khalifa’s model wife, Amber Rose, relaxed her terms regarding their child’s joint custody following their 2014 divorce from the rapper after she heard this beautiful song.
You’ve Got A Friend In Me by Randy Newman
Randy Newman’s You’ve Got a Friend in Me has a simple but powerful message about friendship. However, some may interpret it as a song not just about friendship but about anyone needing and giving support. It could be a parent, sibling, or even a teacher-student relationship.
You’ve Got a Friend in Me was used in Pixar’s film Toy Story depicting the friendship between a toy named Woody and his human friend Andy. Its catchy tune and inspiring lyrics made the song a smashing hit.
Says Randy: “I asked them what words they wanted me to use in the lyrics and they told me ‘Comfort’, ‘friend’, etc.” Randy took this seriously and the result was this beautiful song with a powerful message. The song was voted the Best Animated Movie Song by the listeners of BBC Radio 2.
You’ve Got a Friend in Me has had several variants since its release. One of the most popular is a version by Michael Bublé that peaked at number 10 on the Adult Contemporary charts.
That’s What Friends Are For by Dionne Warwick ft. Elton John, Gladys Knight & Stevie Wonder
Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder performed this beautiful song to raise money for AIDS awareness.
It was originally written for, and featured in, the 1982 movie Night Shift, but Dionne and friends’ 1985 version became more popular. (Even Rod Stewart had recorded a version of That’s What Friends Are For).
Dionne’s version went on to win the Grammy award for Best Pop Performance as well as the Song of The Year.
What truly sets this song apart is the fact that Warwick was one of the few artists who reached out to the AIDS community. Warwick mentioned in an interview that her song was even used at weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. since people simply “got this beautiful”.
That’s What Friends Are For is mainly about genuine friendship. True friendship that withstands the test of time, distance, hurts, and disappointments.
I’ll Be There For You by The Rembrandts
The Rembrandt’s I’ll Be There for You is the title song of the hit TV show Friends. It is easily the most recognized TV-show song of all time.
The catchy tune became a super hit the world over and added to the show’s popularity. The show’s creators Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman, and David Crane also participated in the song. They are the ones that go “clap, clap, clap” in the famous ditty.
I’ll Be There for You had to be cut short to accommodate the episode length. The initial version was just 45 seconds but after it became popular, the band re-recorded it at the more standard 3-minute length.
Not many people know this, but we almost missed having this wonderful song about friends. The show’s producers were initially planning to go with R.E.M’s Shiny Happy People. Thankfully for us, R.E.M. passed on the project and that is how The Rembrandts came in.
The song is about true friendship and it truly represents what the show was all about. It is the promise of a friend to a friend to always be by each other’s side, no matter what their life situation might be.
I’ll Be There for You went on to top many charts including the number 1 spots on the Canadian Top Singles and Scottish Singles Chart.
Count On Me by Bruno Mars
Bruno Mars’ Count on Me is a beautiful song about friends who can count on each other through good and bad times.
It is about friends trusting each other and also aptly represents the fact that even when friends cannot always meet due to distance or personal situations, they can still count on each other. Therefore, having a good friend who can always be by your side is a treasure and a sign of lasting friendship.
Bruno wrote the track as a tribute to the victims of the Newtown, Connecticut shooting and even performed it on an episode of Ellen. The song went on to receive great acclaim. It was even used by Hyundai in one of its commercials and played at the fundraising event for Typhoon Haiyan victims.
Friend For Life by Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart’s Friend for Life is a wonderful song about a friendship of a lifetime. Originally sung by Steve Harley (of co*ckney Rebel), Rod’s version is considered a lot sweeter by his fans.
Rod and Steve have also been friends for ages, so this song is a tribute to their friendship.
Rod even dropped one of his own songs from his album Another Country, so he could add this one. What better representation of friendship than that?
Gift Of A Friend by Demi Lovato
Demi Lovato’s 2009 hit Gift of a Friend is supposedly about her friendship with Selena Gomez. Both artists went through ups and downs during their careers, but with Selena by her side, Demi was able to cope with the fame and everything else that came with it.
In her song, Demi expresses gratitude for her friendship, because it helped her get through all the tough times.
The song is also about thinking we don’t need a friend but everyone does and blessed are those who have a friend by their side. Gift Of A Friend went on to feature in the 2009 animated movie Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure.
It’s Nice To Have A Friend by Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift wrote this beautiful song about friendship with two other songwriters – Louis Bell and Frank Dukes.
The song is about two individuals who have known each other since childhood and eventually get married. Quite surprisingly, the song was featured in the official trailer of M3GAN – a 2022 sci-fi horror film about a life-like doll that begins to take on life on her own.
It does make sense, I suppose. The movie is about a friendship between a girl and the robot doll. It takes a sinister turn when the doll develops human emotions. Well, we can all guess how that one ends!
Anytime You Need A Friend by Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey wrote and performed this R&B/gospel/pop song in 1994 for her album Music Box. She based the song on her relationship with Tommy Mottola, her husband at the time.
Mariah felt stifled and ‘friendless’ throughout her marriage with Mottola, but her faith in God kept her going.
Thus, Anytime You Need a Friend is not just about friendship but also about one’s relationship with God. Mariah even roped in some gospel singers for the song’s background which gave it a choir-like feel.
As with most of her albums, the talented singer used high and low notes in this song – something she is so incredibly good at. Music Box went on to become Carey’s highest-selling album and Anytime You Need A Friend went on to win several pop music awards.
Friends – Official Friendzone Anthem by Marshmello & Anne-Marie
This is a fun song with a different take on friendship. More in tune with Gen Z, Marshmello and Anne-Marie’s song is written from the standpoint of a girl who is trying to “friendzone” her best friend (a boy).
Through the song, we find out that this boy is trying hard to get her into forming a romantic relationship with him, but she keeps fighting him and tells him that she only wants to be friends.
She even keeps spelling the word F-R-I-E-N-D-S over and over. Of course, fans of the song pointed out that Anne-Marie misspelled the word since the letter E is not heard clearly.
Anne Marie mentioned in an interview that if a girl is in a similar situation, she should send this song to that male friend. That way, he would get the message loud and clear: that she isn’t interested in taking their relationship to the next level and that the boy should stop making a fool of himself.
In a way, Friends is about unrequited love, especially if you consider the situation from the guy’s perspective. But mostly it is about a friendship between a boy and a girl in which each has very different expectations of that friendship.
Friends peaked at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart in 2018 and was hailed as Marshmello’s third big hit.
Best Friend Songs: Final Thoughts
What did you think about our list of songs about best friends? Which one was your favorite? Which did you not like?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. And if you have any suggestions for other songs you think belong on this list, please feel free to let us know those as well.
