Katie Peterson
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Gather all your friends and turn on that playlist of best friend songs to enjoy together. Don’t worry if you don’t have one ready yet. We’ve got 15 songs about friendship to get you started.
You’ll love nothing more than pouring a glass of wine with your girlfriends or downing a beer with your bros with this collection of friendship songs.
Did your favorite make the list? Let’s find out.
“Anytime You Need a Friend” – Mariah Carey
The “Songbird Supreme” does it again in this 1994 single, “Anytime You Need a Friend,” for her third studio album, Music Box.
With a perfect blend of gospel, R&B, and pop, Mariah Carey shows off her impressive vocal range in this mid-tempo ballad that beautifully tells the story of how the bond of friendship can be even more powerful than the bond of love. As the narrator, Carey always promises to be a friend of the man she loves, even if he can’t love her back.
Like so many of the songs about friendship on our list, it’s easy to find ways to relate to this song, and we ache, however slightly, as it has us reach for the tissues.
“Count on Me” – Bruno Mars
Bruno Mars gives us all the feelings in this 2011 single that would top any list of best friend songs.
“Count on Me” is an uplifting song that makes us want to sing at the top of our lungs to our best friends, assuring them that we’ll always be there for them no matter what. Even better is this song encapsulating the most profound bond of the best friendship there could ever be. It helps us remember how lucky we are to know that that same person that can always count on us, we can always count on them, too.
With so many songs about friendship to choose from, this will be our go-to expression every time for that person.
“Gift of a Friend” – Demi Lovato
The best thing about having friends by your side, you never have to feel as though you’re alone.
That’s Demi Lovato’s message in her “Gift of a Friend” song from her 2009 Here We Go Again studio album.
Life isn’t easy, and when friends are there for the ups and the downs, it’s a true gift. Don’t let it go to waste.
“Graduation (Friends Forever)” – Vitamin C
Vitamin C is flawless in describing the feelings of finally being 18, a senior in high school, and getting ready to graduate and take on the world. At the same time, she brings about that heart-wrenching idea of having to say goodbye to our friends at the same time.
This 2000 classic brings about all the emotions of such a bittersweet time that became the anthem for graduations everywhere. Whether excited, scared, or sad, we happily embraced and promised to be friends forever.
Cue the tears when this comes on our best friend songs playlist.
“I’ll Be There for You” – The Rembrandts
How could the song best known as the theme song of the hit sitcom Friends not be included in our songs about friendship list? Would we BE any crazier?
“I’ll Be There for You” by The Rembrandts became the king of all theme songs as it perfectly encapsulated that time in life when your friends are your family as young adults try to navigate the ups and downs of living life on your own for the first time. There’s nothing like knowing that no matter what, this best of all the best friend songs reminds us that those we love most will always be there for us.
Related: The 23 Worst 90s Songs: Which of Your Favorites Made the List?
“I’ll Stand by You” – The Pretenders
We’ve been gifted with many versions of this classic of all the songs about friendship, including from the queen of country music, Carrie Underwood, in 2007, but the original 1994 single by The Pretenders is still our favorite.
Released as the second single off their Last of the Independents album, “I’ll Stand by You” is one of those best friend songs that reminds someone just what that means. There’s nothing like the protection of a friend that assures you that they will do whatever it takes to make sure no harm comes to you. They’re there to offer comfort, support, and no judgment whether you want to cry, scream, or don’t want to feel alone anymore.
“Lean on Me” – Bill Withers
It’s one of the most original of all the songs about friendship.
Released in 1972, Bill Wither’s “Lean on Me” gave an example of what it means to be the songwriter of one of the greatest best friend songs ever. It’s such a classic that Rolling Stone ranked it on “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list in 2010.
And why shouldn’t it be? Everyone needs that reminder that we don’t have to do everything alone. Sometimes we need to ask for help and lean on someone else when the load gets too heavy, and that’s OK!
Related: 16 Songs About Loss to Help You Grieve
“My Old Friend” – Tim McGraw
Called “one of the best singles of his career” by Country Universe, Tim McGraw released “My Old Friend” as the final single off his Live Like You Were Dying album in 2005.
Sometimes life gets in the way, and through no fault of our own, we drift away from our friends, but that doesn’t mean the friendship is any less special. As McGraw demonstrates in this top 10 hit, the best friendships stay strong, as if no time has passed when they come together again.
We all have that one friend in our life that fits that description, and we’ll gladly “recall the times we had, hanging on [our] wall” until we meet again. That lesson cuts even deeper in the second verse when we realize that McGraw is actually singing of a friend who has passed on and just wants the world to remember that they were here.
Related: Best Tim McGraw Songs: Our Top 25 Hits from the Country Superstar
“That’s What Friends Are For” – Dionne Warwick & Friends
“That’s What Friends Are For” may have originally been recorded by Ron Stewart, but it was the collaborative cover by Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, and Elton John in 1985 that we love and remember the most when we start talking about songs about friendship.
Related: 17 Interesting Facts About Stevie Wonder
Winner of the Grammy Awards for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and Song of the Year, this charity single raised more than $3 million for the American Foundation for AIDS Research. What better way to do that than with one of the best songs about friendship ever to be recorded? That’s what friends are for.
“What About Your Friends” – TLC
TLC came out with a bang when they released this third single off their debut album, Ooooooohhh… On the TLC Tip in 1992.
With a different twist than others on our songs about friendship list, “What About Your Friends” calls into question those supposed friends in your life to ensure they have the loyalty and character you want to have around you.
The popular 90s group mainly draws on their own experience of stardom and questions the way people have started showing their true colors, accusing the group members of changing with their newfound fame, but alas, it’s the friends that did.
So, ask yourself, “What about your friends? … Will they turn their backs on you?” It’s OK to ask.
“Wind Beneath My Wings” – Bette Midler
Bette Midler wasn’t the first to release this classic song, but her 1989 version is the one that remains the most popular of them all.
“Wind Beneath My Wings” is one of the most soulful best friend songs we’ve ever heard as the narrator praises that special friend for simply being the support system without needing recognition for it.
It goes to show that it’s not just perfect as being one of the songs about friendship, but it can apply to anyone in our lives that lifts us up when we need it most, be it our parents, siblings, or whomever. It’s a special song that we thank Midler for covering every time we hear it.
Related: 26 Heartfelt Songs About Death to Remember Those We Lost
“With a Little Help from My Friends” – The Beatles
It’s no secret that The Beatles were one of the most influential groups ever. With hits such as “Here Comes the Sun,” “Hey Jude,” and “Blackbird,” it’s hard to single out just one of their classics.
When it comes to songs about friendship, however, there is no other choice than their 1967 hit “With a Little Help from My Friends” off their Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album.
This song was a perfect combination of our four favorite artists as it was penned by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and the vocals were led by drummer Ringo Starr. It’s like it was written in the stars that this song came together “With a Little Help from … friends.”
Related: 10 Best Beatles Songs, 1963-1966
“You’re My Best Friend” – Queen
They always say the best relationships are when the couple likes each other as much as they love each other. “You’re My Best Friend” by the British rock band Queen encapsulates that to a “t” as the narrator doesn’t just proclaim their love but that their lover is also their best friend and always will be.
It has such a classic sentiment that it’s been used in several big-time television shows and films, from Hot in Cleveland to The King of Queens and even The Simpsons.
“You’ve Got a Friend” – Carole King
Singer and songwriter Carole King again shows off her gifts with her 1971 Grammy Award-winning single, “You’ve Got a Friend.”
Also covered by James Taylor, who also won a Grammy Award, “You’ve Got a Friend” was called by King as being “as close to pure inspiration as I’ve ever experienced. The song wrote itself. It was written by something outside myself, through me.”
It is true of some of the best songs in life, and this one certainly qualifies. This beautifully written mid-tempo ballad displays the truest form of friendship as the narrator promises that whenever a friend calls on them for help, “soon you’ll hear me knockin’ at your door.”
Isn’t that all anyone wants from a friend when it’s needed most?
“You’ve Got a Friend in Me” – Randy Newman
Our childlike hearts swell whenever we hear Randy Newman’s “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.” When Newman teamed up with Lyle Lovett to record this for the classic Disney/Pixar Toy Story franchise, it didn’t just become one of our favorite best friend songs but one of the first songs about friendship heard by kids all around the world.
Related: The 10 Best Disney Theme Songs
It’s never too early to start teaching children what it means to be a friend, and music is always a fantastic way to do it, and with a pure example like Woody and Buzz, the message is sure to run deep.
Does anyone want to come over and watch Toy Story with us? “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” if you do!
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