3 of the Best Rock Songs About Friendship and Bein’ Buds

Friendship is messy, heartbreaking, joyful, and soothing. We need it desperately, especially nowadays. And, personally, one of my favorite ways to show my friends how much I love them is by sending them songs that remind me of them, or of our friendships in general. Let’s take a look at a few rock songs from the 20th century that exemplify friendship beautifully.

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“I’ll Be Your Mirror” by The Velvet Underground and Nico

Friendship is often a mirror, in a way. When we love other people and spend time with them, we can see ourselves in them and relate to them. “I’ll Be Your Mirror” by The Velvet Underground and Nico might seem more on the romantic side, but Lou Reed apparently wrote this tune with the intention of it being platonic. It’s a gentler song in The Velvet Underground’s discography, and the fact that it isn’t actually a romantic love song lends it more power for some reason. If anything, it gives us a glimpse into Reed’s less-harsh side, which wasn’t always abundantly obvious in his music.

“Hey Jude” by The Beatles

At the heart of this song is an “uncle” figure imploring a young boy to find love and joy in every corner of his life, despite the fact that everything in his life was likely crumbling. Paul McCartney wrote this tune for Julian Lennon, John Lennon’s first son, as his parents were in the middle of a divorce. John Lennon was, according to Julian himself, a poor father, and it’s pretty heartbreaking that he wasn’t the one who wrote this song. It came from ol’ Uncle Paul instead. And if you pull away from that context a bit, “Hey Jude” is very much a platonic love song of sorts. I’ve sent this song to a friend on more than one occasion when they needed to hear its message.

“Old Friends” by Simon & Garfunkel

This is an interesting piece of work from Simon & Garfunkel, considering the folk duo had an incredibly complicated (and often contentious) friendship. Still, “Old Friends” is an endearing tune about how powerful friendship can be. It’s one of the finest classic folk-rock songs about friendship out there, in my opinion. And if you haven’t heard it yet, I recommend enjoying the entirety of the 1968 album Bookends. It’s a real treat.

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