Even the simplest message can be quite profound when delivered with earnest intent and undeniable gusto. “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” the 1975 hit single by the band War, has proven this theory for five decades now.
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The song gets it just right, balancing humor and sweetness with moral clarity and a universal notion as relevant as “All You Need is Love.” Here’s how a band known as War came up with the ultimate song of unity.
A Resilient Bunch
While the band known as War technically started with the involvement of former Animals’ lead singer Eric Burdon at the end of the ‘60s, various members had been involved together in Los Angeles bands for much longer than that. There was one outfit called The Creators, which then morphed into a collective that backed up the singer Deacon Jones (same name but different guy from the NFL star).
What was striking about this group of musicians is they came from different ethnic and racial backgrounds, a mixture that would inform the music they made together. Latin influences came to the fore on “Spill the Wine,” which became their first big hit with Burdon. But he was gone by 1971, leaving the band to try and forge an identity on their own.
It took a few records for them to achieve that. Eventually, some effortlessly funky hit singles drifted into the picture, leading to the 1972 album The World Is a Ghetto, which topped the U.S. charts. Few bands dented the Top 10 on the pop charts with as much regularity as they did in that early to mid-‘70s period, with “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” emerging as perhaps their most iconic song.
“Friends” for Life
Like most War songs, “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” was credited to the entire group (as well as, in this case, producer Jerry Goldstein). In an interview with Songfacts, War drummer Harold Brown explained how a trip to Japan helped open the band’s eyes to the similarities among seemingly disparate peoples, thus inspiring the song:
“Because all of a sudden you find out we’re more alike inside than we are on the outside. We started realizing that that’s really important. You travel all over the world, you can’t speak a lot of their language. But one thing they do know, they know your body language, how you may react.”
With horns bubbling through the track, a bouncy reggae-style groove, and the members of the band trading verses, “Why Can’t Be Friends?” proved an irresistible anthem when released as the title song and first single from the band’s 1975 album. It gave them yet another Top-10 hit (the fifth of seven they’d deliver in their career), and ended up becoming a staple of television, film, and advertisements in subsequent years.
Behind the Lyrics to “Why Can’t We Be Friends?”
That title phrase gets repeated a bunch in “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” But the way the chords keep shifting the melody, it sort of takes on different forms: a desperate plea, a gentle nudge, an honest question, and a powerful statement.
Beyond that, a series of couplets embellish upon the theme. Some highlight the absurdity of unnecessary separation: I seen you walking down in Chinatown / I call you but could not look around. Others take subtle jabs at the powers that be: I know you’re working for the CIA / They wouldn’t have you in the Mafia. And still others hit home with their piercing common sense: Sometimes I don’t speak right / But yet I know what I’m talking about.
It’s near impossible to listen to “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” without a smile creeping onto your face. And it’s understandable if the wisdom of the chorus makes you think. Maybe it’s not as simple as War suggests it is, but their classic song sure makes you believe it could be.
Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images
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