Songs: Can We Be Friends?

notes / gigs / releases

I only came here 'cause I thought I ought to
Standing at the bar, no-one I knew to talk to
I said "hello" to you because we met at that thing last year
Twenty minutes later we're still stood here
We only spoke for two ticks
But something clicked

Hey, can we be friends?
Sorry if it seems like I'm not making sense
But this is not a thing I thought would happen again
That I'd say - hey hey
Can we be friends?

If we were teenagers we could join a gang
If we were in our twenties we could form a band
If we were in our thirties there'd be Pimms in marquees
I think I've finally seen the point of dinner parties
I don't want to sound weird
But do you fancy a beer?

Hey, can we be friends?
Sorry if it seems like I'm not making sense
But this is not a thing I thought would happen again
That I'd say - hey hey
Can we be friends?

This is awkward, I know
The last time that it happened was a decade ago
But it feels like, at our age
You lose more people than you gain
So I say -

Hey, can we be friends?
Sorry if it seems like I'm not making sense
But this is not a thing I thought would happen again
That I'd say - hey hey
Can we be -
Hey, can we be friends?
Sorry if it seems like I'm not making sense
But this is not a thing I thought would happen again
That I'd say - hey hey
Can we be friends?
Can we be friends?

Published by Wipe Out Music Publishing

The first idea for writing a song like this came at Hibbettfest in 2013 when my other half ended up chatting to somebody new for most of the afternoon. When we got home she said "Can me and her be friends?" and it reminded me how unusual and wonderful it actually is to make new friends when you're a grown-up. I guess it happens so often as a child and teenager that you pretty much fill up all the space you've got in your life for chums early on, and then when you're an actual adult your friendships circles contract and solidify the older you get.

A few months later The Validators wrote some music together and sent me the results to see if I could use them for anything - we usually write a couple of songs per album like this, although this was the first time I'd managed to get away with not turning up for the rehearsal to join in! I used the verse and chorus to one of the tunes as the verse and bridge for this one, adding in a new chorus and, eventually, a middle section too, then chopping around my words to fit.

It all seemed to work and I liked the song a lot, but it wasn't until we did the recorded version and added the huge chorus of Emmas that I really loved it. It sounds great!