FRIENDS
(Glen Campbell / Dick Bowman)

Glen Campbell - 1969
Bill Anderson - 1969


 
Friends are never earned
They're a gift from a loving God
And they're precious beyond human evaluation
You dare not take them for granted 
Or they'll drift away like smoke
And the warmth of their caring will vanish 
Into the chill of the endless nights
Most of my friends are unknowns
They probably won't even rate an obituary
Unless they live and die in a small town somewhere
Where nothing much ever happens
But a few of my friends are big people
They're famous, sensitive, talented
And their names are household words
And yet they're no more precious in God's eyes, or in mine
Than those wonderful nobodys who live and die in obscurity

Who's your friend? He's someone who warms you with a nod 
Or with an unspoken word in hard times 
When you're hurtin' beyond words
She's someone who holds you to her breast 
And sighs softly into your hair
When no other medicine could possibly stop the pain
A friend is someone who clinks his glass against yours
Or answers the phone at three in the morning when you're lost
And with a few words of encouragement and concern
Makes you realise that you're not really lost at all
Friends come in both sexes, in all shapes and sizes
The most important thing they have in common 
Is their ability to share with you your most sky-splitting joys
Or your deepest most awesome sorrows
Of all the things that I have in this world
I'm most grateful for my friends


(Transcribed by Mel Priddle - July 2010)