Thank you for being a friend
Traveled down a road and back again
Your heart is true, you're a pal and a confidant
I'm not ashamed to say
I hope it always will stay this way
My hat is off, won't you stand up and take a bow
And if you threw a party
Invited everyone you knew
Well, you would see the biggest gift would be from me
And the card attached would say
Thank you for being a friend
Thank you for being a friend
Thank you for
being a friend
Thank you for being a friend
If it's a car you lack
I'd surely buy you a Cadillac
Whatever you need, any time of the day or night
I'm not ashamed to say
I hope it always will stay this way
My hat is off, won't you stand up and take a bow
And when we both get older
With walking canes and hair of gray
Have no fear, even though it's hard to hear
I will stand real close and say
Thank you for being a friend (I wanna thank you)
Thank
you for being a friend (I wanna thank you)
Thank you for being a friend (I wanna thank you)
Thank you for being a friend (I wanna thank you)
Let me tell you 'bout a friend (I wanna thank you)
Thank you for being a friend (I wanna thank you)
Thank you for being a friend (I wanna thank you)
Thank you for being a friend (I wanna thank you)
And when we die and float away
Into the night, the Milky Way
You'll hear me call as we ascend
I'll see you there, then once
again
Thank you for being a
Thank you for being a friend (I wanna thank you)
Thank you for being a friend (I wanna thank you)
Thank you for being a friend (I wanna thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
People, let me tell you 'bout a friend (I wanna thank you)
Thank you for being a friend (I wanna thank you)
Thank you for being a friend (I wanna thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
Whoa, tell you 'bout a friend (let me thank you right now for being a
friend)
Thank you for being a friend (I wanna tell you 'bout a pal and I'll tell you again)
Thank you for being a friend (I wanna thank you, thank you)
Thank you for being a friend Writer/s: Andrew M Gold
Publisher: Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind
Songfacts®:
This breezy song embodied the Southern California sound of the late '70s - Gold said he was in his "Brian Wilson phase" when he wrote it. The song finds Gold showing gratitude to a true friend, assuring this person that he will be there until the end.
Seven years after this song was a hit for singer/songwriter Andrew Gold, it became the theme from the NBC sitcom The Golden Girls, which ran from 1985-1992. A jingle singer named Cynthia Fee sang the TV version.
With lyrics about a friendship that endures into old age, the song is remarkably appropriate for the show:
And when we both get older
With walking canes and hair of gray
Have no fear, even though it's hard to hear
I will stand real close and say,
"Thank you for being a friend" >>Suggestion credit:
Jerro - New Alexandria, PAGold wrote that this song was "sort of dedicated" to his musical partner Brock Walsh and his manager Norman Epstein.
According to Gold, it took him just an hour to write this song. Recording it was more onerous: they did 40 takes, and went with #40.
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Andrew Gold was a singer-songwriter-producer who was the son of the composer Ernest Gold and his first wife, singer Marni Nixon. He was a popular studio musician in the early '70s, when he played guitar and sang on many Linda Ronstadt recordings. After a spell in a folk-rock band called Bryndle, he released his first solo album in 1975. His breakout hit came in 1977 with "Lonely Boy," which went to #7 in the US. "Thank You for Being a Friend" appeared on his third album.
Gold charted with another song from that album, "Never Let Her Slip Away," which went to #67, but that was his last entry as a solo artist. For much of the '80s, he was in the band Wax with Graham Gouldman; they reached #43 US in 1986 with "Right Between The Eyes" and #12 UK in 1987 with "Bridge to Your Heart." He also co-wrote the Wynonna Judd song "I Saw the Light," which was a #1 Country hit in 1992. Gold died in 2011 at age 59.
An unusual instrument in the mix of this track: sleigh bells.
Andrew Gold worked on another popular sitcom theme song, "Final Frontier," which opened the Paul Reiser/Helen Hunt TV series Mad About You during its run from 1992-1999. Gold didn't write that one though - Reiser and Don Was did. Gold sang the version that was used on the show for the first five seasons.
Jeff Porcaro from the band Toto played drums on this track; renown session guitarist Waddy Wachtel played guitar.