Songfacts®:
This song is about the innocent playful friendships made in the early days of school. Written by Jack White, he takes the perspective of a young boy who befriends a schoolgirl, Suzy Lee. They walk to school every day and have lots of adventures along the way, often stopping to chase bugs. He knows they're going to be great friends.
This song plays at the beginning of the 2004 movie Napoleon Dynamite, where it is used under a clever opening sequence where the credits appear on various everyday objects (lip balm, bag lunch). The film was a surprise hit and earned a great deal of exposure for the song. The main character, Napoleon, is a strong-willed, talented, quirky type with big ideas. Kinda like the White Stripes frontman.
The White Stripes played this song when they made their first Saturday Night Live appearance on October 19, 2002.
On February 20, 2009, they played a slower version of the song on the final episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Instead of playing the drums, Meg White played guitar and sang next to Jack White. This ended up being the last public performance by the duo.
"We're Going To Be Friends" wasn't released as a single, but thanks to its use in Napoleon Dynamite, it is one of the most-downloaded songs in the White Stripes canon.
The video is a single, locked-down shot of Jack White playing the song on a curbside couch while Meg sleeps on it (he wakes her up at the end). It was shot the same day they did their video for "Hotel Yorba," using the leftover film stock.
Jack Johnson covered this song for the soundtrack of the 2006 film Curious George.
Fall is here, hear the yell
Back to school, ring the bell
Brand new shoes, walking blues
Climb the fence, books and pens
I can tell that we are gonna be friends
I can tell that we are gonna be friends
Walk with me, Suzy Lee
Through the park and by the tree
We will rest upon the ground
And look at all the bugs we found
Safely walk to school without a sound
Safely walk to school without a sound
Here we are, no
one else
We walked to school all by ourselves
There's dirt on our uniforms
From chasing all the ants and worms
We clean up and now its time to learn
We clean up and now its time to learn
Numbers, letters, learn to spell
Nouns, and books, and show and tell
Playtime we will throw the ball
Back to class, through the hall
Teacher marks our height against the wall
Teacher marks our height against the wall
We don't notice any time pass
We don't
notice anything
We sit side by side in every class
Teacher thinks that I sound funny
But she likes the way you sing
Tonight I'll dream while I'm in bed
When silly thoughts go through my head
About the bugs and alphabet
And when I wake tomorrow I'll bet
That you and I will walk together again
I can tell that we are gonna be friends
Yes, I can tell that we are gonna be friends
Lyrics submitted by weezerific:cutlery
We're Going to Be Friends Lyrics as written by John Anthony White
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Song Released: 2002
We're Going To Be Friends Lyrics
fall is here, hear the yell
back to school, ring the bell
brand new shoes, walking blues
climb the fence, book and pens
i can tell that we are gonna be friends
walk with me, suzy lee
through the park, by the tree
we will rest upon the...
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#1 top rated interpretation:
anonymous
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May 30th 2013 reportI always like to think about the song as the story of life.
"hear the yell" - birth
Then he talks about living and making friends with no worries at all, up until the teacher:
"teacher marks our height against the wall" and "Teacher thinks that I sound funny but she likes the way you sing" - the teacher is a metaphor for society, and it's judging, categorizing; the beginnings of discrimination and prejudices.
"we don't notice any time pass, we don't notice anything" is the monotomy of the adult life and the quick time passage
Now the bed and sleeping is the end of life - death. "Tonight I'll dream while I'm in bed when silly thoughts go through my head about the bugs and alphbet" - at the end, thinking about his youth and his life
"And when I wake tommorow I'll bet that you and I will walk together again" - hope for a life after death, perhaps heavenBut then again, this is my interpretation
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#2 top rated interpretation:
anonymous
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Aug 5th 2008 reportIt's about the days when everything was simple, like when you were a child. There wasn't fighting and wars and arguments that we deal with as young adults and adults. Being a kid isn't complex at all, your involved in school and relationships with other people and that's really it.
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anonymous
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Sep 18th 2019 reportI’m doing a project in school where I have to write a script for a little play using song lyrics so I chose this song and used it in a way where the weird kid in school tries to be friends with someone who’s “too cool” for him. But in the end, they sit side by side in every class and we’re friends.
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anonymous
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Jul 5th 2018 reporti think the meaning of the song is when he was a child and every thing was simple and there was a girl that he bonded with and he knew they were going to be friends
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anonymous
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Feb 15th 2018 reportI think the song is about the the kind of love that develops completely organically. The kind that you just know is the real thing and founded on the fundamental part of any love...friendship.
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