About The Song
During the early Seventies, there was a feeling among the countercultural generation that “friends were the new family”. In response to this, Carole King had written a hymn to companionship, but was unsure if it rang true.
Around Christmas 1970, she played the new song to her producer, Lou Adler. “I have feelings of wondering about whether it’s going to make it or not,” King said. She remembered Adler’s equivocal, one-word response on hearing the song for the first time: “Yeah!” Unconvinced, she also tried it out on her co-lyricist Toni Stern, who thought it was “too obvious”.
Another songwriter, Cynthia Weil, considered it “too long”. The song swayed from minor to major, and back to minor. In January 1971, James Taylor’s unfussy acoustic guitar backed King on her version of the song, for what would become a defining album of the era, Tapestry. King and Taylor, with the help of the musician Danny Kortchmar, vocalist Merry Clayton and a string quartet, nailed the song in one take.
“The song was as close to pure inspiration as I’ve ever experienced,” she explained to Mojo Magazine. “The song wrote itself. It was written by something outside myself, through me.”
And Taylor told Rolling Stone that King told him the song came after hearing his song, “Fire and Rain.” That line is: I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend.
King has also said she didn’t write it with Taylor or anyone else in mind. It’s just that when he heard it, he knew he wanted to record it, too.
The song lyrics are about platonic devotion. The love for someone else that’s so strong you’d do anything for them. But while this type of love is often expressed in romantic ways about amorous relationships, the song instead highlights friendship above all else.
The same month, Taylor appropriated the song for himself, making it a US No 1 and earning Grammys for singer and writer. What makes the whole thing even more special is that Taylor , and King , remain great friends today. The two just premiered their new documentary on CNN, Just Call Out My Name, which showcased their friendship and deep admiration, both as people and as artists.
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Lyrics
When you’re down and troubled
And you need some lovin’ care
And nothin’, nothin’ is goin’ right
Close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there
To brighten up even your darkest night
You just call out my name
And you know, wherever I am
I’ll come runnin’
To see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you have to do is call
And I’ll be there
You’ve got a friend
If the sky above you
Grows dark and full of clouds
And that old north wind begins to blow
Keep your head together
And call my name out loud
Soon you’ll hear me knockin’ at your door
You just call out my name
And you know, wherever I am
I’ll come runnin’, runnin’, yeah, yeah
To see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you have to do is call
And I’ll be there, yes, I will
Now, ain’t it good to know that you’ve got a friend
When people can be so cold?
They’ll hurt you, yes, and desert you
And take your soul if you let them
Oh, but don’t you let them
You just call out my name
And you know, wherever I am
I’ll come runnin’, runnin’, yeah, yeah
To see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you have to do is call
And I’ll be there, yes, I will
You’ve got a friend
You’ve got a friend
Ain’t it good to know you’ve got a friend
Ain’t it good to know, ain’t it good to know
Ain’t it good to know
You’ve got a friend
Oh, yeah, now, you’ve got a friend
Yeah baby, you’ve got a friend
Oh, yeah, you’ve got a friend