Friends Will Be Friends – English Lyrics

• By: Queen
• Album: A Kind Of Magic, Greatest Video Hits 2

Lyrics & Translation

Explore the heartwarming anthem "Friends Will Be Friends" by Queen, a celebration of camaraderie and support. This song offers a fantastic opportunity to learn English through its relatable lyrics about friendship and resilience. Discover how Queen's music unites listeners in moments of both joy and adversity.

[English]

Another red letter day

So the pound has dropped, and the children are creating

The other half ran away

Taking all the cash and leaving you with the lumber

Got a pain in the chest

Doctors on strike, what you need is a rest

It's not easy, love, but you've got friends you can trust

Friends will be friends

When you're in need of love

They give you care and attention

Friends will be friends

When you're through with life, and all hope is lost

Hold out your hand 'cause friends will be friends

Right 'til the end

...

Now it's a beautiful day

The postman delivered a letter from your lover

Only a phone call away

You tried to track him down

But somebody stole his number

As a matter of fact

You're getting used to life without him in your way

It's so easy now

'Cause you got friends you can trust

Friends will be friends

When you're in need of love

They give you care and attention

Friends will be friends

When you're through with life, and all hope is lost

Hold out your hand 'cause friends will be friends

Right 'til the end

...

It's so easy now

'Cause you got friends you can trust

Friends will be friends

When you're in need of love

They give you care and attention

Friends will be friends

When you're through with life, and all hope is lost

Hold out your hand

Friends will be friends

Right 'til the end

Friends will be friends

When you're in need of love

They give you care and attention

Friends will be friends

When you're through with life, and all hope is lost

Hold out your hand 'cause right 'til the end

Friends will be friends, yeah, yeah

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
red /rɛd/ A1	adjective - of a color like blood
children /ˈtʃɪldrən/ A1	noun - plural of child
cash /kæʃ/ A2	noun - money in the form of coins or notes
pain /peɪn/ A2	noun - physical suffering or discomfort
chest /tʃɛst/ A2	noun - the upper front part of the body between the neck and the abdomen
strike /straɪk/ B1	noun - a refusal to work organized by a body of employees as a form of protest verb - to hit or attack forcefully
trust /trʌst/ B1	verb - to believe in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of (someone or something) noun - firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something
need /niːd/ A1	verb - require (something) because it is essential or very important. noun - a thing that is essential or very important
care /kɛər/ A2	noun - the provision of what is necessary for the health, welfare, maintenance, and protection of someone or something verb - feel concern or interest; attach importance to something
attention /əˈtɛnʃən/ B1	noun - notice taken of someone or something; the regarding of someone or something as interesting or important.
hope /hoʊp/ A2	noun - a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen verb - want something to happen or be the case
hand /hænd/ A1	noun - the end part of a person's arm beyond the wrist, including the fingers and thumb
beautiful /ˈbjuːtɪfʊl/ A2	adjective - pleasing the senses or mind aesthetically
lover /ˈlʌvər/ A2	noun - a person who is in love with someone.
track /træk/ B1	verb - follow the trail or movements of (someone or something), typically in order to find them
matter /ˈmætər/ B1	noun - a subject or situation under consideration
life /laɪf/ A1	noun - the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death.
easy /ˈiːzi/ A1	adjective - achieved without great effort; presenting no difficulties.

Key Grammar Structures

• So the pound has dropped, and the children are creating

  ➔ Present Perfect Tense (has dropped) and Present Continuous Tense (are creating)

  ➔ The "present perfect" tense "has dropped" indicates an action completed at an unspecified time before now, while the "present continuous" tense "are creating" describes an action in progress at the time of speaking. The conjunction 'so' implies cause and effect.

• Taking all the cash and leaving you with the lumber

  ➔ Present Participle Clauses (Taking, leaving)

  ➔ "Taking" and "leaving" are present participles introducing clauses that add information about the main action (implied). They function as adverbs, describing how the subject (the 'other half') ran away.

• Doctors on strike, what you need is a rest

  ➔ Ellipsis (implied "are"), Subject-Verb Inversion (what you need is)

  ➔ The sentence implies "Doctors are on strike", using ellipsis for brevity. "What you need is a rest" uses subject-verb inversion for emphasis, typical in informal speech.

• It's not easy, love, but you've got friends you can trust

  ➔ Contraction ('It's', 'you've'), Relative Clause (friends you can trust)

  ➔ "It's" is a contraction of "It is", and "you've" is a contraction of "you have". "friends you can trust" is a relative clause where the relative pronoun (that or whom) is omitted.

• When you're through with life, and all hope is lost

  ➔ Adverbial Clause of Time (When you're through with life), Passive Voice (hope is lost)

  ➔ "When you're through with life" is an adverbial clause of time, indicating *when* the main clause applies. "Hope is lost" is in the passive voice, focusing on the loss of hope rather than who caused it.

• Only a phone call away

  ➔ Ellipsis (implied "He/She is"), Adverbial Phrase

  ➔ This is a shortened sentence, likely meaning "He/She is only a phone call away". "Only a phone call away" functions as an adverbial phrase describing how close the lover is.

• You tried to track him down But somebody stole his number

  ➔ Past Simple Tense (tried, stole), Conjunction (But)

  ➔ Both "tried" and "stole" are in the past simple tense, indicating completed actions in the past. "But" is a coordinating conjunction, contrasting the two events.

• As a matter of fact

  ➔ Idiomatic Phrase

  ➔ "As a matter of fact" is an idiomatic phrase used to introduce a statement that adds to or clarifies a previous point, often indicating something surprising or unexpected.