Friend is a word that I don't throw around
Though it's used and abused, I still like the sound
I save it for folks who've done right by me
And I know I can count on, if ever need be.

Some of my friends drive big limousines
Own ranches and banks and visit with queens
And some of my friends are up to their neck
In overdue notes and can't write a check.

They're singers and ropers and writers of prose
And others, God help them, can't blow their own nose!
I guess being friends has nothing to do
With talent or money or knowing who's who.

It's a comfortable feeling when you don't have to care
About choosing your words or being quite fair
Because friends'll listen and just go on by
Those words you don't mean and not bat an eye

It makes a friend happy to see your success
They're proud of your good side and forgive all the rest
That isn't so easy, all of the time
Those times they get crazy and seem to go blind!

Your friend might have to just take you on home
Or remind you sometimes, that you're not alone
Or ever so gently pull you back to the ground
When you think you can fly with no one around.

A hug, or a shake, whichever seems right
Is the high point of giving, I'll tell you this night
All wordly riches and tributes of men
Can't hold a candle to the worth of a friend.