[1] A New York, USA dance… Read Full Bio ↴Friends is a name of at least eleven entities:
[1] A New York, USA dance-punk / indie pop band.
[2] A London, UK romantic pop-rock band.
[3] A Tennessee, USA pop punk / emo band.
[4] A Japanese j-pop seiyuu group.
[5] A Swedish pop group.
[6] A UK psych-folk trio.
[7] A USA 70s jazz rock group.
[8] An Adelaide, Australia rock band.
[9] A Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA math rock band.
[10] A Japanese noise-pop band (aka 友人).
[11] A USA television series.
[12]An obscure 1960s British pop group
[1] A Brooklyn, NYC, NY, USA dance-punk / indie pop band (aka Perpetual Crush), founded in 2010.
Sites: Discogs, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
[2] A London, UK based romantic pop-rock band formed, in 1986, by William Jones (vocals, songwriting, guitar), in Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, UK. In 1992, Jones was joined by Martin Parker (drums, percussion), who together are the band's nucleus. They have released nine albums and six singles (on Summerhouse). Their latest album is Spangleland (May 2007).
Their lyrics span incurable optimism to dark miserableness and influences include: Teardrop Explodes, The Chameleons and 70s acoustic, e.g. Nick Drake and Renaissance. Spangleland is stylistically atypical, featuring somewhat weird epics.
Sites: Discogs.
[3] A Nashville, TN, USA, pop punk / emo band, with members of Dependency and début EP Better Off Alone (Jun 2011, Blood and Ink).
Sites: Twitter and Facebook.
[4] A defunct Japanese j-pop seiyuu group / seiyū group (声優ユニット), formed in 2008 (aka Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓ). The group is an all-female sextet of: 小林ゆう (Yu Kobayashi), 下田麻美 (Asami Shimoda), 桜井 真子 (Mako Sakurai - more-commonly / ambiguously known as Mako), 明坂聡美 (Satomi Akesaka), 本多陽子 (Yohko Honda) and 阿澄佳奈 (Kana Asumi). As Friends, the débuted with single "ニセモノ" (5 Nov 2008), followed by albums: 今日の5の2 BGM集 音祭り春夏秋冬 (Dec 2008), Best Friends (Jan 2009) and Friendship (Sept 2009).
The band promoted / cross-marketed television anime 今日の5の2 (romanised Kyo no Go no Ni - Today in Class 5-2) and consisted of series' seiyuu / seiyū (声優, voice-over thespians). They performed the opening / end themes throughout the series and, as common with seiyuu groups, were dissolved with its 2009 discontinuation.
Sakurai is best know as a member of Bon-Bon Blanco.
Sites: Ja.Wikipedia.
[5] A Swedish pop group which split 2004. They contested Eurovision 2001 and parted when two members founded Nina & Kim.
[6] A defunct UK psych-folk trio, of: Peter Howell, John Ferdinando and Ruth Cubbin (vocals). Their only album was Fragile (1972).
Howell and Ferdinando also released albums as Agincourt / Ithaca.
Sites: Discogs.
[7] A defunct USA 70s jazz rock group, with members: John Abercrombie, Clint Houston, Jeff Williams and Marc Cohen. Their only album was Friends (1973).
In the Heat of the Night
Friends Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Listening to all these sad songs
I know it sounds weird
But they're helping me move past all these things running through my head
I'll blame the mid-west and sleepy eyes
I'm not where I should be
I'm not what I could be
Nostalgia gets the best of me
When I wake up it's the same day
It fucks me up and makes me miss who I used to be
All I have are thoughts of me from back when I was eighteen
And my bony knees
Don't want it to be like my teenage years
I was naive and weak back then
Without much trouble on my shoulders
If I don't break
I won't know how to put myself back together
Nostalgia gets the best of me
When I wake up it's the same day
It fucks me up and makes me miss who I used to be
All I have are thoughts of me from back when I was eighteen
And my bony knees
If you never break
You'll never know how
If you never break
You'll never know how
If you never break
You'll never know how
(If you never break you'll never know)
If you never break you'll never know how to put yourself back together
Nostalgia gets the best of me
When I wake up it's the same day
It fucks me up and makes me miss who I used to be
All I have are thoughts of me from back when I was eighteen
And my bony knees
The Friends’ song In the Heat of the Night is a poignant reflection on the past and the struggle to move forward from it. The verses reveal the singer’s late-night drives, filled with sad songs that help him process his feelings about what’s running through his head. He acknowledges that this might sound odd, but it helps him “move past all these things.” He then blames his mid-west roots and “sleepy eyes,” likely symbolizing a lack of forward momentum in his life.
The chorus hits on the central theme of the song, revealing that the singer feels like he’s not living up to his potential. He’s not where he should be (geographically or metaphorically) and is striving to be someone better than he currently is. However, he’s also not the same person he used to be, indicating growth and change. The lines “If I don’t break, I won’t know how to put myself back together” indicate that the singer needs to go through some challenging times to come out the other side stronger and better than before.
The second verse explains how Nostalgia gets the best of the singer, making him miss who he used to be when he was just eighteen years old. All he has left of that time are memories. However, he also realizes that he doesn’t want to relive his teenage years when he was naive and weak, without much trouble on his shoulders. He needs to break to learn how to put himself together better.
Overall, In the Heat of the Night by Friends is a poignant reflection on the past and an acknowledgment that one needs to go through challenging times to improve oneself. It recognizes the complex emotions surrounding nostalgia and personal growth, making the song relatable to anyone who feels stuck in their current lives.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been up spending every late night in my car
I have spent many late nights in my car.
Listening to all these sad songs
I listen to sad songs when I'm alone in my car.
I know it sounds weird
I am aware that my behavior may seem strange.
But they're helping me move past all these things running through my head
The sad songs help me clear my head and move on from negative thoughts.
I'll blame the mid-west and sleepy eyes
I'll attribute my behavior to the mid-west and fatigue.
I'm not where I should be
I am not in the right place in my life.
I'm not what I could be
I am not living up to my full potential.
But I'm not who I was
I have changed since my past self.
Nostalgia gets the best of me
I often feel overwhelmed by nostalgia.
When I wake up it's the same day
I feel stuck and stagnant in my life.
It fucks me up and makes me miss who I used to be
Nostalgia makes me long for my past self.
All I have are thoughts of me from back when I was eighteen
I tend to focus on myself at a younger age.
And my bony knees
I remember specific physical details of myself at that age.
Don't want it to be like my teenage years
I don't want to repeat the mistakes of my teenage years.
I was naive and weak back then
I lacked experience and strength in my younger years.
Without much trouble on my shoulders
I had less responsibility and hardship in the past.
If I don't break
If I don't experience difficult times,
I won't know how to put myself back together
I won't learn how to overcome challenges and grow as a person.
If you never break
If one never experiences challenges,
You'll never know how
They won't learn how to overcome adversity and grow.
Nostalgia gets the best of me
I often feel overwhelmed by nostalgia.
When I wake up it's the same day
I feel stuck and stagnant in my life.
It fucks me up and makes me miss who I used to be
Nostalgia makes me long for my past self.
All I have are thoughts of me from back when I was eighteen
I tend to focus on myself at a younger age.
And my bony knees
I remember specific physical details of myself at that age.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Brian Blake, Kyle Fasel, Dave Knox, Dan Lambton, Eric Haines
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind