We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Single Friends

by Friends

supported by
/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $10 USD

     

1.
Nothing else will ever feel the same You’ll never see that summertime again Now it’s just a picture in a frame You’ll never see that summertime again When we were young We spent each summer here Those days in the sun Could never disappear So hold onto this And everything can change One final kiss Before the sunlight fades Nothing else will ever feel the same You’ll never see that summertime again A pile of stones to show that we were here It won’t be there when you go back next year I will return The blue of the sky and the sun in your eyes When the crowds have gone The chill in the air and the wind in your hair Look for you there and you’re everywhere Three weeks have gone I never saw them pass You still linger on We’ll make this drink the last And goodbye to you My very special friend I’ll miss you too We’ll never meet again Nothing else will ever feel the same You’ll never see that summertime again A photograph to show that you and I Are hand in hand as long as we’re alive Long live tonight Watching you laugh as I lie in the grass Slowly fading light Making me smile like an innocent child Open my eyes and you’re filling the sky A paradise on earth when time stood still Has never come again and never will Nothing else will ever feel the same You’ll never see that summertime again A memory that’s coloured blue and gold A souvenir for when I’m tired and old Nothing else will ever feel the same You’ll never see that summertime again Try as I would Kissing goodbye through the tears in your eyes It’s gone for good Making it last but it’s fading so fast I should have asked but the moment had passed Wherever you go I’ll be missing you so Whatever I do I’ll be thinking of you Written by William Jones Published by Summerhouse Music Ltd
2.
This is the start of a beautiful friendship Don’t worry will it last, forget about the past This is the start of another adventure Don’t try to see the end, the time ahead is ours to spend I look at things today In a different kind of way I’ll tell you all I’ve heard And tomorrow there’s a whole new World there outside Roads leading worldwide Suddenly it’s real And I only hope you feel what I can feel This is the start of a day to remember I know because I know, my instinct tells me so This is the start of a glorious summer Enjoy it while we can, and don’t forget where we began Disappear from out of view And I could soon believe that I was dreaming, simply dreaming Suddenly the vision clears And I can see you standing in the sun This is the start of a brilliant morning The burning sky is clear, the future goes from here This is the start, where the blossom is falling It’s one day at a time, we’ll find what only we can find This is the start of a magical journey With only you and me, we’re travelling for free This is the start of a shimmering highway We’ll follow where it goes The way the river flows Whichever way the breezes blow Written by William Jones Published by Summerhouse Music Ltd
3.
Into The Sun 02:59
You climb so high to the top of the sky And you end up flying It’s cool up there with the wind in your hair And it’s easy gliding There’s no fear of falling Can I hear you calling to the ground? Into the sun See you flying into the sun Into the sun Closer to the heat of the sun And then you rest a while from a million miles On the astral highway The view’s so clear and you love it up here On a solar driveway Here the rain is frozen Here the cool breeze blows into your face Into the sun Watch you all the way to the sun Into the sun See you heading into the sun You are my blue sky eyes Watch for the trail of aeroplanes Search for the blaze of shattering stars Will you reach out I know you’re travelling far You’re out of here in the white stratosphere And you’re on your way now Light years on and the memory’s gone Of your earthbound days now I can see you soaring Can you hear me call out of the past? Into the sun See you climbing into the sun Into the sun Closer to the heat of the sun You are my blue sky eyes Written by William Jones Published by Summerhouse Music Ltd
4.
The music that you play, that song you’re always singing And everything you say, it’s beautiful to me The poems that you wrote, the pictures that you painted The letters that you send, are beautiful to me Everywhere I look I see you all around The sunlight and the dark, your face in every crowd The sudden moves you make, as though you’re always dancing The smile that’s on your face, it’s beautiful to me The funny things you say, your very strange expressions To hear them every day, is beautiful to me The way you cut your hair, I’ve still seen nothing like it The crazy things you wear, are beautiful to me And when you’re not around, I feel you in my dreams And often talk aloud, to hear if you reply Clear enough to see that everything about you Is beautiful to me, I have to tell you so Hard to disagree, can be no doubt about it I try to make you see, you’re beautiful to me Everywhere you go it feels that I could follow As though I’d always known where every road would lead Strange how things have gone, it’s funny how it happened Whoever could have told what’s beautiful to me? And all around the house, to hear the sound of laughter And even when you cry, it’s music in the air December to July, I’ve seen you in all weathers And frozen or ablaze, you’re beautiful to me To see and touch and taste, you fill my senses high And how you call my name that makes me feel so fine The way you fill the space, the way the light surrounds you Your shadow on the lawn is beautiful to me Clear enough to see that everything about you Is beautiful to me, I have to tell you so Hard to disagree, can be no doubt about it I try to make you see, you’re beautiful to me Clear enough to see, you might as well believe it You’re beautiful to me, I’ll tell you one more time Easy to explain, I can’t deny my feelings I’ll say it once again, you’re beautiful to me Written by William Jones Published by Summerhouse Music Ltd
5.
Special You 03:26
I start to see you everywhere Then you freeze me with a stare I try to find out who you are And all you say is blah blah blah Darling get out of my dreams Darling you know what I mean The people that you know The places that you go The things you think about The stars above your house I never thought I’d find the special you I fill the air with drunken words Or sit beside you in a church Stumble through the village streets I want to be here every week Darling you already know Darling I’m sure that it shows The things I never knew The other side of you You opened up my eyes I never realised The pleasure when we meet The bottom of your street I’m glad that I could find the special you You’re the vision in my eyes Sacred mother, sacred child You’re the sound I want to hear Getting closer, getting clear I’ll tell you something you don’t know A secret that I’ve never told You speak to me in foreign words In beauty that I’ve never heard I’m happy when you’re near I wish that you were here I mean it when I say You take my breath away You’re quieter than the breeze You’re wilder than the sea I’ll tell you how I feel I promise this is real I’m glad I got to know the special you Whatever people say They can’t take this away You’re filling up my time You’re always on my mind Seeing something grow Somehow I just know I’m giving this to you The best that I can do I’m glad that I could find the special you I never want to lose the special you There’ll never be another special you There’s just the one and only special you Beautiful you, beautiful you Written by William Jones Published by Summerhouse Music Ltd
6.
Reaching back to find The summers left behind The village in my mind was always here The railway tracks have gone The churchyard’s overgrown The school was closed in 1917 Forever stays the way it’s always been Lying on the riverbank to feel the sun Walk along the village green to see your chosen one The mornings drifting on The afternoons so long, so long, so long, so long Their voices everywhere The Sunday evening prayers Fade into the air and disappear And echo down the ninety missing years The midday sun at harvest time still burns the fields Running down the shaded lanes beside the turning wheels The golden wives and men Will never come again, again, again, again Faded like the photographs from years of sun The choir has gone, the boys and girls Sing on and on and on and on The poppies once a year And carved in stone still clear The names of fifty heroes in the square Remembered through the breezes in the air And I know I’ll never find it anywhere The village in my mind was never there Written by William Jones Published by Summerhouse Music Ltd
7.
Downstream 02:52
Sun through the breeze Drift down the river Slowly downstream to the sea Written by William Jones Published by Summerhouse Music Ltd
8.
Whenever I think of you it’s through a summer haze Whenever I dream of you it’s sky blue Wherever I look I see your half-forgotten face Chase her through the trees Feel the summer breeze through the window Open up your eyes and she’s gone now I feel it in the air I feel it everywhere Never let it go till it’s over Here we go again Round and round again Here it comes again Every summer Darker now Fading into autumn Lighter now Winter turning into spring And every year it’s just like turning back again However I try I can’t resist it As if I could every find the way that we were then Happens anywhere A heart is only there to be broken Find the hidden door and it’s open I feel it in the air I feel it everywhere Never let it go till it’s over Here we go again Round and round again Here it comes again Every summer Far away Shifting out of focus Clear today Moving into view again I feel it in the air I feel it everywhere Never let it go till it’s over Here we go again Round and round again Here it comes again Every summer Written by William Jones Published by Summerhouse Music Ltd
9.
Took a look around your room But I can’t see a space on the floor Where am I supposed to sleep ‘Cause I can’t stay awake any more Only known you half an evening Give me rest and I’ll be feeling fine Destination far away And it’s only a matter of time All your famous honesty Makes it harder to tell you a lie Rather be your friend than lover Can’t we sort this out some other time? Would I give you foreign money? Would I send you empty letters? Would I give you dying flowers now? Written by William Jones Published by Summerhouse Music Ltd
10.
You Can Do 02:44
There you are, a picture in the sand There am I, a hundred miles between my hands The best days of our lives Are when we don’t know who we are You and I, or that it would have been so hard Keeping hold, down this long narrow road Never even knowing that we had it all the time Searching for a meaning that we didn’t need to find Say doo doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo And you can do what you can dream that you can do And you can do what you can dream that you can do Reaching for our feelings when the words are hard to say The chance of losing needn’t stop me trying anyway Say doo doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo And you can do what you can dream that you can do And you can do what you can dream that you can do Written by William Jones Published by Summerhouse Music Ltd
11.
Bye bye bitter winter here’s the sun Welcome back at last that day has come Another year of joy just begun Darkness dying hard before the dawn Brightest light the trees and fields reborn The orchard’s green at last The blossom falling softly to the grass Every day now, coming awake now Every day now, living again Every day now, back into life now Every day now, bringing it round again Waking naked underneath the sky Frozen earth is aching with desire It’s heaven to be there The rain just hanging gently in the air The village bell still ringing everywhere Every day now, coming awake now Every day now, living again Every day now, back into life now Every day now, bringing it round again Every day now, coming awake now Every day now, living again Every day now, back into life now Every day now, bringing it round again Written by William Jones Published by Summerhouse Music Ltd
12.
Take the world that’s all you’ve known Take the place that you call your home Look around you and cry Feel the changes as years go by When the warmth has turned to cold You feed your body but starve your soul Reach your hand out and try Though it’s harder as years go by Everywhere you are, each and every hour Everywhere you are, each and every hour Try to keep your memories alive Fight to keep your hopes and dreams alive When your hopes have changed to fears When the laughter has turned to tears Do you break down and die Or fight harder as years go by? Somewhere in this god-forsaken world Catch a glimpse of paradise for a moment And it’s gone Everywhere you are, each and every hour Everywhere you are, each and every hour Try to keep your memories alive Fight to keep your hopes and dreams alive Everywhere you are, each and every hour Everywhere you are, each and every hour Everywhere you are, each and every hour Everywhere you are, each and every hour Try to keep your memories alive Fight to keep your hopes and dreams alive Written by William Jones Published by Summerhouse Music Ltd
13.
Anything I say you take another way from how I mean it Anything I mean you don’t believe a word I say Everywhere I look I see you look away into the distance Every day I wait until I see you look my way Nothing here that I would miss I could be so far away from all this I’ll never see you any more I’ll never need you any more And I’m so sad to be leaving But I’m so glad to be leaving And I can’t say what I’m feeling So I’ll say nothing at all There’s a thousand things I wish I’d never told you, never shown you There’s a thousand words I wish I’d never said at all Never make the same mistake a second time till next December Just remember how to stand up every time I fall Running hard and standing still I could get away but I never will, I’m here still I’ll never see you any more I’ll never need you any more And I’m so sad to be leaving But I’m so glad to be leaving And I can’t say what I’m feeling So I’ll say nothing at all We don’t belong here any more I’ll never live here any more And we lie, and we cry And we try, we could die laughing out loud Often there are times I wish I’d never met you, just forget you Often there are days I don’t feel anything at all Often there are nights I feel I can’t survive another winter Stay asleep until the sun comes streaming through my door Every word I said was true But I can still get by alright without you about me I’ll never see you any more I’ll never need you any more And I’m so sad to be leaving But I’m so glad to be leaving And I can’t say what I’m feeling So I’ll say nothing at all Written by William Jones Published by Summerhouse Music Ltd
14.
Wanting 05:31
You came out of nowhere Just appeared at the door “I’m just passing through Can I sleep on the floor?” I know that I know you You’re a friend of a friend You’re welcome to stay here But I’ve nothing to lend any more Any more In dead chill of midnight It was easily done Two bodies together Are warmer than one The light through the curtains And a stranger in bed What started as nothing Turned to something that led on and on Through the long days of summer And the long nights of winter As if seasons and years never changed Wanting to be wanted Needing to be needed And it’s harder As the time goes by Wanting to be wanted Needing to be needed And it’s easy And it’s easier When you don’t try Hide me away till the cares of the day Disappear from my world without trace Just carry on singing the same old song Till the colour returns to my face To my face With no explanation Coming home late at night You’d gone without warning Just as you’d arrived The sun on your body And the wind in your hair Wherever you’re going Well I long to be there By your side By your side Wanting to be wanted Needing to be needed And it’s harder As the time goes by Wanting to be wanted Needing to be needed And it’s easy And it’s easier Wanting to be wanted Needing to be needed And it’s harder As the time goes by Wanting to be wanted Needing to be needed And it’s easy And it’s easier If I don’t try If I don’t try If I don’t try If I don’t try Written by William Jones Published by Summerhouse Music Ltd
15.
Far And Away 03:45
Far far and away the best days Of our life we still recall Nothing to say anyway All we used to do was Fall in the waterfall Float away and never care at all Time time and again we would end This affair that we’d begun Only intend to be friends All we used to do was Run where the rivers run Hide on the mountainside Burn in the summer sun Ride on the ebbing tide all right Say what I should be saying Feel what I could be feeling Stay where I should be staying Here when I could be far away Up up and away, never stay In a life of childhood games Never betray yesterday In another world I’m Saving myself for you Though I see you everywhere However old it’s always new However long I’ll still be there oh yeah Years after the years we were here We return each summertime Shedding our fears and our tears Fall like cherry blossom We’ve come far from where we started Seems like only yesterday Feels as though we’d never parted Only waiting till you say okay Say what I should be saying Feel what I could be feeling Stay where I should be staying Here when I could be far away Say what I should be saying Feel what I could be feeling Stay where I should be staying Here when I could be far away and away and away and away … Written by William Jones Published by Summerhouse Music Ltd
16.
When you lay down your life In the far fields of sorrow And you pray through the night And you see no tomorrow any more When the pain never hurts God and faith, king and country When you crawl through the dirt When you climb from the trenches Then you die every minute of the day In a world of your own In a place you remember Where the work has all gone In a land fit for heroes There’s a new order coming in its place Guns away, run away Come away, get away from here today Run away, come away Get away from here today In the depths of the town In the heart of the city With the lights going down When they strike without pity We must hide all our privilege away Come away, run away Hide away, get away from here today Run away, hide away Get away from here today Never go, never know Never so afraid as now Never go, never know Never so afraid as now When they crawl through the streets Like a new model army Out of sight, out of reach When they kill without mercy Then we hide in our doorway till it ends And the pain in your body never mends And we’re still burning bridges in the end Written by William Jones Published by Summerhouse Music Ltd
17.
Could I dream of any more than I never knew what I could miss Until I saw you smiling Until I heard you laughing Never understanding why I never understand Never ever ending till I’m back where I began I thought I could never feel the same I thought you never knew my name Until I heard you say it Until I heard you shout it Never understanding why I never understand Never ever ending till I’m back where I began I could never have believed my ears But never in a thousand years I thought you’d never notice I thought you must be joking I thought I must be dreaming Could I dream of any more than this I never knew what I could miss It always leaves me wanting It only leaves me nothing Never understanding why I never understand Never ever ending till I’m back where I began My life is living twice as fast As if it couldn’t ever last Another thirty minutes As if it ever mattered As if I ever meant it Never understanding why I never understand Never ever ending till I’m back where I began Never understanding why I never understand Over and over and over again Never ever ending till I’m back where I began Written by William Jones Published by Summerhouse Music Ltd
18.
There’s nothing left to say There’s nothing left to do Just look the other way I’ll walk away from you I wasn’t hoping for a perfect ending I wasn’t looking for a perfect friendship I never wanted all of this to happen I never wanted anything at all I never meant to stay I never saw the time I only wrote to say Don’t write to me again Colours fly away from you Colours take me far from you Never bring me back again Only think about you now and then I never saw the snow I never felt the chill I thought I’d never know And now I never will I’m just waiting for the warmer weather I’m just trying to put my thoughts together Won’t be long though it seems a lifetime I’m just waiting for the sun to shine again Written by William Jones Published by Summerhouse Music Ltd
19.
I never say I think of nothing else On any day I could betray myself I never spend I only waste what’s mine I never lend When I can borrow time I’m staring into space I’m hiding in disgrace I cover up my face I leave this lonely place It’s getting louder I feel it ringing in my head It’s getting nearer It’s like a stranger in my bed For every word To pass unspoken by For every dream That’s left unbroken I can count a thousand times Can read a thousand lines Can see a thousand signs That say the blame is mine It’s getting louder I feel it ringing in my head It’s getting nearer It’s like a stranger in my bed It’s getting harder I can’t go anywhere alone It’s getting darker I feel it raining in my room Now I’m standing on my head I’m lying in my bed Believing what I said I close my eyes instead It’s getting louder I feel it ringing in my head It’s getting nearer It’s like a stranger in my bed It’s getting harder I can’t go anywhere alone It’s getting darker I feel it raining in my room Written by William Jones Published by Summerhouse Music Ltd
20.
Island 04:12
I sleep with eyes wide open I speak thoughts I know have never been spoken now I dream in fifteen colours I scream silently but over and over Nothing to say Nothing means nothing Life go away Life leave me something but I can feel this world in motion I can feel this world’s illusion I can feel a world within me I can feel this island spin me round I try, I never reach there I cry, intuition leading me nowhere Nothing to do Nothing to bound me Life is untrue Life all around me but I can feel this world in motion I can feel this world’s illusion I can feel a world within me I can feel this island spin me round Living in an open space Sitting in an empty place Staring at a stranger’s face Disappear without a trace Nothing to say Nothing means nothing Life go away Life leave me something but I can feel this world in motion I can feel this world’s illusion I can feel a world within me I can feel this island spin me round I can feel this world in motion I can feel this world’s illusion I can feel a world within me I can feel this island spin me round Living in an open space Sitting in an empty place Staring at a stranger’s face Disappear without a trace Nothing to do Nothing to bound me Life is untrue Life all around me but I sleep with eyes wide open I speak thoughts I know have never been spoken Written by William Jones Published by Summerhouse Music Ltd

about

Single Friends brings together all six singles (20 tracks in total) by Friends. The compilation spans the band’s career from 1986 to the present day, and includes their first release It’s Getting Louder, rarities now only available on vinyl, tracks which have never been included on albums, and acoustic versions of some of their most popular songs.

The band’s development can be charted in singles as much as albums, and Single Friends showcases their whole stylistic range from classic indie songs like Far And Away, to the ultra-acoustic pop of Into The Sun, to irresistibly catchy numbers like You’ll Never See That Summertime Again.

The music, still evolving after more than 20 years, sounds as timelessly fresh as when it was first released, and Single Friends is a tantalising glimpse into the creative life of one of the long-term mainstays of the independent pop scene.

credits

released May 29, 2011

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Friends City Of London, UK

contact / help

Contact Friends

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

If you like Friends, you may also like: