You're My Best Friend (Queen song)



"You're My Best Friend" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by bass guitarist John Deacon. It was originally included on the album A Night at the Opera in 1975, and later released as a single. In the US, "You're My Best Friend" went to number sixteen. The song also appeared on the Live Killers (1979) live album and on the compilation albums Greatest Hits (1981), Absolute Greatest (2009) and Queen Forever (2014).

History
Deacon wrote the song for his wife, Veronica Tetzlaff. In this song, he plays a Wurlitzer electric piano in addition to his bass guitar work. The characteristic "bark" of the Wurlitzer's bass notes plays a prominent role in the song. During live performances, the band used a grand piano rather than an electric, and it would be played by Freddie Mercury, while Deacon played the bass guitar just like in the original recording.

The song was used in several TV shows and films such as Hot in Cleveland, EastEnders, My Name is Earl, The King of Queens, The Simpsons, Shaun of the Dead and The Secret Life of Pets, in addition to the promo for the American television adaption of Wilfred. It appears in a 2016 TV commercial for PetSmart.

Music video
The music video, directed by Bruce Gowers, shows the band in a huge ballroom surrounded by over one thousand candles, including a huge chandelier hung from the ceiling. The video was filmed in April 1976 at Elstree Studios, London. Additionally, Deacon is seen playing a grand piano rather than the Wurlitzer he used on the recording.

Composition
The song was composed by John Deacon in the key of C major with a meter of 4/4, in swing feel.

The album A Night at the Opera features songs of numerous styles including this three-minute pop song. Very unusually for the genre there is no section appearing more than twice; this is characteristic of many Queen songs, as affirmed by Brian May. On the other hand, in terms of phrases and measures, there are numerous repetitions or variants. The form is cyclic and very similar to that of "Spread Your Wings" (1977). Another similarity between the two songs is the lack of (real) modulation. The arrangement features 3 and 4-part vocal and guitar harmonies, bass (melodic approach), drums, and electric piano. This is Deacon's second recorded song and the first one released on single, some six months after the album-release. Mercury's lead vocal features lot of "special effects" (voice, rubato-ized rhythms, ornaments, slides). Mercury hits two sustained C5s in the lead vocal track.

Queen comments on the record
The band answered Tom Browne on 24 December 1977 in a live BBC Radio One interview, regarding Deacon's control of the piano for the recording:

Well, Freddie didn't like the electric piano, so I took it home and I started to learn on the electric piano and basically that's the song that came out you know when I was learning to play piano. It was written on that instrument and it sounds best on that. You know, often on the instrument that you wrote the song on.

I refused to play the damn thing [the Wurlitzer]. It's tinny and horrible and I don't like them. Why play those things when you've got a lovely superb grand piano? No, I think, basically what he [John] is trying to say is it was the desired effect.

Personnel

 * Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals, handclaps
 * Brian May - electric guitar, handclaps, backing vocals
 * Roger Taylor - drums, handclaps, backing vocals
 * John Deacon - bass guitar, Wurlitzer electric piano, handclaps

Cover versions

 * The Supernaturals, Come Again (compilation album, 1997)
 * Giuliano Palma & the Bluebeaters, Long Playing (2005)
 * Rock4, A Night at the Opera (2006), an a cappella cover of the Queen album
 * Straight No Chaser, With a Twist (2010)
 * Melvins, Everybody Loves Sausages (2013), as "Best Friend"
 * Stevie Ann, single (2014)
 * The Once, Row Upon Row of the People They Know (2011)