Falling in love is a wonderful thing. But when you’re catching feelings for your best friend, things get a little complicated, especially as you wrestle with the decision to tell them or keep it a secret. Unsurprisingly, this emotional experience has been memorialized in countless tracks. Here are our top 35 songs about falling in love with your best friend:
1. Lucky — Jason Mraz feat. Colbie Caillat
This mellow easy-listening song is a tune about a best-friend relationship that has blossomed into something more—or maybe, about a couple who also considers themselves each other’s best friends. The lyrics are a bit ambiguous, but what’s not ambiguous is the sheer happiness that is evident in the words. It’s not hard to guess why this has been a popular track to play at weddings, especially for the first dance song, since it was released in 2008.
2. The Way I Feel Inside — The Zombies
Catching feelings for your best friend involves a lot of questions, and that’s what The Way I Feel Inside is about. The singer is wrestling with decisions about telling their friend how they really feel and what might happen if they do. Should they keep hiding what they feel or should they risk losing what they already have? We don’t get any answers, so we’ll never know what they decided or if the story has a happy ending.
3. I Want You to Want Me — Letters to Cleo
I Want You To Want Me is all about watching your best friend and wishing that they returned your feelings. It’s not clear if the friend is aware of how she feels or if they don’t even notice her standing there, wishing that they would reciprocate. Unrequited love is one of the most difficult things to endure, and it’s even worse when it’s a close friend.
Next: Unrequited love songs for a longing love playlist
4. Anyone Else But You — The Moldy Peaches
We’ll let you decide what some of the more whimsical lyrics mean, but this delightful indie song is all about being in love with your best friend. “You’re a part-time lover and a full-time friend, The monkey on your back, is the latest trend, I don’t see what anyone can see in anyone else, But you.” If you’re a fan of the movie Juno, you’ll recognize it from Elliott Page and Michael Cera’s cover over the end credits.
Next: The greatest indie songs of all time (our ultimate list)
5. Can’t Fight This Feeling — REO Speedwagon
People who have fallen in love with their best friend often try to suppress their feelings at first, maybe even hoping that the crush will eventually go away. Can’t Fight This Feeling is about giving in and acknowledging that it’s more than just a crush, and it’s even worth taking the risk of losing the friendship altogether, just to confess how they feel.
Next: Top songs about crushes and crushing on someone
6. Head Over Feet — Alanis Morissette
Sometimes, falling in love creeps up on you in the small things—like the way someone asks you about your day, how patient they are, or how well they listen. Head Over Feet is about reflecting back on all these qualities and realizing that falling in love was almost inevitable. It might have been surprising at the time, but looking back, it’s clear that it was bound to happen.
7. Home — Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Home is a sweet indie song that’s all about finding your whole life in the person that you love. They aren’t just a lover, but they are also your best friend. Even more than that, they are your home—no matter where you are. The track also tells a sweet story about how you sometimes realize you’ve caught feelings during strange moments that aren’t so romantic.
8. I’ve Been Thinking About You — Mariah Carey
There is no one who can deliver an emotional ballad like Mariah Carey. I’ve Been Thinking About You is about the first time you look at an old friend and realize that you love them. You might not even realize when you started to fall in love. “We’ve known each other, For a long long time, But I never really noticed, All the magic in your eyes.”
9. Best Friend — 50 Cent feat. Olivia
50 Cent isn’t exactly known for recording love songs, but Best Friend goes in a uniquely soft direction for the rapper. The track is about feeling jealous of a friend as they explore another relationship. It’s clear that all he wants to do is be around her, whether it’s as a friend or as a partner. But he also knows that if they cross that line into admitting their feelings, they might not be able to come back from it.
Next: Love songs to dedicate to a girlfriend
10. Boys Like You — Dodie
Boys Like You is about being friends with a boy who has a reputation as a player. The singer seems to think she knows exactly how he works and that she’s immune to his lines. Yet she’s shocked to find herself succumbing to his charms, even if they’re not directed toward her. As it turns out, none of us are immune to catching feelings, even if it’s against our will.
11. Mary’s Song (Oh My My My) — Taylor Swift
Back in Taylor Swift’s country days, she was all about those sweet songs about falling in love with your childhood friend. Call it sappy, but it is sweet to think about. Most parents have daydreamed about their children falling in love with their best friend’s kids. Is there anything sweeter than a childhood friendship turning into something that lasts forever?
Next: Greatest T-Swift songs of all time
12. Marry Me — Thomas Rhett
Sadly, not every love story has a happy ending. Marry Me imagines watching your best friend get married to someone else and wishing that you had taken your chance when it came along. The lyrics reflect back on what might have happened if the singer had been brave enough to share his feelings; instead, he was too afraid, and now, it is too late.
13. All You Never Say — Birdy
British singer Birdy has released plenty of melancholy love songs over the course of her career, but All You Never Say is in a league of its own. The track is all about waiting to hear the person you love say they love you, too. They say a lot of things, but most of them don’t mean anything—at least, not without the all-important details of how they really feel.
Next: The top British musicians of all time (our list)
14. FRIENDS — Marshmello & Anne-Marie
A song from the other side of the story, FRIENDS is about trying to dissuade a friend who has caught feelings. They are going out of their way to declare their love, and unfortunately, it’s not reciprocated. By the end of the track, the singer is starting to sound frustrated because their message is just not getting across. They don’t want any more romantic gestures, they just want their friend to drop it and respect their feelings.
15. Something to Talk About — Bonnie Raitt
Plenty of songs about falling in love with your best friend are melancholy, but Bonnie Raitt took it in a different direction. Something To Talk About says people are gossiping about us anyway, so why not jump in with both feet and see if it works out? The idea of love never even occurred to them until the rumors started, but now, they think there might be something to them.
16. She’s My Best Friend — Lou Reed
Have you ever heard someone sing another person’s praises for just a bit too long? Lou Reed’s She’s My Best Friend never explicitly mentions being in love, but it’s pretty easy to read between the lines. It’s not often that someone goes on and on about how great their best friend is without there being some deeper feelings at play.
17. The Search is Over — Survivor
When it comes to friendship, most people don’t wonder about the future. Usually, we take the moment for granted and can just enjoy hanging out with a person whose company we enjoy. The Search Is Over is about falling in love with your best friend and realizing your thoughts have shifted to what you could become in the future: “I was living for a dream, Loving for a moment… Now I look into your eyes, I can see forever.”
18. My Best Friend — Weezer
Is this Weezer song about a best friend who the singer loves, or a lover who is also his best friend? The lyrics can be interpreted in more than one way. They sound a bit more intense than friendship warrants: “There is no other one who can take your place… And I mean it when I tell you that I need you, You’re my best friend, And I love you.”
19. Teardrops on my Guitar — Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift’s early career was defined by those high school-oriented country-rock ballads. Teardrops On My Guitar was just as catchy as it was sappy, perfectly exemplifying the emotions of teenage love. Most of us wrote similar songs, but thankfully, ours probably stayed between the pages of our high school diaries. She wrote the track about a high school classmate who often confided in her about another girl he was interested in; she was too shy to confess her feelings until composing the song.
20. fallingforyou — The 1975
Once you start to catch feelings for your best friend, it’s hard not to feel hyperaware of all your interactions. The touches that seemed innocent and affectionate before seem supercharged now. The band 1975’s fallingforyou seems to be about two childhood friends who are getting older and starting to recognize their attraction. But they’re not quite ready to make it official. In fact, they’re not even the same height yet, which suggests that they are still in their preteens.
21. Best Friend — Jason Chen
Falling in love with your childhood best friend is complex. Not only are you asking them to see you in a way they’ve probably never seen you before, but you’re also putting years or decades of friendship on the line. Best Friend is about deciding whether to make that leap, knowing that it could compromise one of the most important relationships of your life.
22. If It Kills Me — Jason Mraz
Jason Mraz is the king of the “falling in love with your best friend” song genre. If It Kills Me is about watching a friend in a relationship with someone else and thinking about how much better you would be with them. How long is he supposed to resist telling her how he really feels, and will the waiting kill him in the meantime? This track is a unique change from Mraz’s usually upbeat, playful songs.
23. Falling For U — Peachy! Feat. Mxmtoon
Sometimes, people never get the chance to declare their feelings at all. Falling For U is the story of a woman realizing that she is in love with her best friend and wrestling with the question of sharing her feelings. Ultimately, she decides to keep them quiet, because she would rather be with him as a friend than lose him. Despite what romantic comedies would have us believe, plenty of real-life friends never end up declaring their feelings.
24. Accidentally in Love — Counting Crows
Most of us probably recognize this mega-catchy song from the opening of Shrek 2. Not only is it an absolute banger, but you might relate to the feeling of having love catch you by surprise. Some relationships have a deliberate start, while some happen in spite of you. The track is all about fighting the truth as long as you can before finally giving in. With the last chorus just the repeated line of “I’m in love,” it’s safe to say that they have accepted their fate.
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25. Save The Best For Last — Vanessa Williams
In Save The Best For Last, Vanessa Williams sings about the moment when two people change from being friends to partners. They’ve made great memories together, but now, they have even greater things coming. There is really something to be said for founding a relationship on a friendship. The lyrics talk about how many wonderful things they have ahead of them because of this. With so many sad tracks about pining for your best friend, it’s nice to have one that has a happy ending.
26. Best Friend — Ingrid Michaelson
Ingrid Michaelson’s sweet, gentle voice is perfect for a mournful song about falling in love with your best friend. The track describes watching her best friend sleep and knowing that she wants to be more than just friends. She is too afraid to say anything, worried that she’ll lose the relationship they already have. But she also can’t deny that she’s constantly aware of those feelings and that they have changed every interaction they have.
27. Heartbeat — Childish Gambino
Trying to be friends with your ex—especially when you still have feelings for them—is a giant mess, as evidenced by Childish Gambino’s Heartbeat. To make matters even more complicated, they’re still having casual sex, usually as a rebound after another failed relationship. But the lyrics make it clear that he still has feelings for her and can’t handle this “in-between” relationship that is neither friendship nor a relationship, even if his feelings aren’t reciprocated.
28. Complicated — Carolyn Dawn Johnson
What is more complicated than falling in love with your best friend? Realizing that it’s so obvious that everyone can tell. Complicated is about being so infatuated with a friend that other friends have started to notice. The singer is terrified that her best friend will recognize it, too, before she can decide what to do about those feelings. Some people can’t help but be open books, especially when there are strong emotions at play.
29. Lover And Friend — Babyface
If there is anything more complicated than falling in love with your best friend, it’s falling in love with your best friend while they’re in a relationship with someone else. And even worse than that is watching them suffer through a relationship with someone treating them badly, especially if they turn to you for comfort. In Lover And Friend, the singer wonders why their best friend can’t see that they would be much better together, or if she ever will.
30. What Ifs — Kane Brown Feat. Lauren Alaina
What Ifs puts a country twist on the best friends becoming lovers genre. This song explores all the questions as two friends confess their feelings for one another and talk about the possibility of starting a relationship. There are a hundred worries about bad things that could happen, but there is also the potential for countless good things. “What if?” is usually a question about tragedy, but in this track, the words can be interpreted in two ways.
31. Falling in Love (With My Best Friend) — Matt White
Falling in love with your friend opens you up to a lot of complications. Matt White’s song reflects on the happiness and simplicity of a friendship as it is. At the same time, he can’t deny that he is feeling something deeper. Other people tell him that it is too big a risk, but he can’t help himself. Sadly, it seems that the story doesn’t end well, as the last lines change from “Falling in love just breaks your heart” to “falling in love just broke my heart.”
Next: Songs about falling in love with someone special
32. 1000 Times — Sara Bareilles
Everyone dreams of the kind of crazy love that makes you willing to do anything for your person. But what happens if you love them that much and they don’t even know it, or worse, they don’t want it? Sara Bareilles is widely known for her upbeat piano tracks, and 1000 Times explores the question of unrequited love in a way that might just break your heart. The person she loves doesn’t even know that she’d be willing to die for them, even if it just meant having the chance to tell them how she feels.
33. Best Friend — RaVaughn
Some songs about falling in love with your best friend are happy and some are melancholy, but this hip hop track takes it in a slightly different direction. RaVaughn is almost angry, telling her friend to get his head out of the clouds and realize that she’s been right there all along. He keeps dating women who mistreat him and confiding his frustrations with the singer. She’s finally snapping back and telling him to realize that they are perfect for one another.
34. Leave Your Lover — Sam Smith
Have you ever felt like your life was on hold while you were waiting for something—or someone? Leave Your Lover is about two friends, one of whom is secretly in love with the other. All the singer can do is wait, feeling like he has no direction until he gets his answer. He can’t bring himself to tell his friend his true feelings, knowing that he might ruin what they already have. But he also can’t deny them, and it’s getting harder to stop himself from spilling his secret.
Next: The greatest sad love songs of all time (our picks)
35. Not Just Friends — Connell Cruise
One of the scariest parts of realizing that you’re in love with your best friend is laying your feelings out there because you know that there is a chance that the friendship will be ruined. That’s what Not Just Friends is all about: telling them that you don’t want to be friends anymore, instead, you want to be something more. Of course, the sad risk is that you might end up not being anything at all.
As the Head Editor and Writer at Music Grotto, Liam helps write and edit content produced from professional music/media journalists and other contributing writers. He works closely with journalists and other staff to format and publish music content for the Music Grotto website. Liam is also the founding member of Music Grotto and is passionate in disseminating editorial content to its readers.
Liam’s lifelong love for music makes his role at Music Grotto such a rewarding one. He loves researching, writing and editing music content for Music Grotto.