Love & Friendship: "It's Nice to Have a Friend" Meaning

It’s Nice to Have a Friend is a short and sweet track on Taylor Swift’s Lover. In it, she narrates the story of two childhood best friends who grow up to get married.

It’s an optimistic and nostalgic song about how deep friendship can morph into deep love.

Here’s my complete analysis of the It’s Nice to Have a Friend meaning, line by line.

Cover image for a blog post that analyzes Taylor Swift's lyrics to "It's Nice to Have a Friend." A soft pink and blue cloud background features neon pink title text. Part of the Swiftly Sung Stories collection of lyrical analysis essays.

It’s Nice to Have a Friend by Taylor Swift

Title: It’s Nice to Have a Friend
Written by: Taylor Swift, Ging, Louis Bell
Track: 17, Lover
Pen: Fountain
Lyrics from Genius

It’s Nice to Have a Friend Meaning: Narrative Summary

Setting: Childhood then adulthood.
Characters: Narrator (Taylor, or main character), Subject (friend-turned-lover, “you” – possibly multiple subjects)
Mood: Nostalgic.
Inciting Incident: “something gave you the nerve to touch my hand”
Quest: Keep their friendship while they nurture their love.
Symbols & Metaphors: “School bell rings,” “sidewalk chalk,” “Snow,” “Lost my gloves, you give me one,” “no curfew,” “twenty questions,” “Church bells ring,” “rice on the ground,” “carry me home.”
Theme: Lifelong love and friendship.
Imagery: “Sidewalk chalk covered in snow,” “Light pink sky, up on the roof,” “Rice on the ground looks like snow.”
Lesson: Sometimes your lover can also be your best friend.

What is It’s Nice to Have a Friend About?

It’s Nice to Have a Friend narrates the story of two childhood best friends who grow up to get married. It’s about how friendship can morph into something much deeper and more meaningful.

Taylor explained:

“There’s a song on Lover about flashbacks and childhood, it compares childhood friendships to when you find someone to fall in love with when you’re older, called “It’s Nice To Have A Friend.” It’s very nostalgic.”
–Tokyo Interview

It’s unclear if there is a different “friend” in each verse, or if it’s the same childhood best friend that grows up to become the narrator’s spouse.

Who is It’s Nice to Have a Friend About?

Taylor has never revealed who It’s Nice to Have a Friend was inspired by.

It’s Nice to Have a Friend Lyrics Meaning: Line by Line

Selected lyrics from Taylor Swift's title track "It's Nice to Have a Friend" against a pink cloud-like background. The lyrics are annotated with notes in red, highlighting various literary devices such as metaphors and imagery.
The first verse reads: "School bell rings, walk me home

Sidewalk chalk covered in snow

Lost my gloves, you give me one

"Wanna hang out?" Yeah, sounds like fun

Video games, you pass me a note

Sleeping in tents

[Chorus]

It's nice to have a friend (Ooh)

It's nice to have a friend (Ooh)"

Verse 1 & Chorus Synopsis: We had a nostalgic childhood together when we were best friends.

Verse one narrates a nostalgic childhood between the narrator and her best friend.

“School bell rings, walk me home / Sidewalk chalk covered in snow” evokes a simple and comforting childhood during changing seasons. In the autumn they played with sidewalk chalk, and now as they walk home from school it’s snowing in a cozy winter scene.

“Lost my gloves, you give me one” displays their partnership and friendship. The friend sacrifices a glove to keep her hand warm.

“‘Wanna hang out?’”, the friend says to her, and she replies, “Yeah, sounds like fun.” This begins a lifetime of togetherness.

Their friendship blossoms while playing “video games”, in class while “you pass me a note”, and they’re “sleeping in tents” in the backyard.

“It’s nice to have a friend” is a sweet reflection on their childhood days and how appreciative they are of one another.

Verse 2: “Twenty Questions, We Tell the Truth”

Verse 2 & Chorus Synopsis: As we grew up, we became more than friends.

The second verse fast-forwards in time. They’re now “up on the roof,” looking at the “light pink sky.” This also reflects the changing seasons as their lives change, and they’re looking out over the horizon, symbolizing their future together.

“Sun sinks down,” as they sit on the roof, with “no curfew.” They’re in no rush to go home; they’re teenagers now and can do what they please.

They play “twenty questions,” Taylor says, but they “tell the truth.” They’re getting to know one another on a deeper level, symbolized by this childhood game.

“You’ve been stressed out lately,” she says, “yeah, me too.” They’re becoming adults, with the real stresses of the real world.

Then something changes: “something gave you the nerve to touch my hand.” They touch in a more-than-friends way for the first time. This friend finally got up the courage to do it, and it sets off what will happen in the final verse.

“It’s nice to have a friend” means that it’s nice that their friendship is growing into something more than friends.

Verse 3: “Call my Bluff, Call You ‘Babe'”

Verse 3 & Chorus Synopsis: Now we’re married and we’re still best friends.

The third verse narrates where they ended up after their childhood friendship blossomed into more than friends.

“Church bells ring, carry me home” echoes the imagery from the first verse: “school bell rings, walk me home.” School bells become church bells, and walking home turns to carrying home.

These images all symbolize how far they’ve come together.

“Rice on the ground looks like snow” also echoes imagery from the first verse: “sidewalk chalk covered in snow.” The rice thrown at the wedding reminds her of their childhood days.

They’re now living their lives together as married partners. “Call my bluff” means he calls her out on her bullshit – he knows her intimately and sees through her deepest fears. She calls him “babe”, reflecting their intimate relationship.

“Have my back, everyday” means he supports her through everything.

“Feels like home” likely refers to him – he feels like home to her. “Stay in bed the whole weekend” means they don’t need anything but each other – they are their own little island of self-sufficiency.

“It’s nice to have a friend” repeated at the end now really means ‘it’s nice to have a partner who is also my best friend.’

It’s Nice to Have a Friend Analysis: Final Thoughts

Of all of Taylor’s attempts to define true love, like in Lover and You Are in Love, this one feels the most effortless to me.

Real love is also friendship, and having a partner who is also their best friend is really the ultimate goal in finding a soulmate.

Whether it’s the same character from start to finish in the lyrics doesn’t really matter in the end: it’s meant to compare the deep nostalgia of childhood friendship to finding your true soulmate.

I don’t think she was attempting to define true love in this track, but she’s done it, and uncovered the secret hope of what we all want: a best friend who is also the love of our life.

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