Kenny Loggins co-wrote this song with Melissa Manchester but sang it with Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac. He wanted to sing it with Manchester (known for her hit "Midnight Blue"), but they were under different contracts. Loggins had the good fortune of being Fleetwood Mac's opening act for about a year and a half while they were touring behind their Rumours album, and this gave Kenny a lot of exposure. It's also how he got to know Stevie Nicks, who didn't get official credit on the song until the album was reissued.
The song explores how friendship and romantic love intermingle. "The meaning of the song for me is an affirmation and an articulation of an enduring relationship," Melissa Manchester told Songfacts. "The word 'friend' seems sort of diminutive about something that is so powerful in a person's life, and I think not enough songs have been written about friendship." "You hope that a romantic relationship is cushioned in a deepening friendship, but as years goes by it is the friendship that often wanes," she added. "But I believe if you go into a relationship - romantic or not - with a friendship, it can not only endure but grow and deepen."
The song opens with a few seconds of noodling and vocal warm-up before the layered harmonies kick in. Those harmonies were a tribute to Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys. "I always loved that challenge of trying to create intricate counterpoint melodies, vocal things," said Loggins.
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