🍂 About the Song
Released in 2001, We’re Going to Be Friends is The White Stripes at their most tender. Jack White trades distortion for simplicity, singing about childhood friendship with the same sincerity most people reserve for heartbreak.
It’s a rare White Stripes song that’s completely acoustic — no drums, no grit, just gentle fingerpicking and a melody that sounds like a lullaby for grown-ups.
It’s been used everywhere from Napoleon Dynamite to The Muppets, and still makes people smile with that line about “cleaning up from shoes and clothes.”
On uke, it’s intimate and nostalgic — like flipping through a photo album you didn’t know you’d kept.
🎸 Ukulele Playing Tips
- Chords:C – G – F – Am.
- Verse: C – G – F – C,
- Chorus: Am – F – C – G.
- Strumming pattern: Gentle Down–Down–Up–Up–Down-Up or finger-pick single notes softly (thumb for C, index for E, middle for A).
- Tempo: Around 92 bpm — slow and steady, like walking to school.
- Tone: Keep it light, no heavy strums — this one should feel like a whisper.
- Dynamics: Stay quiet throughout; it’s the stillness that makes it shine.
- Sing tip: Keep your voice soft and close — you’re telling a story, not performing for a crowd.
🧠 Trivia You Can Drop Casually
- Jack White recorded it in a single take — no overdubs, no studio tricks.
- It’s one of Barack Obama’s favourite songs; he put it on his official playlist in 2016.
- The track was used as the opening for Napoleon Dynamite (2004), cementing its place in indie film history.
- Jack White has performed it solo many times — even at primary schools, where it always gets a knowing smile from teachers.
🌈 Final Word
Play We’re Going to Be Friends like a memory you don’t want to wake up from.
Keep it simple, sweet, and perfectly imperfect.
If someone listening doesn’t smile softly by the end, they probably skipped childhood.
