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"You've Got a Friend in Me"
Cover for the duet version
Single byRandy Newman andLyle Lovett
from the albumToy Story (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Released	April 12, 1996[1]
Recorded	1995
Genre	Country pop
Length	2:04 2:42 (duet version)
Label	Walt Disney
Songwriter	Randy Newman
Producers	Randy Newman Don Was(duet version)
Randy Newman singles chronology
"It's Money That Matters" / "Falling in Love" (1988) "You've Got a Friend in Me" (1996) "We Belong Together" (2010)
Lyle Lovett singles chronology
"Don't Touch My Hat" (1996) "You've Got a Friend in Me" (1995) "Private Conversation" (1997)

"You've Got a Friend in Me" is a song byRandy Newman. Used as the maintheme song for the 1995Disney/Pixar animated filmToy Story, it has since become a major musical component for its sequels,Toy Story 2 (1999),Toy Story 3 (2010) andToy Story 4 (2019) as well as a musicalleitmotif throughout the wholeToy Story franchise. The song was nominated for both theAcademy Award for Best Original Song and theGolden Globe Award for Best Original Song.Like many other Disney theme songs, "You've Got a Friend in Me" has been covered numerous times. Cover versions featured in the first threeToy Story films include a duet with Newman andLyle Lovett inToy Story; adiegetic instance byTom Hanks, a version byRobert Goulet and an instrumental byTom Scott inToy Story 2, and aSpanish language version by theGipsy Kings inToy Story 3.

The song is played during the opening credits forToy Story,Toy Story 3, andToy Story 4, establishing the importance ofWoody andAndy in the first film and the importance ofall his toys in the third and fourth.Toy Story 3 also uses it for irony and dramatic effect, as the opening credits hark back to the first film and the song abruptly fades out with "And as the years go by, our friendship will never die", before showing that Andy's remaining toys in the present day are boxed up and unused. When they were unused, Andy was 17 years old. InToy Story 4, the song is heard during the opening montage, that features Andy playing with Woody, giving him toBonnie as a teenager, and Bonnie playing with him, but soon starting to neglect him.

In two sequels, the song is listened to by the characters as part of the story, as cover versions done at the end of the film for thematic reasons: at the end ofToy Story 2, the characterWheezy starts to sing it to the other toys in the style ofFrank Sinatra; during the end credits ofToy Story 3,Buzz Lightyear andJessie perform apasodoble to a Spanish version of the song, deliberately played by Jessie to get Buzz to dance.

In the third act ofToy Story 2, an episode ofWoody's Roundup (the fictional 1950s puppet show he was based on) shows the puppet Woody singing the song, directed at the young audience and featuring a small child hugging the puppet. Woody sees this and has anepiphany, realizing that his mission as a toy is to be there for a child.

TheWoody's Roundup version was performed byTom Hanks, with acoustic guitar backing; Wheezy's version was sung byRobert Goulet (though the character was voiced byJoe Ranft); and the Spanish version, "You've Got a Friend in Me (Para el Buzz Español)", was performed by theGipsy Kings.

• Randy Newman – lead vocals, piano, orchestral arrangements
• Randy Kerber – keyboards
• John Goux,Dean Parks – guitars
• Jimmy Johnson – bass
• Jim Keltner – drums
• Yvonne Williams, Bobbi Page, Luana Jackman – background vocals

• Randy Newman – lead vocals, piano
• Lyle Lovett – co-lead vocals
• Kevin Savigar –Hammond B-3
• Mark Goldenberg – guitar
• James Hutchinson – bass
• Jim Keltner – drums
• Gabe Witcher – violin

• The Canadian singerMichael Bublé covered "You've Got a Friend in Me" on his 2013 albumTo Be Loved. The track became a U.S. Adult Contemporary chart hit, spending 14 weeks on the chart and peaking at number 10.^[6]

• Best Song Academy Award Nominations - Newman
• Toy Story 10th Anniversary Edition at theWayback Machine (archived May 7, 2005), Pixar press release, May 2, 2005. Archived from the original on May 7, 2005.
• Listen to the duet version of "You've Got a Friend in Me" onYouTube

• Film theme songs
• Songs about friendship
• 1995 songs
• 1995 singles
• 1996 singles
• 1990s ballads
• American pop songs
• Pop ballads
• Songs from Toy Story
• Lyle Lovett songs
• Walt Disney Records singles
• Songs written by Randy Newman
• Randy Newman songs
• Male vocal duets

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