by Zaho de Sagazan & Tom Odell · 2024
The song “Old Friend” by Zaho de Sagazan & Tom Odell is about the deep emotional connection and comfort found in friendship and music, where sharing vulnerability and pain through song strengthens their bond and helps them cope with solitude and life’s challenges.
This song has been Shazamed over 105,425 times. As of this writing, Old Friend is ranked 96
‘Old Friend’ by Zaho de Sagazan & Tom Odell is a song where two musicians share their feelings about friendship, loneliness, and finding comfort in each other’s music. We’re going to explore how this song uses lyrics and emotions to tell its story. ⬇️
The atmosphere of “Old Friend” feels like wandering through a rainy night, with quiet moments of reflection and gentle confessions. The narrative weaves together themes of longing, vulnerability, and the healing power of human connection.
The chorus aches with the refrain “Pleurer dans sa voix”—to cry in someone’s voice—capturing that raw ache when music becomes a vessel for our deepest sorrows. We hear it repeated like a mantra, a gentle echo down empty hallways, and suddenly, we’re not just listening—we’re feeling, too. Sometimes, we find ourselves drawn back to sadness not to suffer, but because it makes us feel alive, awake, and even strangely grateful.
In the verses, Zaho’s French lyrics paint pictures of journeys, machines whisking her away, and the bittersweet company of solitude: “Quand la machine m’emporte vers les paysages / Il vient et m’apporte des larmes de passage.” She admits to inviting loneliness in, almost as if it’s an old companion, and lets its songs make her cry—sometimes unexpectedly, yet willingly. Tom Odell’s English verse is a letter to Zaho, confessing pride, vulnerability, and the unshakeable belief that their friendship will outlast the storms—“I know we’ll be friends until the bitter end.”
What emerges from “Old Friend” is a revelation: sometimes, tears aren’t a sign of weakness, but a bridge between souls—a melody that turns solitude into shared strength, and heartbreak into something beautiful enough to sing about.
Writer(s) of Old Friend:
