Friends Lyrics — Apple Tree, The

Song Overview

Review and Highlights

Quick summary

• What it is: A comic-solitary scene-song from The Apple Tree (1966) where Eve mistakes her reflection for a new companion.
• Who sings it: Eve, performed on the original cast recording by Barbara Harris.
• Where it appears: Part I, "The Diary of Adam and Eve," at the pond, right before the Snake enters the picture.
• How it plays: Bright and slightly wistful, built for timing, phrasing, and quick shifts of thought.

The Apple Tree (1966) - stage musical - diegetic. Eve, newly alive to everything, tries to make conversation with the face in the water. It matters because it turns Eden from scenery into psychology: loneliness arrives even when the world is full.

The number is a small miracle of theatrical scale. No big chorus, no sweeping romance, just one person trying to talk herself into being less alone. The laugh is gentle: she is not stupid, she is inexperienced. And the score treats that inexperience with respect, letting wonder and insecurity share the same breath.

The writing also sets a trap for the scene that follows. Eve is mid-monologue when the Snake interrupts the reflection game, and the tone flips from innocent self-soothing to persuasion. The song is the open door. The Snake simply walks through it. According to Masterworks Broadway's show notes, this pond moment is a clear hinge in the Eden playlet: it is where curiosity becomes vulnerability.

• Key takeaway: Eve is not chasing drama, she is chasing connection.
• Key takeaway: The music stays light so the loneliness lands without turning heavy.
• Key takeaway: The song sets up the Snake as a reply to a need, not just a villain cue.

Creation History

The Apple Tree opened on Broadway on October 18, 1966 at the Shubert Theatre, directed by Mike Nichols, with music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. The first section adapts Mark Twain's diaries, so the score leans into speech rhythm and quick observation. Reissue track listings credit this number to Barbara Harris with Elliot Lawrence as conductor, and several catalogs place it just over two minutes, keeping it brisk enough to feel like a thought that cannot sit still.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

In the Eden playlet, Adam begins satisfied with order and solitude. Eve arrives, delighted by the world and hungry for response. After one more tiff, Adam withdraws, leaving Eve alone with her thoughts. She spots her reflection in the pond and treats it as another person, launching a one-sided friendship attempt. The Snake appears immediately after, using Eve's openness to guide her toward the forbidden tree.

Song Meaning

The meaning is a portrait of first loneliness. Eve is surrounded by beauty, yet she wants recognition, the feeling that a thought can land somewhere outside her own head. The reflection becomes a stand-in for what she cannot get from Adam in that moment: attention without argument. That is why the number feels sweet and slightly sad at once. It is companionship imagined into existence.

Annotations

1. "If I should need sympathy, you would never turn your back on me."

   She is describing a friend who cannot disagree. That is the joke, but it is also a clue: Eve wants warmth with no friction, the kind of comfort Eden cannot really provide once two people share it.

2. "Who needs two friends?"

   A sharp little punchline that reveals a big fear. One friend is already a luxury, she is saying, because she is not sure anyone will stay.

3. "Wait, don't go away."

   The line is tiny, but it is the emotional center. She is pleading with an image, which shows how urgent the need is before the Snake ever speaks.

Rhythm and character craft

The phrasing plays like conversational theater with pitch, and that puts pressure on diction. The performer has to sound as if she is discovering each idea in real time. The best readings treat the reflection as a real listener, then let the air change the instant the Snake arrives off the next beat.

Symbols and touchpoints

The pond is the symbol doing most of the work. It offers a friend who can only echo, a neat metaphor for self-talk dressed up as dialogue. When the Snake appears, the garden gains a new voice that is not an echo - it is an argument. As stated in MTI's synopsis, Eve is literally trying to communicate with her reflection when the next temptation begins, and that sequencing is the whole point: isolation makes persuasion easier.

Technical Information (Quick Facts)

• Song: Friends
• Artist: Barbara Harris
• Featured: The Apple Tree Orchestra
• Composer: Jerry Bock
• Producer: Thomas Z. Shepard (cast recording)
• Release Date: October 1966 (Broadway opening month); 1966 (original cast album)
• Genre: Musical theater, show tune
• Instruments: Orchestra, lead vocal
• Label: Masterworks Broadway (major reissue listings)
• Mood: Tender, playful, slightly lonely
• Length: 2:06 to 2:09 (varies by listing)
• Track #: 5 (common cast album sequencing)
• Language: English
• Album (if any): The Apple Tree (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
• Music style: Character song with diary-like pacing
• Poetic meter: Mixed stress, speech-led lines

Frequently Asked Questions

Who sings the number in the original cast recording?

Barbara Harris performs it as Eve on the original Broadway cast album listings.

What is happening onstage during the song?

Eve looks into a pond and talks to her reflection, believing it is another person who can keep her company.

Why does the reflection idea matter?

It shows Eve's need for connection before the Snake offers her a different kind of conversation: knowledge with strings attached.

Is it comic or serious?

It is both. The premise is funny, but the want underneath is real, which keeps the scene from feeling like a gag.

Does it set up the forbidden fruit scene?

Yes. The song functions like a prelude to temptation, because it exposes Eve's openness and isolation.

How long is it on major streaming listings?

Listings commonly place it around 2:06 to 2:09, depending on the catalog source.

Is it useful for auditions?

It can be, especially for performers who excel at text, shifts, and comedic sincerity in a short span.

Is it connected to the other two stories in the musical?

Only by the evening's concept and the same principal performers across the three playlets, not by plot continuity.

Awards and Chart Positions

There is no reliable evidence of a standalone pop-single chart run for this track. Its recognition rides with the show. The original Broadway production drew seven Tony nominations in 1967, including Best Musical, with Barbara Harris winning Best Actress in a Musical. Playbill's archival note on the production highlights how nomination-heavy the show was even in a season dominated by Cabaret.

Additional Info

This is a song about making a friend out of thin air, which is why it reads so cleanly onstage. The reflection is a built-in scene partner: it never interrupts, never corrects, never asks Eve to slow down. That makes the entrance of the Snake feel even more seductive, because he is the first voice that answers back with confidence.

For archivists, there is a quiet footnote that says a lot about how the material has traveled. The New York Public Library's Jerry Bock papers include a "Friends" piano score in the collection, evidence of how these songs survive beyond a run: not just as recordings, but as working pages passed from hand to hand.

Key Contributors

Sources

Sources: Masterworks Broadway album page and show notes, Music Theatre International synopsis, Apple Music track listing, YouTube Topic track upload, MusicBrainz release data, Presto Music tracklist and credits, IBDB awards listing, Tony Awards winners database, Playbill Archives feature, NYPL Jerry Bock papers finding aid