Necessary, Kind and True (A Friendship Song for Kids)

A few years ago, we wrote this song at my school to remind children to be kind to each other in how they communicate; both face-to-face and through texting/emailing and other online forms of communication.  We have been singing it in assemblies ever since and it is a useful reminder when dealing with behaviours which go against the message of the song.  You can listen to the song, see the lyrics and download all the related files for free in this post. 

Necessary, Kind and True

Music: Martin Garratt

Lyrics: Jo Payne

There’s a well known lie that’s told,

To children who are small,

That sticks and stones can break your bones,

But words don’t hurt at all.

The truth is: bruises fade,

But words stick with us longer.

By considering the words we say,

We make our friendship stronger.

So I’m trying to improve,

The words I say to you.

Before I say them out loud,

I try to think them through.

We talk when we’re at school,

But when we’re not together,

We send our words in messages,

Our texts; they live forever.

I don’t want to make you blue,

Or see you feeling down.

I hope my words encourage you,

And sad times turn around.

So I’m trying to improve,

The words I say to you.

Before I say them out loud,

I try to think them through.

Each one must be necessary,

I know they should be true.

I check that they are kind as well,

To make sure I don’t hurt you.

So I’m trying to improve,

The words I say to you.

Necessary, kind and true,

Necessary, kind and true,

Necessary, kind and true.

I've put the lyrics, piano score, audio track and sing-along video in this Google Drive folder for you to download for free and use as you wish.