Songfacts®:

• This ode to blue-collar camaraderie is a duet between Chris Janson and his good pal Blake Shelton. The pair trade lyrics during the swagger-heavy tune about some of the things "real friends" do for each other:
  
  Fish that you ain't gotta reel in
  Call 'em and they'll be the first ring picker-uppers
  Get you unstuckers
  Same town, same twang, different mothers
• Though Janson brought in a "real friend" to accompany him on the song, he still went through the proper channels to recruit Shelton. The singer explained to Radio.com that he didn't want to personally call his pal for fear of putting him in an awkward situation should he not want to take part. "It's strictly on an artistic basis," he said. "I felt in my heart that Blake was the best to collaborate with on this song."
• The song is the title track of Janson's Real Friends album. Janson explained why it was so significant for him to duet with a close pal on the tune. "I made Real Friends with actual real friends. I produced the album with real friends, wrote all the songs with real friends, took all the photos for the project with my best friend and wife, Kelly."