Songfacts®:

• "My Best Friend's Coat" is a wistful little number, all delicate keyboards and a dreamy waltz tempo, part of Paul Weller's 17th solo album, 66. The song is a collaboration with Christophe Vaillant, the frontman of Le SuperHomard, a French quintet that channels the essence of '60s mod style with a distinctly European flair.
• The partnership, like all the best ones, came about in the most unassuming way: Vaillant sent Weller some demos.
  
  "Christophe is a multi-instrumentalist and a really talented fella," Weller told Uncut magazine. "He did this cracking remix of 'On Sunset' a few years back, and I thought, why not do something together? So, he sent me some demos, I wrote the lyrics, tweaked a bit here and there, and he came into my studio to finish it off."
• Paul Weller is a hard man to pin down musically. He's always been good at dabbling in different genres, from punk to soul to jazz, but this musical crepe suzette has what Weller himself calls "that French thing going on."
  
  What exactly is "that French thing?" Well, Weller admits he can't explain it in musical terms, but there's something in the harmonies and melodies that brings to mind a stroll along the Seine, or maybe sitting in a dimly lit café in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. It's very French, in other words.
• If you listen closely, you'll hear echoes of Weller's Style Council days, particularly from the Café Bleu and A Paris era, with that light, breezy feel that seems to float on a gentle spring breeze. "I tried to get into that mindset," Weller said. "Strolling down the Champs Élysées, hanging out by the Seine, that whole vibe. My lyrics were an attempt to capture that feeling."
• Musing on the song's meaning, Weller reflected to Mojo magazine, "Perhaps the guy is dipping into his best friend's coat to get some money out. Or it could be about depression, how you can find comfort in it, a coat you wrap around yourself. I approached the words as if they had already been written in French and I was doing the translation, like Jacques Brel and Scott Walker, but this is the beautiful thing about art. Everyone finds their own meaning."
• Vaillant plays almost every instrument on "My Best Friend's Coat" - from the synthesizer to the acoustic guitar, and even the vibraphone and tambourine. Meanwhile, Ben Gordelier handles the drums, keeping that gentle waltz rhythm in check, and the Britten Sinfonia, a chamber orchestra named after the celebrated English composer Benjamin Britten, adds some understated strings.
• The string arrangement is the work of Northern Irish composer Hannah Peel, a regular Weller collaborator who contributed to five tracks on 66. "She's just great at what she does," Weller told Uncut. "She doesn't get in the way. Her string arrangements enhance the songs. She has great ideas. She's rooted in lots of different types of music – as well as the kinda avant-garde orchestral stuff. She's also really deep into this electronic thing. It's a really good combination of influences."