I would have told him that I appreciated his friendship through

“I would have told him that I appreciated his friendship through the years and that I had learned a lot from him. I really loved Frank like you do a brother.” — in these words, Jimmy Carl Black, the drummer of The Mothers of Invention and longtime collaborator of Frank Zappa, speaks with the aching tenderness of remembrance. This is not merely the voice of a musician recalling a fellow artist — it is the voice of a man reflecting upon brotherhood, gratitude, and the silence that often follows after a friendship is ended by death or distance. His statement, gentle and filled with regret, carries a universal truth: that in the brevity of life, we too often leave words of love unspoken, waiting for a tomorrow that never comes.

Jimmy Carl Black and Frank Zappa shared more than music. Their friendship was forged in the fires of artistic rebellion — long nights of rehearsal, creative tension, laughter, and the struggle to carve meaning out of sound. To say, “I loved Frank like you do a brother,” is to recognize a bond that surpasses the mere camaraderie of work. It is to acknowledge that through shared creation and struggle, their souls had intertwined in that sacred way only true friendship can bind two men. Yet the tone of Black’s words suggests something more: a lament, the sorrow of what was not said when it could have been. For when he says, “I would have told him…,” it is the language of a heart looking backward, wishing for one last chance to express what time, pride, or circumstance left unsaid.

This sentiment has echoed through the ages. Consider the friendship of David and Jonathan in the Scriptures — a bond so deep that when Jonathan fell in battle, David cried, “Your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.” That cry was not only one of grief, but of remembrance, the same bittersweet mixture that runs through Black’s reflection. It is the ache of knowing that love, once given, lives forever — but words, if unspoken, can never be retrieved. Thus, Jimmy Carl Black’s quote becomes more than a musician’s memory; it becomes a universal confession of the human heart.

In the ancient world, philosophers like Cicero spoke of friendship as one of life’s highest virtues — the joining of souls in pursuit of truth and goodness. Yet even they knew that such bonds require care, expression, and renewal. Black’s words remind us of this same duty: to speak affection openly while time allows, to tell our friends that their presence has mattered. For friendship, like music, exists in time — it must be played, heard, and shared while the notes still linger in the air. Silence, though it may come after, should not come too soon.

The phrase “I appreciated his friendship through the years” carries within it another deep wisdom: that friendship is not defined by perfection or ease, but by endurance. Black and Zappa’s partnership, like many between creative souls, was not without conflict. Yet in the end, what remained in Black’s heart was not the discord, but the gratitude. To appreciate friendship “through the years” is to understand that love often outlasts disagreement, that time has the power to refine our memories, leaving behind only the essence of what was true. In that sense, gratitude is the final form of friendship — the echo that remains when the music of life has faded.

There is a lesson here for every soul who walks among others. Do not wait to speak your gratitude. If you cherish a friend, tell them. If you have learned from another, let them know. For life is as brief as a song, and silence too easily becomes its final verse. The ancients taught that to honor friendship is to honor the divine spark in another human being — to say, “You have shaped me, and I am grateful.” Let these words not remain unspoken until regret makes them hollow.

Thus, from Jimmy Carl Black’s humble confession, we inherit a timeless teaching: love your friends openly, deeply, and now. Do not fear sentiment; do not hide behind irony or pride. Friendship is one of the few immortal things — a bridge between hearts that time cannot destroy. But the words that affirm it must be spoken while we still have breath. For when all the noise of life fades away, what will remain, as it did for Black, is not fame or fortune, but the quiet memory of those we loved “like a brother.”

And so, remember this: life grants us few true companions. Cherish them while you can. Speak your affection as if tomorrow may not come, for one day it will not. Let gratitude be the language of your heart, and friendship — honest, enduring, and spoken — will cast a light, as it did for Jimmy Carl Black, that outshines even the music of the stars.