Is the title of Randy Newman's "You've got a friend in me" Grammatically correct?
Solution 1:
As a guest on Grammar Girl’s blog (https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/is-have-got-acceptable-english), Bonnie Trenga explained, “The phrases ‘has got’ and ‘have got’ are somewhat informal and are often contracted, as in ‘He’s got’ and ‘They’ve got.’ Although this expression has long been criticized as an unnecessary substitution for the verb ‘to have,’ it is perfectly idiomatic. It simply adds emphasis.” The emphasis is useful in song lyrics: “You have a friend in me” would have been OK in Randy Newman’s song, but got lends itself to being accented better than have does. Carole King made the same choice in her song “You’ve Got a Friend.”