"Friends" came out of that same era. I always think of Taupin's line "it seems to me a crime that we should age" whenever I see old friends from high school.
In fact, I remember first thinking this IN high school about friends who looked terribly old to me then already, as this song came out when I was a sixth grader or thereabouts.
Another homerun of a song Sam! 6th grade? Oh man. LOL! I do remember cramming 5 of us in a Toyota Corona and driving the 9 miles to 'THE' Taco Bell, and singing the chorus of this one at the top of our lungs. I think we almost tipped the car over. LOL!