One of the first known love songs ever written is aptly titled the “Song of Songs”. King Solomon wrote it about 3,000 years ago. It was top of the pop charts in its day.
Jewish scholars had strong debates in the 1st century about whether it should be included in a book in the Bible. The reason for this dispute? In many ways, Song of Songs is a quite explicit love poem about the joy of sex and sexual attraction!
But I am thrilled those scholars advocating for its inclusion won the day. After all, the expression of love between a man and woman in marriage, body, soul and spirit is a wonderful thing. What better way to celebrate true love than with a song set to music?
Marriage and Love Songs
“Love is a many splendored thing”, are the immortal words of William Shakespeare written in a Sonnet 500 years ago. He also advocated that music could be the ‘food of love’.
Every married couple needs to partake of the food of love and enjoy listening to love songs to strengthen their own marriage. One of the ways to do this is to establish your own top ten playlist.
I often say in marriage seminars, “It is easy to fall in love, but you have to fight to stay in love.”
Let me say this upfront: this is my list. But you can (and should) make your own.
Here are some of the things that have affected my choices. I great man once said, “The scribe brings something new and something old out of his treasury.” Great songs are like good wine. They get better with age. So, the choice of songs spans the last 70 years.
I am a singer-songwriter and have recorded several of my albums with other singers and songwriters. I have also acted as a producer for others. Furthermore, I was one of the founders and one of several judges in the Musicoz songwriting competition from 2001–2008. So, I have skin in the game.
One important thing I looked for in the top ten were songs that were poetically and lyrically strong. The song to be in the top ten had to say something original and substantial about love between a man and a woman, as well as being a great song.
I have a confession to make. I am a love junkie. I believe in love. Love is the greatest force in the world and the greatest way to say “I love you” to a woman is to propose, get married and stay married. As one woman said to me in response to a question about what love truly is, “Love is being committed to being committed.”
Marriage is a very important public profession of love in front of other people, with couples committing their bodies, souls and spirits to each other. My wife and I have conducted many marriage seminars, and we know from both personal experience and the social sciences that marriage is good for you.
My Top 10 Greatest Love Songs
10. “Marry Me” by Train
Number ten on my list is “Marry Me” by Train, released in 2010. Some will argue that Train’s massive hit, “Drops of Jupiter”, was superior. Yes, it was a greater song – but was it a greater love song? It is a clever song, but when it comes to love, very ethereal.
My favourite line in “Marry Me” is the bleeding obvious, “I’ll say, will you marry me?” I have told you I am a love junkie. Say no more!
9. “Wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton
Number nine was Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight”, released in 1977. Billboard described “Wonderful Tonight” as “perhaps Clapton’s prettiest and mellowest love ballad in some time.” I believe it still holds true today.
His guitar playing is simply magnificent. He is the only guitarist inducted three times into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I don’t have a favourite line because the whole song is my favourite line.
8. “God Only Knows” by the Beach Boys
Number eight is the Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows”, released in 1966. This is the oldest track on the list, but a worthy one nonetheless. In 2012, it topped Consequence of Sound’s list of the “100 Greatest Songs of All Time”. My favourite line is, “God only knows what I would be without you.”
7. “You’re Still the One” by Shania Twain
Number seven is Shania Twain’s classic love song, “You’re Still the One”, released in 1998. It is the only country pop ballad on my list. In 1999 it won a Grammy Award for best country and best country performance. Shania is on the list of best-selling artists of all time. It is hard to pick a favourite line because the song, like “Wonderful Tonight”, works as a whole.
6. “Just the Way You Are” by Bruno Mars
Number six is the pop-sensation Bruno Mars’ 2010 debut classic “Just the Way You Are”. Talking about the songwriting process, Mars explained, “I’m a big fan of songs like Joe Cocker’s “You Are So Beautiful” and Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight” – songs that go straight to the point.”
Mars continued, “You know, there’s no mind-boggling lyrics or twists in the story – they just come directly from the heart. And to me, “Just the Way You Are” is one of those songs. There’s nothing mind-blowing about it. I’m just telling a woman she looks beautiful the way she IS – and, let’s be honest, what woman doesn’t wanna hear those lyrics?”
Here’s some bedroom advice for every man in the world. If you don’t tell your wife she is beautiful, who will? Women constantly doubt their beauty. That’s why love songs sung by men affirming this truth are so important.
5. “Have I Told You Lately” by Van Morrison
Number five is Van Morrison’s, “Have I Told You Lately”, released in 1989. This classic love song is a romantic ballad that is often played at weddings, although it was originally written as a prayer. Rod Stewart’s version, released in 1993, pushed the song even further up the charts than before.
Famous poet Brian Hinton calls it “One of the finest love songs of the century, which I remember devastated me when I first heard it, as it seemed both something never quite said before, and yet a song I felt I had known forever. Earthly love transmutes into that for God, just like in Dante, ‘there’s a love that’s divine and it’s yours and it’s mine.’ My favourite line would be just like Brian’s.”
4. “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri
Number four is Christina Perri’s whimsical and beautiful, “A Thousand Years”, released in 2011. The 2.5 billion views on YouTube and massive sales show the song to be in the top ten. Interestingly, this song was a sleeper hit globally, accumulating its sales over several years. This was my experience too. I was not overly impressed with the first listen. The more I listened to it the more I realised it was a great love song worthy of the top ten selection. My favourite line is, “How can I love when I’m afraid to fall?”
3. “Dancing in the Minefields” by Andrew Peterson
Number three is relatively unknown folk-pop singer, Andrew Peterson’s, “Dancing in the Minefields”, released in 2010. My wife and I used it in our marriage seminars when we taught about marriage. Melody Morris from Marriage Dynamics says that “Dancing in the Minefields” provides “insights into the quality of love and commitment required for a healthy marriage”.
Andrew Peterson talking about the song said, “Any good marriage involves a thousand deaths to self. The good news is, in Christ that marriage involves at least as many resurrections. We lay our lives down and enter this perilous dance with another human being who has done the same. Why should we expect to emerge unscathed?”
2. “All of Me” by John Legend
Number two is the smash hit love song by John Legend, “All of Me”, released in 2013. The video with 2.4 billion views features his now wife, Chrissy Teigan. Perhaps that’s part of the wonderful chemistry. Like Song of Songs in the Bible, the video has a steamy but authentic feel. The simple piano accompaniment makes the song all the more real and heartfelt.
My favourite line is hard to pick because they are all so good. If I had to pick, it would be these three lines combined, “Cause all of me loves all of you. Love your curves and all your edges. All your perfect imperfections.”
1. “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran
Number one on my top ten love songs of all time is Ed Sheeran’s mega-hit, “Thinking Out Loud”, released in 2014, with a current staggering 3.8 billion views on YouTube. That makes it number 11 of all songs on YouTube. Thankfully I am not alone in my approbation. As a love song, it has the whole package: great performance, brilliant lyrics, fantastic melody, depth and substance. It won the 2016 Grammy for Song of the Year.
According to Sheeran, he composed the melody on a guitar in a manner that was “very Van-like” – referring to Van Morrison. The Irish musician has been an inspiration to Sheeran since a young age, and Sheeran wanted to capture that vibe when he composed the song.
Sheeran and Amy Wadge, a long-time songwriting friend, wrote the song together. They were both inspired by the concept of “everlasting love”. There is something very timeless about this song. The simple musical arrangement draws the last 70 years of great love songs.
Sheeran revealed that he also had his grandparents in mind and the challenge of maintaining love in old age. My favourite line is hard to pick. Every line is a favourite line. But the exquisite simplicity of the last line of the song is hard to beat: “We found love right where we are”.
Lovework
Make a coffee with your wife and work out your own top 10 love songs. Make them the soundtrack for your life!
Much love,
Warwick Marsh
PS. Please tell me about your favourite love songs in the comments below.
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