I am a hopeless romantic. Songs that speak to the love and deep connection between two people, especially if set in the desert or the snow covered mountains or out at sea away from land, always resonate. Many of the songs that I love I have treasured for decades. Some are newer. I can’t say that I ever really retire any of them. It is more that the freshness of recent releases sometimes captures my attention as I revel in the new auditory experiences and emotional tapestry. Some of my favorites speak to the eternal love between two people. Others contemplate what might have been or might be or whose time has passed. Even the ones that are wistful or tragic never fail to stir my deepest desires and most passionate emotions. Many are ballads or classic love songs. What they all have in common is that they arouse my most sensuous feelings.
Top 5? I don’t know. But here is my shot at a list. 3 classics (sort of) and 2 modern.
5. Unchained Melody: “Oh my love, my darling, I hunger for your touch…”
Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore throwing a pot. I need their love.
4. Killing Me Softly: “And so I came to see him, and listen for a while
There he was, this young boy, stranger to my eyes
Strumming my pain with his fingers , singing my life with his words, killing me softly with his song…”
When I close my eyes, I can feel his music on my skin.
3. I Will Always Love You: “I hope life treats you kind
I hope you have all you’ve dreamed of
And I wish you joy and happiness
But above all this, I wish you love
And I will always love you …”
The indelible sense of loss, but the depth of love that soars in the chorus.
3a. The Last Farewell: “And I shall be aboard that ship tomorrow
Though my heart is full of tears at this farewell
For you are beautiful, and I have loved you dearly
More dearly than the spoken word can tell…”
OK. I stretched the rules. But I love both of these songs for the heartbreaking sense of loss and the depth of the love
being left behind that will forever endure. Different but the same. Is there a more sonorous
baritone than Roger Whitaker?
2. Let’s See What the Night Can Do: “Let’s drive out to the desert at midnight
To dance in the dust of our headlights…
I wanna get lost with you
And hide out, out under the light of the moon
I want to get lost with you
And see what it’s like to spend the whole night
With you, just you… “
Or maybe I’m Yours, Love is the Answer or almost anything off of Jason Mraz’s Know album. I love his imagery.
1. Perfect: “Baby, I’m dancing in the dark.
With you between my arms
Barefoot on the grass
Listening to our favorite song
When you said you looked a mess
I whispered underneath my breath
You heard it
Darling, You look perfect tonight…”
Still my favorite Ed Sheeran song. The Shape of You is right up there. What all these songs have in common is the depth of emotion between two people.
When I am feeling friskier, maybe something like Dua Lipa’s Love Again or Ed
Sheeran’s Shivers or Bad Habits. But that’s a different list. I like romance the best. It is my default setting. 💕
