Great songs have a way of taking us back in time to a specific place and moment.
“Just My Imagination” by The Temptations takes me back to a New Year’s retreat at Forest Home.
“God Only Knows” by The Beach Boys reminds me of a rare Rain Day in high school.
“Love is All Around” by The Troggs transports me back to ninth grade.
I know I’m dating myself with my selections, but that’s okay … I can only write about what I know.
All of the above songs are in my list of Honorable Mention Love Songs, including the following:
“I Just Can’t Help Believing” by B.J. Thomas (heard him sing it live several years ago)
“And I Love You So” by Don McLean (Perry Como had the hit)
“Til There Was You” from The Music Man (and covered by The Beatles)
“Love Minus Zero/No Limit” by Bob Dylan (“She knows there’s no success like failure/and that failure’s no success at all”)
“Follow Me” by John Denver (sung at my wedding)
“Carrying a Torch” by Van Morrison (written for Tom Jones)
“Let it be Me” by the Everly Brothers (and covered a million times since)
“Song for a Winter’s Night” by Gordon Lightfoot (“I would be happy just to hold the hands I love/On this winter night with you”)
“Unchained Melody” by The Righteous Brothers (what a vocal by Bobby Hatfield!)
“I Will be There” by Steven Curtis Chapman (why are there such few great love songs from Christian artists?)
“Wouldn’t it be Nice?” by The Beach Boys (who grew up five miles from my boyhood home)
“What Can I Do” by The Corrs (the band of Irish siblings who never made it big in America … but deserved to do so)
“Something in the Way She Moves” by James Taylor (George Harrison borrowed the line from his fellow Apple artist for his own “Something”)
“For My Lady” by The Moody Blues (“Oh, I’d give my life so lightly/for my gentle lady/give it freely and completely/to my lady”)
“All My Loving” by the Fab Four (the first song they performed live in America – on The Ed Sullivan Show – and I saw it … along with 73 million others)
These are my Top 5 Favorite Love Songs:
Number 5: “Perhaps Love” by John Denver
JD was the biggest entertainer in the world in the mid-1970s – so big that he filled the Universal Amphitheatre in Hollywood for a solid week. I saw him twice in concert there. The second time, I drove an hour to buy tickets for a show early one morning, walked to the ticket counter, and counted how many people were in line ahead of me: 425.
JD was so popular that my grandmother once told me, “John Denver. That’s my guy!” He had his critics, but few artists could write and sing a love song like this:
Perhaps love is like the ocean
Full of conflict, full of pain
Like a fire when it’s cold outside
Or thunder when it rains
If I should live forever
And all my dreams come true
My memories of love
Will be of you
By his own admission, this was the best song JD ever wrote. It should have been a monster hit, but when it came out, JD’s career was already fading. My sister-in-law Sara had it sung at her wedding … and the first time my wife and I visited Europe, this was “our song.”
JD sang this as a duet with Placido Domingo, one of The Three Tenors. Here’s a clip of their version:
He’s struggling with his voice here, but for me, it makes this clip all the more endearing:
Number 4: “Catch the Wind” by Donovan
When he first surfaced in the mid-1960s, Donovan – who is Scottish – was billed as Britain’s answer to Bob Dylan. His music was always … different … but he had some big hits. This was his first hit, and for me, his best:
In the chilly hours and minutes
Of uncertainty, I want to be
In the warm hold of your loving mind
To feel you all around me
And to take your hand along the sand
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind
Donovan has recorded this song in many different versions: the original acoustic version, a slowed-down version for his Greatest Hits album, and a live version, to name just a few.
Here’s just Donovan and his guitar:
And he duets with Crystal Gayle in this clip from 1981:
Number 3: “I Knew I Loved You” by Savage Garden
When this song came out in 2000, I heard it everywhere. And no wonder – it was the most played song on the radio in the US that year.
This Australian duo had other hits as well, but I don’t know any of them … just this one song. (Their fame later caused them to split.)
This is the only song in my list from this century. The chorus:
I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life
When you met the Right One, that’s how you feel.
The video features a well-known actress. See if you can guess which one:
Number 2: “I’ll Never Find Another You” by The Seekers
The Seekers were an Australian folk-influenced pop group with lead vocals by Judith Durham. This song was written by Tom Springfield, brother of the famed British singer Dusty Springfield.
The Seekers were huge in Australia and England, and have sold 60 million records worldwide. Their biggest hit was “Georgy Girl.”
Somebody needs to redo this song:
There’s a new world somewhere
They call the Promised Land
And I’ll be there someday
If you will hold my hand
I still need you there beside me
No matter what I do
For I know I’ll never find another you
The lyrics are so captivating that it was used as the theme song for the Marriage Encounter weekend my wife and I attended many years ago.
If they gave me a fortune
My pleasure would be small
I could lose it all tomorrow
And never mind at all
But if I should lose your love, dear
I don’t know what I’d do
For I know I’ll never find another you
I did some research online to see if Judith Durham lived out the lyrics to this song, and she did. She was married 25 years to her husband, but even though he was struck with a fatal disease, she cared for him until his death.
This is a clip of The Seekers from a TV special in 1967:
And of all the clips I’ve presented, this is the most moving. It’s Judith Durham singing in London in 2003 … and George and Linda, this is for you:
Number 1: “Kathy’s Song” by Simon and Garfunkel
This duo only released five albums, but so many songs became classics: “The Sound of Silence,” “I Am a Rock,” “Scarborough Fair,” “Homeward Bound,” and, of course, “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” We studied the lyrics to “Old Friends” in English class. Max Lucado even quoted from “The Boxer” in No Wonder They Call Him the Savior.
I grew up in fundamentalist churches, and we weren’t supposed to listen to secular music … but Simon and Garfunkel were permitted. Christian folk groups covered their stuff – and I even heard “Bridge” performed at a men’s retreat!
S&G’s lyrics are literate and dense … just the way I like them … because they make you think.
Imagine that you’re separated from the person you love by an ocean. That’s how Paul Simon felt when he wrote this song for his British girlfriend Kathy.
In six verses, he describes how he feels about being separated from her on a rainy day in America:
My mind is distracted and diffused
My thoughts are many miles away
They lie with you when you’re asleep
And kiss you when you start your day
The fifth verse is my favorite:
And so you see, I have come to doubt
All that I once held as true
I stand alone without beliefs
The only truth I know is you
Viewed theologically, the words overstate the case … but they’re meant to be taken emotionally. Kathy means the world to the songwriter.
Paul Simon has always sung this song live, but in this video clip, Art Garfunkel does the honors:
For me, all the love songs that have ever been sung apply to just one person.
Happy Valentine’s Day, Sweetheart.
Restoring Kingdom Builders 
Jim,
Had to weigh in. Here are my top 7 (perfect number) romantic songs:
I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) – the Steven Curtis Chapman version is better than the original, in my opinion
Groovy Kind of Love – Toni Ware and Carole Sager; love the cover sung by Phil Collins
Someone To Watch Over Me by George Gershwin. Sting did a great cover of this.
Just Like Me – by Sweet Comfort Band. This one has always stuck with me.
Kiss Me Like A Woman – by Charlie Peacock (Remember Craig B. covering this at Bay Horizons?)
Kiss Me – by Harry Connick, Jr. – This is just plain fun and romantic
Do You Dream of Me? – Michael W. Smith (and Amy Grant and another writer)
Thanks for the posts.
LikeLike
This topic sparked some discussion at the office. Here are some of the songs people mentioned:
The Twelfth of Never – Johnny Mathis
Devoted to You – Everly Brothers
Tonight We Love – Caterina Valente My co-worker played this one for us, it’s from the late 50’s.
If – Bread
Unchained Melody – The Righteous Brothers
The Wonder of You – Elvis
And one more from my list is Let’s Stay Together by Al Green
LikeLike