"The abnegation of reason is not the evidence of faith, but the confession of despair."
- J.B. Lightfoot
Friday, June 27, 2008
In your opinion, what's the greatest love song of all time? For my money it's "Lady in Red" by Chris de Burg.
I've never seen you looking so lovely as you did tonight
I've never seen you shine so bright
I've never seen so many men ask you if you wanted to dance
They're looking for a little romance,
Given half a chance
I have never seen that dress you're wearing
Or the highlights in your head that catch your eyes
I have been blind
The lady in red is dancing with me cheek to cheek
There's nobody here, it's just you and me,
It's where I wanna be
But I hardly know this beauty by my side
I'll never for get, the way you look tonight
I've never seen you looking so gorgeous as you did tonight
I've never seen you shine so bright,
you were amazing
I've never seen so many people want to be there by your side
And when you turned to me and smiled,
It took my breath away
I have never had such a feeling
Such a feeling of complete and utter love,
As I do tonight
The way you look tonight
I never will forget, the way you look tonight
The lady in red
The lady in red
The lady in red
My lady in red (I love you.)
I'd have to give honorable mention to Elton John's "Something About The Way You Look Tonight" and U2's "All I Want Is You." Six Pence None The Richer's "Kiss Me" is pretty cool, too. I'm sure I could think of dozens of more honorable mentions, but I'd like to hear what you all think.
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Comments on "Best Ever: Love Song":
3. MJC
- 06/28/2008 11:13 am CDT
So Funny... I woke up this AM thinking about how I wish I had all the versions of "Amazing Grace" to listen to when I walk the path around the lake with my Rottweiler "Rocky" (don't let the name fool you, he's a sweetheart)... and now I read your post from last night, Bird... are you channeling into my dreams?... well, I just wanted to share my current fantasy with you (I don't get out much) is for my husband Joshua to put them all on an ipod for me to enjoy someday... see, I'm not very good with technology... my teenage son always says "Button!... Button!" when he sees me trying to accomplish something technical because I end up asking him for help... that's what kids are for, no?... our parents used to use us for "clickers" to change the channels on TV (all 7 of them that there were)... and I had some friends who were the antenna sometimes to help with good reception... those were the days... almost forgot... "Jesus Lover of My Soul"... when I first heard that in church I cried... would die to slow dance to it with my adoring husband Joshua someday... maybe at our renewing of vows ceremony coming up soon... I'll keep you posted.
4. Manders
- 06/28/2008 11:17 am CDT
I'm a big fan of "I Will Always Love You." The Whitney Houston version from The Bodyguard. But the best love song ever is "Jackson" from Johnny and June Cash. No kidding. The version on At Folsom Prison is stellar, if only for their little exchange at the beginning.
5. Bird
- 06/28/2008 12:03 pm CDT
MJC, keep us posted! Manders, I've got some Cash on my iPod, I'll have to see if I have that song. I love the Cash that I know.
Bill, you obviously have intimacy issues.
6. Jenny
- 06/28/2008 12:29 pm CDT
My favorite love song is "The Luckiest" by Ben Folds. :) Forgive the long-form comment, but you have to see the lyrics....
I don't get many things right the first time
In fact, I am told that a lot
Now I know all the wrong turns, the stumbles and falls
Brought me here
And where was I before the day
That I first saw your lovely face?
Now I see it everyday
And I know
That I am
I am
I am
The luckiest
What if I'd been born fifty years before you
In a house on a street where you lived?
Maybe I'd be outside as you passed on your bike
Would I know?
And in a wide sea of eyes
I see one pair that I recognize
And I know
That I am
I am
I am
The luckiest
I love you more than I have ever found a way to say to you
Next door there's an old man who lived to his nineties
And one day passed away in his sleep
And his wife; she stayed for a couple of days
And passed away
I'm sorry, I know that's a strange way to tell you that I know we belong
That I know
That I am
I am
I am
The luckiest
8. nhe
- 06/28/2008 3:32 pm CDT
7 posts already and no "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel? Wow!
In Your Eyes (the light, the heat, I am complete)
In your eyes, I see the doorway to a thousand churches, the resolution of all the fruitless searches
Oh I see the light and the heat, Oh I want to be that complete, I want to touch the light, the heat I see in your eyes.......
....and that's just the chorus
I've always felt "Your Song" was Elton John's best love song....
Also LOVE Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight" and "Change the World"......
A New Song - Jacob Dylan's "Something Good this Way Comes" is great
Finally - honorable mention - have you guys heard this one? It's even better when you hear it:
VIRTUOUS WOMAN
written by Ashley Cleveland and Buddy Greene
A virtuous woman came into my life
The crown of her husband, an excellent wife
She gives me more than I'll ever need
This virtuous woman, a blessing indeed
So skillfully busy with the work of her hands
Tending her household and all it demands
Clothed in her strength and her dignity
My virtuous woman, a wonder to see
(Bridge)
And Jesus wants me to love her
The way that He loves me
Sacrificing my own desires
Attending to her needs
As He does for me
Beauty is empty and charm a deceit
But her steadfast love is a treasure to me
No words of contention, no thorn in my side
Just a virtuous woman, my beautiful bride
Repeat bridge
A virtuous woman came into my life
The crown of her husband, an excellent wife
She gives me more than I'll ever need
This virtuous woman, a blessing indeed
My virtuous woman, what a treasure to me
9. Bill
- 06/28/2008 4:04 pm CDT
Something by the Beatles
If by Bread (seriously, that's an amazing song)
If a picture paints a thousand words than why can't I paint you . . .
And, back to Bread, there's something amazingly selfless in the song It Don't Matter to Me
And it don't matter to me
If you take up with someone
Who's better than me
'Cause your happiness is all I want
For you to find peace your piece of mind
. . .
And it don't matter to me
If your searching brings you back together with me
'Cause there'll always be
An empty room waiting for you
An open heart waiting for you
Time is on my side
'Cause it don't matter to me
It don't matter to me....
10. Linda Gilmore
- 06/28/2008 4:21 pm CDT
I remember those songs by Bread -- they were pretty good. And I second "In Your Eyes."
11. GinH
- 06/28/2008 6:08 pm CDT
Gotta be Somebody by Depeche Mode. You'll need to listen to it if you've never heard it to totally get the whole effect.
Somebody
I want somebody to share
Share the rest of my life
Share my innermost thoughts
Know my intimate details
Someone who'll stand by my side
And give me support
And in return
She'll get my support
She will listen to me
When I want to speak
About the world we live in
And life in general
Though my views may be wrong
They may even be perverted
She'll hear me out
And won't easily be converted
To my way of thinking
In fact she'll often disagree
But at the end of it all
She will understand me
I want somebody who cares
For me passionately
With every thought and
With every breath
Someone who'll help me see things
In a different light
All the things I detest
I will almost like
I don't want to be tied
To anyone's strings
I'm carefully trying to steer clear of
Those things
But when I'm asleep
I want somebody
Who will put their arms around me
And kiss me tenderly
Though things like this
Make me sick
In a case like this
I'll get away with it
12. The Ancient Mariner
- 06/29/2008 9:05 am CDT
Is "The Lady in Red" really a love song? "In Your Eyes" is great, as is "All I Want Is You"; off the top of my head, I'd probably pick one of those two.
Either that or "The Mango Song" by Danny Carnahan and Robin Petrie, if you like love songs with a bit of a sense of humor. I'll post the lyrics later.
14. The Ancient Mariner
- 06/29/2008 5:57 pm CDT
I'm not so sure--sounds more like a "you're so hot/I'm in lust" song to me . . .
15. Nathan
- 06/29/2008 6:03 pm CDT
Jenny: YES YES YES YES. The songs I was going to post are now demoted to second and third respectively:
IT MUST BE LOVE (Madness, among others)
I never thought I'd miss you
Half as much as I do
And I never thought I'd feel this way
The way I feel
About you
As soon as I wake up
Every night, every day
I know that it's you I need
To take the blues away
It must be love, love, love
It must be love, love, love
Nothing more, nothing less
Love is the best
How can it be that we can
Say so much without words?
Bless you and bless me
Bless the bees
And the birds
I've got to be near you
Every night, every day
I couldn't be happy
Any other way
It must be love, love, love
It must be love, love, love
Nothing more, nothing less
Love is the best
As soon as I wake up
Every night, every day
I know that it's you I need
To take the blues away
It must be love, love, love
It must be love, love, love
Nothing more, nothing less
Love is the best
It must be love, love, love...
BLUE WOULD STILL BE BLUE (Guillemots)
It's not raining cats, it's not raining dogs
And pigs are not flying, or turning the cogs
The sun has no hat on, whenever it shines
And I've never seen a cat with nine lives
I'm not in a film, I'm not in a play
I saw no aliens landing today
I just saw you, and thought of me
And if I had you, all the stars wouldn't fall from the sky, and the moon wouldn't start to cry
There'd be no earthquakes
I'd still make mistakes
And if I had you
Oh there'd still be day and night, and I'd still do wrong and right
Blue would still be blue
But things would just be easier
With you
And this is no palace, the place that I live
And I am no king, but I've got things to give
And I waste so much time, thinking of time
And I should be out there, claiming what's mine
Any day I could die, just like I was born
And this bit in the middle is what I'm here for
And I just want to fill it all with joy
And if I had you, all the stars wouldn't fall from the sky, and the moon wouldn't start to cry
There'd be no earthquakes
I'd still make mistakes
And if I had you
Oh there'd still be night and day, and we'd all still have to pay
Blue would still be blue
But things would just be easier
With you
16. Bird
- 06/29/2008 6:08 pm CDT
I'm not so sure--sounds more like a "you're so hot/I'm in lust" song to me . . .
Seems like a stretch to me. A big stretch. Different people with different interpretations I guess.
17. Nathan
- 06/29/2008 6:11 pm CDT
Lady in Red: not my favourite ever love song, but there's more to it than "ooh let's have some of that", isn't there? I think it's about the lady who ultimately became his wife. I hope if I ever get married I'll still be saying in 20 years' time "And I hardly know this beauty by my side" about my wife.
But then what do I know? I've been at a cider festival all evening so I'm likely to be slightly sentimental =o)
Night all - you guys rock (I originally misspelt that as "cork"!),
N
18. sarah
- 06/29/2008 7:17 pm CDT
nhe, i love 'your song'. had it sung at our wedding while signing the registry & certificates. beautiful.
my husband also serenaded me at our reception with Kurt Elling's 'Never My Love'. couple of my all time favourite love songs are old school jazz pieces. 'the way you look tonight' etc.
But you just can't go past 'Grow Old with You' sung by Adam Sandler on The Wedding Singer. It's cute as.
21. Bill
- 06/30/2008 1:39 pm CDT
I agree, Shauna. The WH version is, I've always felt, way over the top. No dynamics, vocally - just full-blast from start to finish.
23. Brian
- 06/30/2008 2:53 pm CDT
Manders - Great pick! I love that one by Ben Folds.
My wife and I never had "our" song so now we just pretend it was "Magnet and Steel". It's a great one to just ham up.
On a serious note, I really like "A Little Fall of Rain" from Les Miserables. Bittersweet and very touching.
24. Raindream
- 06/30/2008 8:15 pm CDT
I can't believe no one has brought up "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley. I mean, when we're talking love songs . . . *snicker - snort*
Seriously, there's a beautiful song which is a bit hard to sing that plucks the right cord with me. "Let's Never Stop Falling in Love," by Pink Martini. A bit of foreign flavor--gorgeous.
25. Manders
- 07/01/2008 6:20 pm CDT
Also, and this is kind of an obscure one, "Of Angels and Angles" by a Seattle band called The Decemberists. The frontman's voice is kind of quirky, but I like quirky, and this is a beautiful lyric:
"There are angels in your angles
There's a low moon caught in your tangles
There's a ticking at the sill
There's a purr of a pigeon to break the still of day
As on we go drowning
Down we go away
And darling, we go a-drowning
Down we go away
Away
There's a tough word on your crossword
There's a bed bug nipping a finger
There's a swallow, there's a calm
Here's a hand to lay on your open palm today
As on we go drowning
Down we go away
And darling, we go a-drowning
Down we go away
Away
There are angels in your angles
There's a low moon caught in your tangles"
Just Colin Melloy and an acoustic guitar. Gorgeous.
27. Bird
- 07/02/2008 7:10 pm CDT
Thanks for all of your input, guys. I'm going to try to listen to a lot of these tracks if I can.
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Bill.
You know it's true.
Everything I do?
I do it for you.