It seems most of the so-called love songs out there are sappy/needy or hypersexual. It was tough but with a little thought, I was able to come up with five. These are all songs I personally like. I tried to pick different artists and I think they're all from somewhat different genres, as well. So here they are:
5. Giving Up by Ingrid Michaelson
At first listen, it seems a rather melancholy song but it's more optimistic than you would think. It's a series of "What if..." questions. This one's fun, peppered with whimsical lyrics in between deeper questions: "What if there's always cups in the sink?/What if I'm not what you think/I am?" I think she's giving up wondering, worrying, guessing and divining all the things that could go wrong with the relationship and trusting her lover instead.
4. A Message by Coldplay
Naturally, there would be a Coldplay song on the list. Haha! A Message claims from the first phrase, "My song is love." It expresses it such simple and straightforward lyrics. The best part though, is the in chorus. It's unrepentant and unabashed love. "And I'm not gonna take it back./And I'm not gonna say I don't mean that./You're the target that I'm aimin' at./Gotta get my message home."
3. Falling for You by Seabird
I don't think Seabird is that well known. It's a shame if that's true, though, because their music is fantastic. Like Switchfoot, they could have broad appeal but their lyrics have Christian overtones that encourage fellow believers. I digress. Fallin' is a bright sunrise on a beach you didn't even know you were standing on. It's a little like "A Message" in its honest confession but more of a wide-eyed first love feel. It's glorious as that sunrise and as wondrous, too. "I'm fallin', I'm fallin' for you/Oh daring, it's finally true/And I won't let your heart turn to stone/'Cause when I found you my heart found a home."
2. Satellite by Guster
I can't finish this list without a nerdy love song. (I suppose I could have mentioned MC Chris's Nrrrd Grrrl but I don't love it like this one.) It has a great spacy feel with the electronic instrumentations. "Shining like a work of art/Hanging on a wall of stars./Are you what I think you are?//You're my satellite/You're riding with me tonight/Passenger side, lighting the sky/Always the first star that I find..." With such adoring, rather poetic (and nerdy) lyrics like that, it's a hard song to beat. However, there's one more...
1. Collide by Jon Foreman (lead singer of Switchfoot)
This was the only recording I could find on youtube of this song, it starts about a minute in. I was there when he played this song during an aftershow in October. It was a handful of loyal fans, Jon, a guitar and the chilly midnight air. It was so beautiful and totally worth the wait in the cold late at night. There's a purity of emotion in his music and it's especially true of this song. These lyrics seem born of a love nurtured over a lifetime. Love isn't always easy but if it's true, if you're true, you'll work at it. "We've had our disagreements/Our separate points of view/The thread that runs between us/Could be the thread that pulls us through."
Maybe that's why I love that last song so much: it's genuine and realistic. I know I seem really jaded when it comes to love but maybe this gives you a better idea of how I see it. I'm not romantic by most people's standards but I appreciate real love, true love, God's love.
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