# Challenge: the perfect love song **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 5, 2008, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-the-perfect-love-song/432452 "2008-01-05T23:47:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nature\_s\_Call](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nature_s_call/32/19006_2.png) [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-the-perfect-love-song/432452/1 "2008-01-05T23:47:45Z")
I’m trying to find the perfect love song - a song that… - has little to no sappy syrup - carries sexual tension without explicitly mentioning sex - expresses the depths of a true love I know how subjective all of this is, and will treat each suggestion with respect. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2008, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-the-perfect-love-song/432452/2 "2008-01-05T23:51:52Z")
I really like for a love song [_Adore_](http://www.poemhunter.com/song/adore/). It does _mention_ sex but it’s not explicit. It’s a beautiful song. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-the-perfect-love-song/432452/3 "2008-01-06T00:05:13Z")
I believe the New Musical Express in the UK voted [Northern Sky](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oitSlHi3MY), by Nick Drake, the greatest love song of the 20th Century. I’m a Nick Drake obsessive, so I agree. It’s tremendously subtle - maybe too subtle for your purposes - but it’s simply beautiful. [Lyrics here](http://www.algonet.se/~iguana/DRAKE/NDbryter.html#NORTHERN). Alternatively, Ewan McColl’s _The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face_ is also painfully lovely, with [Johnny Cash’s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdSIlVZhsDw&feature=related) version being the best I’ve heard. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-the-perfect-love-song/432452/4 "2008-01-06T00:33:22Z")
I was going to mention The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. It’s a beautiful song. Celine Dion’s covered it so that ups the sappy factor, I suppose. One of my current favorite love songs is nice simple one called Grace by Me’shell Ndegeocello although it’s not quite up there with The First Time… ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-the-perfect-love-song/432452/5 "2008-01-06T00:40:20Z")
I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for [_Everything_](http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/m/michael_buble/everything.html), by Michael Buble. I won’t try to strong-arm anyone into sharing my opinion on it, but there’s pretty much nothing in this song I don’t really like. ---
**Author:** ![Intelligently\_Designed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intelligently_designed/32/20957_2.png) [@Intelligently\_Designed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intelligently_Designed)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-the-perfect-love-song/432452/6 "2008-01-06T00:59:12Z")
I agree with **jjimm** for _The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face_, though I prefer [Roberta Flack’s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI7gzXz1cHo) version. I’d also nominate [I’m Your Man](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MctG8xuIaQ&feature=related) and [Dance Me To The End Of Love](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9ZMoM1VbU8&feature=related). Awesome songs by an awesome musician. And it’s more tenderness than sexual tension, but I’ve always considered Simon & Garfunkel’s [Bridge Over Troubled Water](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbFEnoITiWE) as one of the most beautiful love songs ever. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-the-perfect-love-song/432452/7 "2008-01-06T01:35:15Z")
For all of me there’s no need to write anything after Dire Straits ‘Romeo and Juliet’. ---
**Author:** ![fisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fisha)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-the-perfect-love-song/432452/8 "2008-01-06T02:05:21Z")
Love song-The Cure. Although I am going to link to 311’s version, it’s a little more interesting. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZqEqypU4cs) ---
**Author:** ![Sticks\_and\_Scones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sticks_and_scones/32/16951_2.png) [@Sticks\_and\_Scones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sticks_and_Scones)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-the-perfect-love-song/432452/9 "2008-01-06T02:12:14Z")
Bonnie Raitt’s version of [Feels Like Home](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8srSgiIOr8). (I really only linked to this youtube video for the song, not the video.) You’ve just got to read the [lyrics](http://www.lyrics007.com/Raitt%20Bonnie%20Lyrics/Feels%20Like%20Home%20Lyrics.html). I nearly melt everytime I hear it. Ok, _I’m_ sappy, but the song, not so much. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-the-perfect-love-song/432452/10 "2008-01-06T02:13:27Z")
I think two from Wilco would fit the criteria. **We’re Just Friends** has some sexual tension, isn’t sappy, and makes it clear that there is an intense love between the two people, even if it’s unrecognized or not consummated. - If love’s so easy, why’s it hard I can’t imagine ever being apart I’ll come back to you It’d be brand new But I promise We’re just friends\* A lot of the emotion in the song is in the way Jeff Tweedy sings it. The second nominee is **Either Way**. It strikes me as one of the most mature love songs I’ve ever heard. The message is simple and straight forward, without being angsty or over-wrought. - Maybe you just need some time alone I will try to understand Everything has its plan Either way I’m gonna stay Right for you\* ---
**Author:** ![Pixilated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aeb1de/32.png) [@Pixilated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixilated)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-the-perfect-love-song/432452/11 "2008-01-06T02:35:24Z")
ugh. I feel so old school… I’ve always liked Meatloaf’s “Anything for Love” (especially amusing as a DrPepper commercial), “Because of You”, “I’d Lie For You” and “You Took the Words Right Out of my Mouth” More up2date: Carbon Leaf’s “Life Less Ordinary” - nothing sexual in that song though. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-the-perfect-love-song/432452/12 "2008-01-06T02:35:40Z")
On a completely different tack: The _[Liebestod](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mOA8pZ_I4M)_. [Here’s](http://www.aria-database.com/translations/tristan06a_mild.txt) a translation. This is one of the few things that will almost reduce me to a useless lump every time I hear it. If you’re not familiar with the plot (it’s from Wagner’s _Tristan und Isolde_), this is from the very end, where Isolde literally wills herself to death in order to join her lover in the ultimate expression of love; the ultimate orgasm (petit mort), as it were. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-the-perfect-love-song/432452/13 "2008-01-06T02:56:10Z")
My all time favorite: _“I Will”_ from The White Album. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-the-perfect-love-song/432452/14 "2008-01-06T03:02:41Z")
George and Ira Gershwin’s **They Can’t Take That Away From Me** Has everything you mention in the OP and, as a bonus, the music is by George Gershwin. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-the-perfect-love-song/432452/15 "2008-01-06T03:03:06Z")
Not sure about sexual tension, but the one that usually reduces me to a puddle of mush is Ben E. King’s _Stand By Me._ I’ll think of some other, nontraditional ones later. You’ve set the bar really high, **Nature’s Call**! ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-the-perfect-love-song/432452/16 "2008-01-06T03:09:42Z")
REM - [Perfect Circle](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmEfjfnjCBg) …romance… Pixies - [Cactus](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex272jpUOSg) …mad sex… The Stooges - [Dirt](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZV1xHGRDnA) …disillusion… The Birthday Party - [Deep in the Woods](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJvRk9LZI2Y) …the inevitable murder… The Carpenters - [Close to you](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUDshT19j8Q&feature=related) …reconciliation in the afterlife… ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-the-perfect-love-song/432452/17 "2008-01-06T03:34:47Z")
“The Look of Love”, especially the original Dusty Springfield version from _Casino Royale_. She released several versions, but that’s far the best. Music by Burt Bacharach, lyrics by Hal David. Most love songs, “The Look of Love” included, are actually lust songs. (They haven’t yet been together in that song. No song about \*wanting \* a person is about love. Love is about _being with_ a person. Accept no substitutes. 🙂 ) But the best true love song in rock is John Sebastian’s [Darling, be Home Soon.](http://www.lyricsdepot.com/lovin-spoonful/darling-be-home-soon.html) Notice that the lyrics are about talking rather than sex, although the undercurrent of sexual tension is implied. Interestingly, it’s also from a movie, _You’re a Big Boy Now_. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-the-perfect-love-song/432452/18 "2008-01-06T04:33:01Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] No song about \*wanting \* a person is about love. [/quote] Good point. Unless someone is in the process of _losing_ a person they love. \*Ne Me Quitte Pas - \* [Video Jaques Brel (4 min 12 sec)](http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=bJIZu37Hfr0) with free [French - English lyric translation](http://www.risa.co.uk/sla/song.php?songid=13735). ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-the-perfect-love-song/432452/19 "2008-01-06T05:01:29Z")
Here and Hereafter (that’s an authorized mp3 download) This song works on several different levels. On the top surface it’s a breezy love song, maybe even a bit corny. > [@](#): > > I wanna go wherever you go > Because all the colors are brighter there > There is more magic in the air > Wherever you go > Here and hereafter Dig a little deeper and the musical and vocal layers start to reveal themselves. Dig even deeper and it’s actually about how terrifying it is to be in love, because then you have to deal with the fear of losing that person. > [@](#): > > I couldn’t possibly imagine the pain > Of knowing that I’ll never hear you laugh again ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-the-perfect-love-song/432452/20 "2008-01-06T05:02:44Z")
not 100% sure this is what you are after but [http://www.lyricsdownload.com/kd-lang-so-it-shall-be-lyrics.html](http://www.lyricsdownload.com/kd-lang-so-it-shall-be-lyrics.html) K.D. Lang from her Ingenue album [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-the-perfect-love-song/432452.md?page=2)