# Love songs with no specified gender **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 2, 2013, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-songs-with-no-specified-gender/662403 "2013-07-02T00:22:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2013, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-songs-with-no-specified-gender/662403/21 "2013-12-18T03:22:09Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > …which doesn’t say that the person being sung to is a girl. If someone were to sing it today, maybe not, but in the context of when and by whom the song was written and became popular it does. > [@PSXer](#): > > Lola Lol’d I don’t know if I can think of a song with more specified gender than Lola. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2013, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-songs-with-no-specified-gender/662403/22 "2013-12-18T09:19:30Z")
[Green Eyes](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMmksjQwE88) – Husker Du ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2013, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-songs-with-no-specified-gender/662403/23 "2013-12-18T12:52:20Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Cole Porter’s \*So in Love \*([KD Lang version](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94mBgwhPhro)) > > Most other Cole Porter love songs, come to think of it. Yeah, [“What’ll I Do?”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQD4uRZ51ng) gets my vote. ---
**Author:** ![Roundabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dec6dc/32.png) [@Roundabout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roundabout)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2013, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-songs-with-no-specified-gender/662403/24 "2013-12-18T14:14:21Z")
Lovely Day - Bill Withers Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart) - Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye You’re All I Need to Get By - Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell You Make Loving Fun - Fleetwood Mac Cherish - Kool and the Gang Wishing on a Star - Rose Royce ---
**Author:** ![RussellAhmed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@RussellAhmed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RussellAhmed)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-songs-with-no-specified-gender/662403/25 "2013-12-21T14:24:18Z")
hello friends ---
**Author:** ![RussellAhmed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@RussellAhmed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RussellAhmed)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-songs-with-no-specified-gender/662403/26 "2013-12-21T14:30:38Z")
Gender-Neutral Love Songs…:D:D:D:D:D I’m not sure how to submit audio [hip hop](http://customadebeats.com)song, but Nerdfighterlike by Lauren Fairweather is gender neutral (as far as I can remember), and also sort of non-sexual in nature (there is one line that’s like 'I just wanna touch and hug you/and something else ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2013, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-songs-with-no-specified-gender/662403/27 "2013-12-22T15:39:35Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Most love songs don’t specify gender. Heck, does the Beatles’ “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” ever spell out that the hand they wanna hold belongs to a girl? Does “Nights in White Satin” state categorically that the singer loves a woman? Does Chicago’s “Colorado My World”? > > Too many songs to mention come to mind. Come to that, maybe Carly Simon knew a vain lesbian who dressed like Annie Hall. ---
**Author:** ![irisheyes38](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dec6dc/32.png) [@irisheyes38](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irisheyes38)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-songs-with-no-specified-gender/662403/28 "2017-12-11T13:11:55Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I was going to make the same point about her. I’ve been a fan of hers, since her debut album. I didn’t know, until her second or third album, that she was a lesbian. For example, the song “Like the Way I Do”, from her first album: > > There’s nothing in there which would suggest the gender of the “you” to whom she’s singing. “And just when it feels right you say you found someone else to hold you Does she like i do” “Tell me does she love you like the way I love you.” A gender-neutral song doesn’t use the words he/she, him/her, man/woman or boy/girl. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-songs-with-no-specified-gender/662403/29 "2017-12-11T14:17:46Z")
Every Breath You Take. WHAT? It gets played at a lot of weddings. I went to a gay wedding where one of the grooms belted out Marry Me Bill (changing the line to And now I’m finally going to see our wedding day). ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-songs-with-no-specified-gender/662403/30 "2017-12-11T14:29:53Z")
That doesn’t say anything about the gender of the person being addressed, though. The song tells us that the person addressed is into women, but we’d already know that from the fact that Etheridge is singing it. It does still present issues for a man doing a cover (though he could probably just change all instances of “she” to “he”), but it could equally well be a straight woman singing to a man, or a lesbian singing to a woman (or bisexual in either case). ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-songs-with-no-specified-gender/662403/31 "2017-12-11T14:51:03Z")
“You Needed Me” Sung by Anne Murray, written by Randy Goodrum ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-songs-with-no-specified-gender/662403/32 "2017-12-11T15:41:20Z")
“Onward,” by Yes (on the “Tormato” album) is a nice love song, which a Yes fanatic friend of mine attests is directed at God. ---
**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:** [December 11, 2017, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-songs-with-no-specified-gender/662403/33 "2017-12-11T18:32:15Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Steely Dan’s “Rikki, Don’t Lose That Number” could go wither way, as Rikki is a sort of androgynous name. [Rikki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rikki_Ducornet) is female (and a real person–Donald Fagen had a crush on her in college). Pete Townshend wrote many love songs that were not gender-specific (sometimes they were directed to “god” as opposed to a person). A few examples: Bargain Our Love Was Sunrise You Better You Bet I Can’t Reach You Let My Love Open the Door ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-songs-with-no-specified-gender/662403/34 "2017-12-11T22:07:25Z")
[Drunken Butterfly](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zkxsVRnSt0) - Sonic Youth One could quibble that “Butterfly” qualifies as a woman - YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-songs-with-no-specified-gender/662403/35 "2017-12-11T22:47:28Z")
“Alone” by Heart comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-songs-with-no-specified-gender/662403/36 "2017-12-11T22:54:21Z")
_I Got You Babe_ works about the same way whoever sings which part. Given that Cher’s voice was deeper than Sonny’s, that was fortunate. [Never My Love](https://play.google.com/music/preview/T4soauz3y6l5jfbnxoqsvkwdu2e?lyrics=1&utm_source=google&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=lyrics&pcampaignid=kp-lyrics) by the Association. Annie’s Song by John Denver, despite the title, is [gender neutral]([Google](https://www.google.com/search)? num=30&ei=zwovWoOZD4nM0ATssYaQDw&q=annie%27s+song+by+john+denver&oq=annie%27s+song&gs\_l=psy-ab.1.3.0l10.93362.97584.0.101259.12.12.0.0.0.0.104.999.11j1.12.0…0…1.1.64.psy-ab…0.12.996…0i67k1j0i131k1j0i131i67k1.0.ZMvBdq9fssg). As for a breakup song, [Go Your Own Way](https://www.google.com/search?num=30&q=fleetwood+mac+go+your+own+way&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAONgFuLQz9U3sDSpyFDi0U_XNyw0zUoxMzA11RLLTrbSzy0tzkzWTywqySwusSrOz0svfsToyy3w8sc9YSmXSWtOXmO048KhUEiFi801rySzpFJIiotHCm6NBoMUFxecxwMAKkXZkIIAAAA&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj5zqbohYPYAhXFqJQKHbA1D1MQri4ITg) works nicely. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-songs-with-no-specified-gender/662403/37 "2017-12-12T00:20:56Z")
‘Oh my love’ John Lennon I had it sang at my wedding. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-songs-with-no-specified-gender/662403/38 "2017-12-12T02:02:00Z")
Really? Do I _really_ need to mention _that_ song from _Annie_? “I Love the Dead” - Alice Cooper ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-songs-with-no-specified-gender/662403/39 "2017-12-12T04:28:03Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Melissa Etheridge always makes a point of keeping her songs gender neutral. Many years ago, but after Melissa Etheridge was out, I attended a concert of hers with a group of mixed sex friends. One of the women said, “I don’t know that I would feel comfortable being a man in the audience, given the lyrics of her songs.” (Meaning that the songs tended to be negative about their subject(s).) I thought about pointing out that the songs never reference a gender and that the singer was a lesbian, but I let it go. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-songs-with-no-specified-gender/662403/40 "2017-12-12T05:16:17Z")
> [@irisheyes38](#): > > “And just when it feels right you say you found someone else to hold you > Does she like i do” > > “Tell me does she love you like the way I love you.” > > A gender-neutral song doesn’t use the words he/she, him/her, man/woman or boy/girl. You created an account, and resurrected a four-year-old thread, to correct me on that? When the creator of the thread specifically said: > [@](#): > > I was listening to the radio today and the Jason Derulo song The Other Side came on and it struck me that he never specifies the gender of the person he’s singing it about. That got me thinking about love/relationship/break up/hook up etc songs that don’t really even allude to the gender of the other party. (I know, I know, the odds of that poster being a one-and-done are over 98%… 😃 ) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-songs-with-no-specified-gender/662403.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/love-songs-with-no-specified-gender/662403.md?page=3)