# Songs that were obviously written to be wedding songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 22, 2015, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-were-obviously-written-to-be-wedding-songs/710590 "2015-01-22T16:40:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-were-obviously-written-to-be-wedding-songs/710590/1 "2015-01-22T16:40:51Z")
Clumsy title, I know. What I mean are songs that, when you hear them you can picture the artist writing them with the intention that they’ll be that year’s most popular wedding song. Think The Carpenters’ _We’ve Only just Begun_. What got me to thinking about this is Ed Sheeran’s [Thinking Out Loud](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp-EO5I60KA&sns=gp). Holy crap, I can just see the light bulb appearing above his ginger head " \*everyone \*will want to this for the first dance at their wedding. I’ll be immortalized!" Just kidding about the last part; I have no basis to think Mr. Sheeran is an egotistical wanker. Also, I think it’s a really pretty song, aside from the awkward lyric “… will your mouth still remember the taste of my love” :eek: or the equally stupid “… will your eyes still smile from your cheeks” :rolleyes: And while I’m at it, if someone were to tell me my soul will never grow old I would \*not \*take it as a compliment. Okay, maybe I don’t like the song as much as thought. In any event, can you think of any song that is a more blatant attempt at getting wedding play? ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-were-obviously-written-to-be-wedding-songs/710590/2 "2015-01-22T16:55:17Z")
[Never Stop](https://www.google.com/#q=song+never+stop), which has a whole wedding version, is a beautiful song that seems tailor-made for weddings. And of course, Peter Paul and Mary’s [Wedding Song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1v84WKC6Pg) is a classic. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-were-obviously-written-to-be-wedding-songs/710590/3 "2015-01-22T17:17:07Z")
I don’t suppose the Chicken Dance qualifies… 😃 When we did our reaffirmation of vows for our 6th anniversary (we eloped and it took 6 years before we could afford to do a party) my BIL sang something called _Wedding Hymn_ which was just that. However, it never was and never will be something you’ll hear on the radio, tho one might see it in a hymnal. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-were-obviously-written-to-be-wedding-songs/710590/4 "2015-01-22T18:09:32Z")
I feel like a lot of those country music songs about daddies and daughters are blatant wedding songs - i.e. “Butterfly Kisses”, “I Loved Her First,” blah blah blah. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-were-obviously-written-to-be-wedding-songs/710590/5 "2015-01-22T18:25:06Z")
American Wedding, by Gogol Bordello. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-were-obviously-written-to-be-wedding-songs/710590/6 "2015-01-22T18:33:18Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Clumsy title, I know. What I mean are songs that, when you hear them you can picture the artist writing them with the intention that they’ll be that year’s most popular wedding song. Think The Carpenters’ _We’ve Only just Begun_. Fun fact: [that song was actually commissioned for a bank commercial](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We%27ve_Only_Just_Begun). But it was a wedding-themed bank commercial. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-were-obviously-written-to-be-wedding-songs/710590/7 "2015-01-22T18:42:52Z")
> [@SaharaTea](#): > > I feel like a lot of those country music songs about daddies and daughters are blatant wedding songs - i.e. “Butterfly Kisses”, “I Loved Her First,” blah blah blah. Ah, good one (well, \*bad \*one actually). I don’t mean songs that are \*overtly \*written for weddings, but ones where when you hear it you can picture the happy couple gazing into each other eyes and circling the dance floor and you get the feeling the writer knew that would be the effect but doesn’t say it directly (if that makes sense). ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-were-obviously-written-to-be-wedding-songs/710590/8 "2015-01-22T18:47:47Z")
I hear “Amazed” by Lonestar a lot at weddings. And while I know it wasn’t written to be a wedding song, I have to throw in my own “In My Life” from the Beatles. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-were-obviously-written-to-be-wedding-songs/710590/9 "2015-01-22T19:00:02Z")
I recall hearing years ago that James Blunt’s “You’re Beautiful” was extremely popular as a wedding song. [Considering that it’s actually a song about suicide,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oofSnsGkops) I guess it joins “Born In The USA” in the great big list of songs that people don’t understand because they only pay attention to the chorus. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-were-obviously-written-to-be-wedding-songs/710590/10 "2015-01-22T19:02:06Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Ah, good one (well, \*bad \*one actually). I don’t mean songs that are \*overtly \*written for weddings, but ones where when you hear it you can picture the happy couple gazing into each other eyes and circling the dance floor and you get the feeling the writer knew that would be the effect but doesn’t say it directly (if that makes sense). Ahh…that’s different Well now I can offer [Tears For Fears-Advice for the Young at Heart](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1NP9aHqRGU) [Frankie Goes to Hollywood-The Power of Love](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyoTvgPn0rU) ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-were-obviously-written-to-be-wedding-songs/710590/11 "2015-01-22T19:04:32Z")
Dead Kennedys, _Too Drunk To Fuck_. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-were-obviously-written-to-be-wedding-songs/710590/12 "2015-01-22T19:22:38Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > Dead Kennedys, _Too Drunk To Fuck_. That’s a wedding reception song.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-were-obviously-written-to-be-wedding-songs/710590/13 "2015-01-22T19:27:21Z")
> [@stillownedbysetters](#): > > I hear “Amazed” by Lonestar a lot at weddings. Yup - had that for our first dance. I’d never heard of the song before that but I do really like it and no doubt it’s appropriate. > [@Smapti](#): > > …the great big list of songs that people don’t understand because they only pay attention to the chorus. I believe “I Will Always Love You” is the classic example on this list, also much played at weddings. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-were-obviously-written-to-be-wedding-songs/710590/14 "2015-01-22T20:11:14Z")
How about Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” from his incidental music for Shakespeare’s _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_? Now _there’s_ a song with a lot of wedding play! ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-were-obviously-written-to-be-wedding-songs/710590/15 "2015-01-22T20:13:42Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Fun fact: [that song was actually commissioned for a bank commercial](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We%27ve_Only_Just_Begun). But it was a wedding-themed bank commercial. Now that you mention it, I have a very vague (I would have been about 4 at the time) memory of this commercial. Maybe that’s what made me think of it. And **Smapti** , where did you hear that \*You’re Beautiful \*is about suicide? Not that I don’t believe you; it would just make it doubly funny that a song containing the line " . . cause I’ll never be with you" \*and \*is actually about suicide is peoples’ wedding song.😛 ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-were-obviously-written-to-be-wedding-songs/710590/16 "2015-01-22T20:37:06Z")
“Come to me” by the Goo Goo Dolls sounds like obvious wedding bait to me. And I can’t link to youtube at work, but Maroon 5’s new song “Sugar” is so blatant the video shows the band going around crashing weddings to sing the song to the various happy couples. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-were-obviously-written-to-be-wedding-songs/710590/17 "2015-01-22T20:50:12Z")
Sometimes I feel like Ben Folds’ “[The Luckiest](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9bRmuP-kQY)” was written for weddings, sometimes not (not, because it’s got some weird lyrics). It’s utterly slow-dance-able and has a hook that would make your grandma smile. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-were-obviously-written-to-be-wedding-songs/710590/18 "2015-01-22T20:55:49Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > And **Smapti** , where did you hear that \*You’re Beautiful \*is about suicide? Not that I don’t believe you; it would just make it doubly funny that a song containing the line " . . cause I’ll never be with you" \*and \*is actually about suicide is peoples’ wedding song.😛 I’d say it’s pretty self-evident from the lyrics of the song about how he’s “got a plan”, to say nothing of the imagery in the video, linked upthread; > [@](#): > > The music video for “You’re Beautiful” was directed by Sam Brown. It shows Blunt committing suicide, following a Japanese tradition of removing one’s shoes and contents of clothing prior to jumping from a great height. Blunt removes the upper portion of his clothing in a cold, bare, snowy setting and places all of his personal belongings on the ground. While doing this, seagulls circle overhead like buzzards. At the end of the video, he jumps off a cliff and lands into the depths of icy water while he sings the lyrics: “But it’s time to face the truth, I will never be with you”. Considering that the same album (Back to Bedlam, which is one of my favorite pop albums of the past decade) has songs about adultery and/or a dead spouse (Goodbye My Lover), clinical depression (Tears and Rain), and the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo (No Bravery), it’s a safe bet to say that the meaning of its lead single was anything but happy and upbeat. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-were-obviously-written-to-be-wedding-songs/710590/19 "2015-01-22T21:07:45Z")
> [@xizor](#): > > And I can’t link to youtube at work, but Maroon 5’s new song “Sugar” is so blatant the video shows the band going around crashing weddings to sing the song to the various happy couples. I heard it the first time just two days ago - and just in the course of my daily commute I’ve heard it four times since. I didn’t think “wedding song” so much as I thought “Bowdlerized tween-friendly equivalent of ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’”. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-were-obviously-written-to-be-wedding-songs/710590/20 "2015-01-22T21:27:05Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I’d say it’s pretty self-evident from the lyrics of the song about how he’s “got a plan”, to say nothing of the imagery in the video, linked upthread; > > Considering that the same album (Back to Bedlam, which is one of my favorite pop albums of the past decade) has songs about adultery and/or a dead spouse (Goodbye My Lover), clinical depression (Tears and Rain), and the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo (No Bravery), it’s a safe bet to say that the meaning of its lead single was anything but happy and upbeat. Thanks. I hadn’t watched the video in your link, but now I’m going to. And then possibly drink. Heavily. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-were-obviously-written-to-be-wedding-songs/710590.md?page=2)