I just realized the other day that there are a lot songs about men’s love/crush on a girl/woman. Off the top of my head:
[ul]
[li]Amanda[/li][li]Mandy[/li][li]Living Next Door To Alice[/li][li]Annie’s Song[/li][li]Sweet Caroline[/li][li]…[/li][/ul]
And I can’t think of a single one about a woman’s love/crush for a boy/man. I assume they exist, but I don’t know any.
So, my questions are:
Are there any songs about a woman’s love/crush for a boy/man, sang from the woman’s perspective?
If the answer to (1) is yes, is the number of such songs similar to the number of the songs about a man’s love/crush for a girl/woman?
If the answer to (2) is no, any theories why that might be the case?
I would suggest that it’s a direct result of the ratio of male to female singers in pop music. If you look at female singers (and especially at female singer-songwriters) you’ll find plenty.
No, they’re about how he was a dirtbag and didn’t deserve her and blew his chance and how lucky she is that he’s gone and it’s too late for him to mend his ways.
Not sure about that. If you look at the top hits of famous male pop singers right now (Bieber, One Direction, Bruno Mars) I think a much larger majority of their songs are about girls and how much they love them, than if you look at the top hits of famous female pop singers (Beyonce, Pink, Miley, Adele).
Even Taylor Swift, mentioned in another comment, may not have that many about a guy and how much she loves him (based on a cursory search of her lyrics)
I admit that I’m not up to speed with the latest pop songs, so the above statements are based on my basic interaction with pop via the radio but, for example, the first songs from Bruno Mars that comes to mind is “Just the Way You Are” (about a girl) and the first song from Beyonce that comes to mind is “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” (not about a guy).
It seems a lot of songs from women singers are about how some guy broke their heart (Alanis Morissette’s “You oughta know” being the poster boy for this), or something about how empowered they are or should be.
My Man (Fanny Brice, though Streisand sang it in Funny Girl) Bill from Showboat Can’t Stop Lovin’ that Man from Porgy and Bess Mad About the Boy
As Long as He Needs Me (Oliver!) Piece of My Heart
Frank Mills (Hair) Wedding Bell Blues (Laura Nyro, but best known version by the Fifth Dimension) I Feel the Earth Move (Carole King) My Guy
Isn’t this reflected in poetry as well? The traditional view is that men initiate romantic and/or sexual encounters, and the ones who do it well can win women over. I once read a point, made cynically, that men are defined by what they can do, while women are defined by what can be done to them. It’s tempting to say that’s an idea that died out thanks to efforts of our parents’ and grandparents’ generations, but has it really?
Of course there are. Otherwise Tom Lehrer wouldn’t have had to write “She’s My Girl.”
[QUOTE=Tom Lehrer]
I’m sure you’re familiar with love songs on the order of He’s Just My Bill, my man, my Joe, my Max, and so on where the girl who sings them tells you that, although the man she loves is anti-social, alcoholic, physically repulsive, or just plain unsanitary, nevertheless she is his because he is hers, or something like that. But as far as I know there has never been a popular song from the analogous male point of view, that is to say, of a man who finds himself in love with, or in this case married to, a girl who has nothing whatsoever to recommend her. I have attempted to fill this need. The song is called She’s My Girl.
[/QUOTE]
I suspect that there may be a lot more love songs addressed to women (by men) than addressed to (rather than just about) men by women. If this is the case, it’s related to the trope of men wooing their fair maidens by singing to them (and not vice-versa). Traditionally, men are the chasers. They attempt to win the favors of the object of their affection by telling her (often in song) how lovely she is. The women attempt to win the favors of the men by being lovely.
ETA: Posted before I read what Greg Charles wrote, but it looks like we were thinking along similar lines.
Heart (Ann & Nancy Wilson) has a ton of them - probably about half of what they write/perform. Just of their first album you have Magic Man, Love Me Like Music, Crazy on You, and How Deep It Goes.
Others off the top of my head - Donna Summers Llove to Love you, the Chiffon’s He’s So Fine, Aretha Franklin Natural Woman
Tammy Wynette, “Stand By Your Man”. The ultimate song about a woman’s devotion to her man. The fact that it’s country and counter-feminist makes it even better.
Forever in Love - Katy Perry
…Baby One More Time - Britney Spears
Magic Man - Heart
Whatta Man - Salt-n-Pepa / En Vogue
You Are the Man - En Vogue
First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Roberta Flack
I Say a Little Prayer - Dionne Warwick
I Will Always Love You - Dolly Parton/Whitney Houston
All the Man I Need - Whitney Houston
Saving All My Love for You - Whitney Houston
You Give Good Love - Whitney Houston
I Get So Emotional - Whitney Houston
I Have Nothing - Whitney Houston (hell almost anything by her)
Forever Your Girl - Paula Abdul
The Way That You Love Me - Paula Abdul
Let’s Hear it for the Boy - Deniece Williams
Like a Virgin - Madonna
Cherish - Madonna
True Blue - Madonna
Lucky Star - Madonna
Crazy for You - Madonna
Lost Inside of You - Barbra Streisand
Evergreen - Barbra Streisand
The Boy Next Door - Judy Garland (from “Meet Me in St. Louis”)
