{"id":32176,"date":"2023-08-28T18:44:25","date_gmt":"2023-08-28T16:44:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/?p=187667"},"modified":"2023-08-28T19:39:59","modified_gmt":"2023-08-28T17:39:59","slug":"10-most-famous-love-songs","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/10-most-famous-love-songs\/","title":{"rendered":"10 most famous love songs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"rssexcerpt\"> Our round up of the most popular, most enduring love songs <\/p><p class=\"rssauthor\">By Hannah Nepilova\n                \t\t<\/p><p class=\"rssbyline\">Published: Monday, 28 August 2023 at 16:44 PM<\/p><hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/><?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\" standalone=\"yes\"?>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><body> <p>No one can resist a good love song. And no musical playlist \u2013 be it jazz, folk or classical \u2013 is complete without one. Here, in no particular order, are ten of the most famous love songs in history.<\/p>\n<h2>Most famous love songs of all time<\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"s1\">1. \u2018Je t\u2019aime, moi non plus\u2019 by Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p3\">Translating as \u2018I love you\u2026me neither\u2019, this naughty little song was originally written by director Serge Gainsbourg for Brigitte Bardot in 1967. But the version we know is the one he recorded, in 1969, with his then-partner: the English-French actress and singer Jane Birkin, who died last month, aged 76.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Birkin, apparently had heard the Bardot version and thought it \u2018so hot\u2019. She later admitted that \u2018I only sang it because I didn\u2019t want anybody else to sing it\u2019, jealous at the thought of Gainsbourg sharing a recording studio with someone else.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a class=\"standard-card-new__article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/six-best-love-songs-without-words\/\">Six of the best love songs\u2026 without words<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p3\">She also \u2018got a bit carried away with the heavy breathing \u2013 so much so, in fact, that I was told to calm down, which meant that at one point I stopped breathing altogether. If you listen to the record now, you can still hear that little gap.\u2019<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Some speculated that they had actually recorded themselves having sex, to which Gainsbourg retorted: \u2018Thank goodness it wasn\u2019t, otherwise I hope it would have been a long-playing record.\u2019<\/p>\n<iframe title=\"Serge Gainsbourg &amp; Jane Birkin - Je t'aime... moi non plus\/Original videoclip (Fontana 1969)\" width=\"200\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GlpDf6XX_j0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<h3 class=\"p3\">2. \u2018O Soave Fanciulla\u2019 from Puccini\u2019s <em>La boh\u00e8me<\/em><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p3\">This goose-flesh-inducing classic is taken from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/la-boheme-best-recordings\/\"><strong><em>La boh\u00e8me<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/giacomo-puccini\/\"><strong>Puccini<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s 1895 opera about a group of young bohemians living in Paris. Sung as the closing number of Act One, as a duet between the main lovers \u2013 Rodolfo and Mimi \u2013 it is one of the most romantic in all of opera \u2013 a cocktail of ravishing orchestration and gooseflesh-inducing melody.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a class=\"standard-card-new__article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-operas-for-beginners\/\">Best operas for beginners: 5 operas newbies can\u2019t help being enthralled by<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<iframe title=\"La boh\u00e8me - O soave fanciulla (Nicole Car, Michael Fabiano; The Royal Opera)\" width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-Dtouh3p0qc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<h3 class=\"p3\">3. \u2018Ne me quitte pas\u2019 by Jacques Brel<\/h3>\n<p class=\"p3\">Written in 1959 by the Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel, this song is considered by some as \u2018Brel\u2019s ultimate classic\u2019. Brel wrote it after his mistress \u2018Zizou\u2019 (Suzanne Gabriello) threw him out of her life and later said that it was not a love song but \u2018a hymn to the cowardice of men\u2019, and the degree to which they were prepared to humiliate themselves.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a class=\"standard-card-new__article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/six-best-composers-wretched-love-lives\/\">6 composers with wretched love lives<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p3\">Still, it sounds quite a lot like a love song, which is why I\u2019m including it in this list anyway.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\"Ne me quitte pas, Jacques Brel\" width=\"200\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Vz6r0TP4FBI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<h3 class=\"p3\">4. \u2018Voi che sapete\u2019 from Mozart\u2019s <em>The Marriage of Figaro<\/em><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p3\">Technically this aria from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/mozarts-marriage-of-figaro-guide\/\"><strong><em>The Marriage of Figaro<\/em><\/strong><\/a> is about lust rather than love, but let\u2019s not quibble over details. It is sung by the randy teenager Cherubino and describes his involuntary physical response to the Countess, on whom he has a puppyish crush.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a class=\"standard-card-new__article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/famous-opera-songs\/\">10 of the most famous opera songs<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"standard-card-new__article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/mozart-s-marriage-figaro-voted-greatest-opera-all-time\/\"><strong>Mozart\u2019s <em>Marriage of Figaro<\/em> voted greatest opera of all time<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p3\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/mozart\/\"><strong>Mozart<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s music is elegantly simple, but beneath the swan-like surface is a tremulousness befitting the song\u2019s subject matter. As an operatic portrayal of nascent adolescent sexuality, this is spot on.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\"Voi che sapete - Marriage of Figaro - Mozart (Marta Fontanals-Simmons)\" width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/38kxrpOCZlY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<h3 class=\"p3\">5. \u2018Hymne \u00e0 l\u2019amour\u2019 by Edith Piaf<\/h3>\n<p class=\"p3\">That a song of such innocent, heart-felt passion could come from Piaf is striking: hers is not the happiest of stories. Abandoned at birth by her mother, the French crooner spent much of her youth growing up in a brothel. At 17 she had a child out of wedlock and went on to have a string of failed romances, as well as various drug and alcohol dependencies.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a class=\"standard-card-new__article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/hardest-songs-to-sing\/\">16 hardest songs to sing<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a class=\"standard-card-new__article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/english-folk-songs\/\">English folk songs: 10 of the best<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p3\">She wrote \u2018Hymne \u00e0 l\u2019amour\u2019 in 1949 for the love of her life: the married French boxer, Marcel Cerdan, with whom she had a year-long affair before he was killed in a plane crash en-route to visit her.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a class=\"standard-card-new__article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/the-history-of-french-art-song\/\">The history of French art song<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p3\">You could say there was something eerily prophetic about the song\u2019s last verse: \u2018If one day life tears you away from me\/If you die and are far from me\/It does not matter if you love me.\u2019 It\u2019s certainly one of the most poignant moments in any love song.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\"Edith Piaf - Hymne \u00e0 l'amour ( &quot;Paris chante toujours&quot;)\" width=\"200\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QYgVDXUIAuo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<h3 class=\"p3\">6. \u2018My Funny Valentine\u2019 by\u00a0Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart<\/h3>\n<p class=\"p3\">First written in 1937 by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, \u2018My Funny Valentine\u2019 stands out for being a genuine song about the warts-n\u2019-all reality of human love. Instead of idealising its subject, it lists his faults, before concluding with a declaration of love: \u2018Your looks are laughable\/Unphotographable\/yet you\u2019re my favourite work of art\u2019.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a class=\"standard-card-new__article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/best-jazz-songs\/\">Best jazz songs: 9 classics you will listen to again and again<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a class=\"standard-card-new__article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/does-listening-sad-music-actually-make-you-happier\/\">Does listening to sad music actually make you happier?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p3\">Although originally sung by a woman about a man, the lyrics are neutral enough to allow the song to be sung by either gender; in fact, one of the most famous cover versions was performed by Frank Sinatra. All of which makes this one of the most moving, identifiable love songs in the Great American Songbook.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\"Frank Sinatra - My Funny Valentine\" width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Are-c0BLyIg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<h3 class=\"p3\">7. \u2018Cheek to Cheek\u2019 by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong<\/h3>\n<p class=\"p3\">Written by Irving Berlin for in 1934 for his new musical <i>Top Hat<\/i>, this is the iconic song that Fred Astaire sings to Ginger Rogers as they dance, which went on to be nominated for the Best Song Oscar for 1936.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a class=\"standard-card-new__article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/best-stage-musicals-of-all-time\/\"><strong>15 of the best stage musicals of all time<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong><a class=\"standard-card-new__article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/10-of-the-best-songs-from-musicals\/\">10 of the best songs from musicals<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p3\">In the event, \u2018Cheek to Cheek\u2019 lost out on the award<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>to \u2018Lullaby of Broadway\u2019. No matter: it is still one of the most popular songs of all time, having been recorded by at least 438 different artists, and this version, sung by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/who-is-ella-fitzgerald\/\"><strong>Ella Fitzgerald<\/strong><\/a> and Louis Armstrong, is one of the most popular of all.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\"Cheek To Cheek\" width=\"200\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lFiGn5lpahc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<h3 class=\"p3\">8. \u2018The Water of Tyne\u2019 \u2013 English traditional<\/h3>\n<p class=\"p3\">Often taught in schools \u2013 it was certainly a favourite with my formidable and ferocious choir mistress \u2013 \u2018The Water of Tyne\u2019 is one of the best known British folk songs.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a class=\"standard-card-new__article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-school-hymns\/\">The best school hymns that we loved to sing<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p3\">Written in a Newcastle dialect, it tells the story of a lover who has been separated from the singer by the River Tyne and, despite being about 500 years old, is still a musical emblem of the North East, with artists from Sting to Sir Thomas Allen putting their stamp on it.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\"Sir Thomas Allen | The Water of Tyne | Peaceful Moments\" width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9RltUCXF-UA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<h3 class=\"p3\">9. \u2018The Water is Wide (o Waly Waly)\u2019 \u2013 Scottish traditional<\/h3>\n<p class=\"p3\">Sometimes called \u2018O Waly Waly\u2019, this old Scottish folk song is as famous for its hymn-like melody as it is for the poignant truth of its lyrics: \u2018Love is gentle, love is kind, the sweetest flower when first it\u2019s new. But love grows old and waxes cold.\u2019<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\"> Even true love \u2018can fade like morning dew.\u2019 <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a class=\"standard-card-new__article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-american-folk-songs\/\">American folk songs: 10 of the best<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p3\">\u00a0Over the years \u2018The Water is wide\u2019 has been performed by artists ranging from Bob Dylan to the American jazz band Oregon. Meanwhile various classical arrangements \u2013 not least by Benjamin Britten and John Rutter \u2013<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>have capitalised on the song\u2019s spare beauty.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\"B.Britten &amp; P.Pears - O Waly, Waly\" width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0gHTw9XjKMc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<h3 class=\"p3\">10. \u2018True Love Ways\u2019 by Buddy Holly<\/h3>\n<p class=\"p1\">Recorded in autumn 1958, this lyrical evocation of domestic bliss was apparently written as a wedding gift for Maria Elena Holly (now aged 90). It is a pretty powerful little song, whose delicate lyrics and beautiful melody, inspired by the old spiritual \u2018I\u2019ll be alright\u2019, remind us just how much the world lost when Buddy Holly (pictured top) was killed in an airplane crash just four months later \u2013 in February 1959 \u2013 aged 22.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"p1\"><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\"><a class=\"standard-card-new__article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/blues-songs\/\"><strong>Blues songs: 10 of the greatest of all time<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<iframe title=\"&quot;True Love Ways&quot; Buddy Holly\" width=\"200\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QjFRHIhSvwc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> Our round up of the most popular, most enduring love songs <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":32177,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"6"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/08\/10-most-famous-love-songs.jpg",630,548,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/08\/10-most-famous-love-songs-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/08\/10-most-famous-love-songs-300x261.jpg",300,261,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/08\/10-most-famous-love-songs.jpg",630,548,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/08\/10-most-famous-love-songs.jpg",630,548,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/08\/10-most-famous-love-songs.jpg",630,548,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/08\/10-most-famous-love-songs.jpg",630,548,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Our round up of the most popular, most enduring love songs","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/32176"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}