{"id":38238,"date":"2024-01-22T13:36:28","date_gmt":"2024-01-22T12:36:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/6c06fd96-5b7d-409f-90bd-68265e5f9d8f"},"modified":"2024-01-22T14:40:03","modified_gmt":"2024-01-22T13:40:03","slug":"best-love-songs-10-of-the-most-famous-love-songs-of-all-time","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/best-love-songs-10-of-the-most-famous-love-songs-of-all-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Best love songs: 10 of the most famous love songs of all time"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"rssexcerpt\"><\/p><p class=\"rssauthor\">By Hannah Nepilova\n      <\/p><p class=\"rssbyline\">Published: Monday, 22 January 2024 at 12:36 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><strong>No one can resist a good love song. And no musical playlist &#8211; be it pop, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/jazz-music-what-it-is-and-how-it-evolved\">jazz<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-is-folk-music\">folk<\/a> or classical &#8211; is complete without one. Here, in no particular order, are ten of the best love songs in history.<\/strong> <\/p><h2 id=\"h-best-love-songs-of-all-time\">Best love songs of all time<\/h2><h3 id=\"h-1-je-t-aime-moi-non-plus-by-serge-gainsbourg-and-jane-birkin\">1. &#8216;Je t\u2019aime, moi non plus\u2019 by Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin<\/h3><p>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><p>Birkin, apparently had heard the Bardot version and thought it &#8216;so hot\u2019. She later admitted that \u2018I only sang it because I didn&#8217;t want anybody else to sing it\u2019, jealous at the thought of Gainsbourg sharing a recording studio with someone else. <\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/six-best-love-songs-without-words\">Best classical music about love<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>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><p>Some speculated that they had actually recorded themselves having sex, to which Gainsbourg retorted: \u2018Thank goodness it wasn&#8217;t, otherwise I hope it would have been a long-playing record.\u2019<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe title=\"Serge Gainsbourg &amp; Jane Birkin - Je t'aime... moi non plus\/Original videoclip (Fontana 1969)\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" 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=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><h3 id=\"h-2-o-soave-fanciulla-from-puccini-s-la-boheme\">2. &#8216;O Soave Fanciulla&#8217; from Puccini\u2019s <em>La boh\u00e8me<\/em><\/h3><p>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 &#8211; Rodolfo and Mimi &#8211; it is one of the most romantic and best love songs in all of opera &#8211; a cocktail of ravishing orchestration and gooseflesh-inducing melody.<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-operas-for-beginners\">Best operas for beginners: 5 operas newbies can&#8217;t help being enthralled by<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe title=\"La boh\u00e8me - O soave fanciulla (Nicole Car, Michael Fabiano; The Royal Opera)\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" 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=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><h3 id=\"h-3-ne-me-quitte-pas-by-jacques-brel\">3. &#8216;Ne me quitte pas&#8217; by Jacques Brel<\/h3><p>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><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/six-best-composers-wretched-love-lives\">6 composers with wretched love lives<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Still, it sounds quite a lot like a love song, which is why we&#8217;re including it in this list anyway.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe title=\"Ne me quitte pas, Jacques Brel\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" 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=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><h3 id=\"h-4-voi-che-sapete-from-mozart-s-the-marriage-of-figaro\">4. &#8216;Voi che sapete&#8217; from Mozart\u2019s <em>The Marriage of Figaro<\/em><\/h3><p>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><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/famous-opera-songs\">10 of the most famous opera songs<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><a 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><\/ul><p><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 as one of the best love songs in opera.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe title=\"Voi che sapete - Marriage of Figaro - Mozart (Marta Fontanals-Simmons)\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" 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=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><h3 id=\"h-5-hymne-a-l-amour-by-edith-piaf\">5. &#8216;Hymne \u00e0 l&#8217;amour&#8217; by Edith Piaf<\/h3><p>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><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/hardest-songs-to-sing\">16 hardest songs to sing<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/english-folk-songs\">English folk songs: 10 of the best<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>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><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/the-history-of-french-art-song\">The history of French art song<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>You could say there was something eerily prophetic about the song\u2019s last verse: &#8216;If 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><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe title=\"Edith Piaf - Hymne \u00e0 l'amour ( &quot;Paris chante toujours&quot;)\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" 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=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><h3 id=\"h-6-my-funny-valentine-by-richard-rodgers-and-lorenz-hart\">6. &#8216;My Funny Valentine&#8217; by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart<\/h3><p>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: &#8216;Your looks are laughable\/Unphotographable\/yet you\u2019re my favourite work of art\u2019. <\/p><ul><li><strong><a 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><li><strong><a 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><\/ul><p>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><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe title=\"Frank Sinatra - My Funny Valentine\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" 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=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><h3 id=\"h-7-cheek-to-cheek-by-ella-fitzgerald-and-louis-armstrong\">7. &#8216;Cheek to Cheek&#8217; by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong<\/h3><p>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><ul><li><a 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><li><strong><a 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><\/ul><p>In the event, \u2018Cheek to Cheek\u2019 lost out on the award to \u2018Lullaby of Broadway\u2019. No matter: it is still one of the most popular songs of all time. At least 438 different artists have recorded it. 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 (two of the<a class=\"standard-card-new__article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/best-jazz-singers-ever\/\"><strong> best jazz singers ever<\/strong>)<\/a>, is one of the most popular of all.<\/p><p> <\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe title=\"Cheek To Cheek\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" 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=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><h3 id=\"h-8-the-water-of-tyne-english-traditional\">8. &#8216;The Water of Tyne&#8217; &#8211; English traditional<\/h3><p>&#8216;The Water of Tyne&#8217; is one of the best-known British folk songs and choirmasters often teach it to students.<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-school-hymns\">The best school hymns that we loved to sing<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Written in a Newcastle dialect, it tells the story of a lover who has been separated from the singer by the River Tyne. 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><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe title=\"Sir Thomas Allen | The Water of Tyne | Peaceful Moments\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" 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=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><h3 id=\"h-9-the-water-is-wide-o-waly-waly-scottish-traditional\">9. &#8216;The Water is Wide (o Waly Waly)&#8217; &#8211; Scottish traditional<\/h3><p>Sometimes called \u2018O Waly Waly\u2019, this old <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/scottish-songs\">Scottish folk song<\/a><\/strong> is as famous for its hymn-like <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-is-a-melody\">melody<\/a><\/strong> 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 Even true love \u2018can fade like morning dew.\u2019 <\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-american-folk-songs\">American folk songs: 10 of the best<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Over the years, artists ranging from Bob Dylan to the American jazz band Oregon have performed \u2018The Water is Wide\u2019. Meanwhile various classical arrangements &#8211; not least by <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/benjamin-britten-composer\">Benjamin Britten<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/john-rutter-composer\">John Rutter<\/a><\/strong> &#8211; have capitalised on the song\u2019s spare beauty.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe title=\"B.Britten &amp; P.Pears - O Waly, Waly\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" 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=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><h3 id=\"h-10-true-love-ways-by-buddy-holly\">10. &#8216;True Love Ways&#8217; by Buddy Holly<\/h3><p>Recorded in autumn 1958, Buddy Holly apparently wrote this lyrical evocation of domestic bliss as a wedding gift for Maria Elena Holly (now aged 90). It is a pretty powerful little song, whose delicate lyrics and beautiful melody are inspired by the old spiritual \u2018I\u2019ll be alright\u2019. They remind us just how much the world lost when Buddy Holly was killed in an airplane crash just four months later &#8211; in February 1959 &#8211; aged 22.<\/p><ul><li class=\"p1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/blues-songs\"><strong>Blues songs: 10 of the greatest of all time<\/strong><\/a> <\/li><\/ul><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe title=\"&quot;True Love Ways&quot; Buddy Holly\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" 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=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Hannah Nepilova Published: Monday, 22 January 2024 at 12:36 PM No one can resist a good love song. And no musical playlist &#8211; be it pop, jazz, folk or classical &#8211; is complete without one. Here, in no particular order, are ten of the best love songs in history. Best love songs of all [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":38239,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"6"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/best-love-songs-10-of-the-most-famous-love-songs-of-all-time.jpg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/best-love-songs-10-of-the-most-famous-love-songs-of-all-time-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/best-love-songs-10-of-the-most-famous-love-songs-of-all-time-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/best-love-songs-10-of-the-most-famous-love-songs-of-all-time-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/best-love-songs-10-of-the-most-famous-love-songs-of-all-time-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/best-love-songs-10-of-the-most-famous-love-songs-of-all-time-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/best-love-songs-10-of-the-most-famous-love-songs-of-all-time-2048x1366.jpg",2048,1366,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Hannah Nepilova Published: Monday, 22 January 2024 at 12:36 PM No one can resist a good love song. And no musical playlist &#8211; be it pop, jazz, folk or classical &#8211; is complete without one. Here, in no particular order, are ten of the best love songs in history. Best love songs of all&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/38238"}],"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\/38239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}