In case you hadn't noticed yet I love lists. This is my list of my top 5 romantic songs. I'm mainly about lyrics but the melody has to be good too, in this list all the songs have combined the two to create song which normally makes me want to cry! I've tried to pick artists and songs that people may not have heard before because I tend to think there is very little value in telling people how much you like a song they've probably already heard!
1. Title: Feels like Home
Artist: Chantal Kreviazuk
Favourite line: I'm alright, cos I have you here with me and I can almost see through the dark there is light.
Why is it on the list? I first heard this song in How to Lose a Guy in 10 days and I was hooked on it even from the small snippet they played. After watching the film I Googled the song and loved it even more after hearing the full version. To me it is the height of romance because it's all about the one person who takes away all your fear, doubt and loneliness and makes you feel safe and loved. At the end of the day isn't that what we are all looking for?
2. Title: These Photographs
Artist: Joshua Radin
Favourite Line: The way you read me, no one can see me.
Why is it on the list? I love Joshua Radin, he has a voice that makes me feel like all stress is disappearing and I'm melting into a pool of relaxation! In this song I feel like he captures exactly how every girl would like to be seen, comparing her in different moments to famous women but at the same time maintaining how individual and special she is. This girl is his muse and when he looks into her eyes he sees the inspiration for his music, who doesn't think that's romantic?
3. Title: Closer to You
Artist: Liz Phair
Favourite line: I see the things you do, do you think I wander through half blind?
Why is it on the list? I'm sure many people wouldn't find this romantic but I do. It completely shows a side to women in relationships. She doesn't want to know everything about him straight away, they are at the beginning of their relationship and she's saying that whilst she is perceptive enough to see the things in his heart that he tries to hid she isn't ready to know his mind inside out, that will come in time. This to me is romance with realism, he is still the centre of her universe and when she's with him the rest of the world still revolves around them but she acknowledges the need to take time and not rush through everything. Perhaps true love is taking your time over getting to know your partner?
4. Title: Samson
Artist: Regina Spektor
Favourite line: The history books forgot about us and the bible didn't mention us, not even once.
Why is it on the list? Everyone interprets this song differently but to me it is the story of Samson and Delilah told from Delilah's perspective. She tells of how she's been villanised and how she really did love Samson, and how cutting his hair was a complicit act, something he was willing to do for her, and for love. But none of this was mentioned in history, or in the bible she was merely a cruel woman who brought down a great man. To me this has many different romantic themes, how we weaken ourselves for love, how the things we do for love never makes as much sense to others as it does to us, and whilst love is at the centre of our world's to others it's generally not particularly newsworthy.
5. Title: Your Sweet Voice
Artist: The Reindeer Section
Favourite line: When you left me here you left me here to die
Why is it on the list? The romance in this is probably the hardest to explain. I'll start by saying the music is definitely the most hauntingly beautiful on this list even without the words it is the epitome of romance. It tells the story of a man whose girlfriend leaves him for another man. At the beginning he's bitter and he talks of how much she hurt him, but by the end he wants them to at least have a friendship and talk about small, insignificant things like they used to. Explaining why I think this is romantic is tough, I think the best I can say is that for me loving someone so much, and on such a deeply personal level that even without the sex and love you still need them as part of your life to such an extent that it makes you forget about all your hurt feelings, is beautiful.
So there you have it, I hope you listen to them and enjoy them. Others that came close but didn't quite make the top five are; Maps- The Yeahyeahyeahs, Such Great Heights- Postal Service, Don't Give Up- Josh Groban and Bright Lights- Matchbox 20. Please feel free to share some of your own.