The infamous day of love is coming up, so why not get in the mood for it? Even if you don’t have a special someone, there is always love in the air this time of year. Love is all around us; in our homes, our dorms, and our friends. Everywhere we are, there is always love to be found. Whether you’re looking for a new Valentine’s anthem to jam with your friends or an intimate song just for you and your love, these songs might inspire you to spread a little bit of extra love this season.
Starting off with a country ballad showcasing sweet similes and a down-tempo vibe is Tennessee Whiskey by Chris Stapleton. It’s the perfect song for slow-dancing with a partner on a small-town bar dance floor. The lights are turned way down low and the sound of quiet chatter and guitar fill the bar. Hold your darling close, and she might give you a kiss.
One song that no one can escape listening to this time of year is L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole. It’s a classic jazz song that came out in 1964 and has undoubtly shaped romantic jazz as we know it today. He originally recorded the song for his new album, also titled L-O-V-E, and features many other iconic love songs. It has the atmosphere of a busy, cold day in downtown New York, taking a stroll in the park and enjoying the sights and watching people walking by, each different from one another, but all have love.
Heart Attack (츄) by LOONA is an wildly catchy and upbeat kpop song, taking the world by storm since its 2017 debut. The song is all about the feeling of yearning for a certain love, but remaining unnoticed. Despite its bittersweet lyrics, the song has a remarkably cute, happy pop beat and rhythms that inspire movement, from toe taps to head bopping. It’s a great song to listen to if you’ve never listened to kpop before!
Looking for an anthem celebrating everything love is and stands for? I cannot recommend Mother Mother’s I Got Love enough. This rock/alternative song, released in 2021, is about loving yourself and learning to appreciate and love others for who they are. The raw kind of love. Things could be going horribly wrong in life, but we’ve got love and somehow, it feels like everything will be alright.
Young readers will most likely recognize and find a happy familiarity with this next song: It’s Paper Rings by Taylor Swift from her album Lover. It was hard to choose just one song in this album, but it all definitely fits the vibe of Valentine’s Day. With its catchy hooks and dancy pop feel, Swift does an amazing job of using her lyrics to relate to her audience and tell her love story. The more you listen to it, the more you begin to love it.
Kiss Me by Sixpence None The Richer is a pop/rock song released in 1999. It definitely has the classic vibe of the late 1990s-2000s, which makes it feel even more endearing when listening. The lyrics use descriptive imagery to put the listener into a natural scene of green grass, milky twilight, fireflies with just you and your love, spending the night in each other’s company quietly and gracefully. West Tennessee has brilliant starry skies and rural fields, so if you wanted to, you could make this dreamy song a reality.
Music has a way of touching the soul, but what draws that music to impact you? It’s love. Music and love have always worked incredibly well together and put with the human spirit, it creates something amazing; life.
