The Most Romantic Song Lyrics of All Time

Classic songs, new tracks, and forgotten tunes perfect for the first dance, date night at home, or Valentine's Day.

real-weddings-meredith-adam-harl4296.jpg
Photo: Harwell Photography

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, but at Martha Stewart Weddings we like to feel the love 365 days a year. We rounded up our favorite tunes with lyrics that make us weak at the knees. For a stellar playlist that will make you swoon, check out what we're singing along to.

"Let's Stay Together" by Al Green

"I'm … I'm so in love with you/Whatever you want to do/Is all right with me/Cause you, make me feel so brand new/And I, want to spend my life with you." Green's hit song from 1972 still sounds as fresh as the day it hit the radio! We love the idea of twirling on the dance floor, post-ceremony, to the promising idea of loving one another whether times are good or bad, happy or sad.

"Crazy Love" by Van Morrison

Van Morrison's melody to his lover is so sweet and romantic. If you want to feel good, stop what you're doing, pop in your headphones, and play this track right now. "I can hear her heart beat for a thousand miles/And the heaven's open every time she smiles/And when I come to her that's where I belong."

"I'll Be Your Mirror" by Velvet Underground

We have heard of more than one couple using this song for their first dance. The lyrics will make your heart swell. "When you think the night has seen your mind/That inside you're twisted and unkind/Let me stand to show that you are blind/Please put down your hands/'Cause I see you."

"Have I Told You Lately" by Rod Stewart

Rod Stewart's little reminder for us to tell our partners we love them. He croons the best part of a good relationship with the lyrics, "You fill my life with laughter/And somehow you make it better/ease my troubles, that's what you do."

"I Will Wait" by Mumford and Sons

The new rock band we're all singing along to these days knows a thing or two about poetic lyrics. "Raise my hands, paint my spirit gold/And bow my head, keep my heart slow/Because I will wait, I will wait for you."

"Home" by Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros

Are you a couple that favors packing up and hitting the road? For lovers with wanderlust, this song will hit the perfect note. "Man, oh, man you're my best friend/I scream it to the nothingness/There ain't nothing that I need/Home, let me come home/Home is wherever I'm with you."

"I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" by Aerosmith

Steven Tyler's voice soars over the stunning instrumentals in the song we all can't help but sing along to. The lines, "I just wanna hold you close/I feel your heart so close to mine/And just stay here in this moment/For all the rest of time," always get us. Total tear-jerker!

"All You Need Is Love" by The Beatles

Leave it to John Lennon and Paul McCartney to sing to us about the power of universal love. "There's nothing you can make that can't be made/No one you can save that can't be saved/Nothing you can do but you can learn to be you in time/It's easy/All you need is love." Kick the wedding off and walk down the aisle to this tune, and you'll have the whole crowd humming along in no time!

"I Just Called To Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder crooned, "I just called to say I love you/I just called to say how much I care/I just called to say I love you/And I mean it from the bottom of my heart." What is better than telling your honey-or any loved one-you love them, just because? Absolutely nothing! That's why this song is romantic in the most ordinary way.

"Love Is In The Air" by John Paul Young

This is an instant shot of happy. "Love is in the air everywhere I look around/Love is in the air every sight and every sound … It's something that I must believe in/And it's there when I look in your eyes." Play this song at your wedding, your next dinner party, maybe sneak it into your gym playlist. It's seriously so happy and feel-good; you'll be sending good vibes all day long.

"You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" by Stevie Wonder

In 1973, this song became Wonder's third #1 hit on the Billboard 100-and we think we know why. "You must have known that I was lonely/Because you came to my rescue/And I know that this must be heaven/How could so much love be inside you?" Who could resist those lyrics!

"That's How Strong My Love Is" by Otis Redding

It's hard to pick just one stanza that makes us swoon-because that's how romantic this song is. "I'll be the weeping willow drowning in my tears/And you can go swimming when you are here/I'll be the rainbow after the tears are gone/Wrap you in my colors and keep you warm."

"Till There Was You" by The Beatles

"There was love all around/But I never heard it singing/No, I never heard it at all/Till there was you." Travel back in time with this oldie but goodie-and totally romantic tune. Fair warning: you will feel butterflies for your lover, or Paul McCartney.

"You Send Me" by Sam Cooke

First, you're all googly-eyed for another. Then, someone-or both of you-start to fall in love. Sam Cooke knew this all too well when he hummed along to, "At first I thought it was infatuation/But, woo, it's lasted so long/Now I find myself wanting/To marry you and take you home."

"I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" by The Ramones

In only two minutes and twenty-five seconds, The Ramones have our heads bopping all the way back to high school. "Hey, little girl/I wanna be your boyfriend/Sweet little girl/I wanna be your boyfriend … Do you love me babe? Because I wanna be your boyfriend." We're going to add two instructions to this song. 1. Have a crush. 2. Play on repeat.

"The Way You Look Tonight" by Frank Sinatra

Sinatra's version is probably the one we know best, but this melody goes all the way back to 1936, when Fred Astaire sang it to Ginger Rogers in the movie Swing Time. Astaire sang, "Some day, when I'm awfully low/When the world is cold/I will feel a glow just thinking of you/And the way you look tonight," in a scene where Rogers, playing Penny, was getting ready to go out for a night on the town-feeling much less than beautiful. Now that's romance! (Watch it below!)

"God Only Knows" by The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys said it best when they crooned, "If you should ever leave me/Though life would still go on, believe me/The world could show nothing to me/So what good would livin' do me/God only knows what I'd be without you."

"River Deep Mountain High" by Ike & Tina Turner

When Turner compared her deep love to the affection she had for a rag doll when she was a little girl, the whole country got hooked. "Now I love you just the way I loved that rag doll/But only now my love has grown/And it gets stronger, in every way/And it gets deeper, let me say/And it gets higher, day by day."

"Everything I Do (I Do It For You)" by Bryan Adams

The lyrics, "There's no love like your love/And no other could give me more love/There's nowhere unless you're there/All the time, all the way," are the peak of romance. Add in the way Adams strains through all those, "I'll die for you," lines … it's over-the-top and in a very good way.

LISTEN TO THE FULL PLAYLIST ON SPOTIFY

Was this page helpful?
Related Articles