Love Is a Song, and Here Are Our Favorites

Love isn't just limited to the screen--there are lots of songs about it, too. We gathered up several members of the Initiative to talk about our favorite love songs.

Amanda Horn

1. One of my favorite love songs is "The Scientist" by Coldplay. It's not a happy song by any means, but it's a lovely and tragic song. It also reminds me of Daniel Faraday and Charlotte Lewis from Lost. Daniel loves her so much and I think this song accurately conveys his thoughts.


2. I'm a big fan of musical theatre and one of my favorite songs from a little-known musical named Side Show is called "I Will Never Leave You." Side Show is the story of a pair of conjoined twins in the 1920's. They sing this song near the end of show, when they realize that though other people may leave them, they will always be there for each other.

Izzy Stevenson

When I think about Valentine’s Day, my memory takes me back to the very first day I became interested in boys. That, of course, was the day the holiday first made sense to me on any kind of level, and I still remember it well. It was right near Valentine’s Day, in fact. 15 years ago, and I was around nine or ten. The same song kept playing over and over on the television as part of a special Valentine’s Day commercial. Today I still associate that song with the excitement of young love.


As much as we love our OTPs, I think we can all admit that the best kind of romances are the ones that take place in the real world. My favorite thing about the song “My Idea of Heaven” is the music video, in which the singer, Leigh Nash, has some of her personal married friends write on cards about what their idea of heaven is.

Jaime Heller

There are many songs I like to listen to that invoke a sense of “love” or romance. From Disney songs (yes, cheesy but adorable) to mainstream music (if I can find any that are good enough) to even old classics, there are plenty for me to enjoy and daydream while listening to.

Here are a few I’d like to share with you:

“The Bird and the Worm” by Owl City: This song—and many of his others—are just cute and whimsical. Owl City is the perfect artist to listen to if you’re in a daydreamy mood and want an adorable playlist to listen to. Specifically, “The Bird and the Worm” is beyond cute with the play on words and the energetic melody.


“Laughter Lines” by Bastille: I happened upon this song by accident via my tumblr shenanigans. I was immediately smitten and poured over the lyrics trying to figure out what it meant. I decided it had to be about love in some matter. Overall, I think the song is beautiful and has a story to tell.


“Let Me Call You Sweetheart”: This one is an oldie—like 1910 old. But I cannot help but love it. The lyrics are so… romantic and there’s just something about old music that cannot be matched with new tunes of today. In addition, it was used as the song Anne and Gilbert Blythe danced to at their wedding in the Anne of Green Gables movie. :)

Mirriam Neal

Superheroes – The Script

This is one of my favorite songs. (I don’t think any of these are exactly ‘love songs,’ but to me they’re highly romantic. Bonus points since I can apply them to my OTPs.) This song is about two people struggling to become better people and working together. Every day, every hour, turn the pain into power – if lyrics are going to turn me on, this is the way for them to do it.


King and the Lionheart – Of Monsters and Men

This song is beautiful, and is also one I’m planning on playing at my wedding. I adore songs about two people taking on the world together, and this is a particularly gorgeous example.


Can’t Hurry Love – Dixie Chicks

This is a song about love, but it’s a song about waiting for the right person. Whenever I’m feeling lonely or missing that certain someone, I turn on this song, kick back, and realize that you can’t hurry love, no; you’ll just have to wait.

Rica Wiersema

     There are sappy hopeless romantics who listen to Celine Dion while stuffing their mouths full of chocolate.

     There are bitter people who reject cliché love stories with every fibre of their being.

     And then there are the select few people like me who fall under both categories at the same time.

     I had the blessing of being raised by two parents who were (and still are) very much in love. They just celebrated their twenty-fifth anniversary, and my mother’s parents before them reached over sixty anniversaries. Watching those relationships function and blossom has taught me for years about what real love is — not just romantic love, but parental love and family love and sibling love and beyond. I’ve learned that you need more than just roses and chocolates to support your relationships… but I also know that a little happily-ever-after isn’t so impossible as modern skeptics might think.

     That said, allow me to present my top three favorite love songs. I of course have a whole iTunes playlist of Footloose and Howard Shore… but these are at the top.

     1. “Love is a Good Thing”

Artist: Andrew Peterson

Album: Resurrection Letters: Volume II

     Peterson is not only one of my favorite authors, but seeing as I have every album he’s ever made, he’s also my favorite musical artist. This song is his gentle, acoustic reminder that half of love is the passion that makes the promises, and the other half is the resolve to see those commitments through no matter how feelings change.


     2. “What Are Words”

Artist: Chris Medina

Album: What Are Words

     If you haven’t heard the story behind this hit single yet, you need to get onboard already; this song was written by American Idol contestant Chris Medina, after his fiancée received permanent brain damage in a car accident, just two months before their wedding: instead, she was in a two-month coma. Now she needs 24/7 assistance, and he became her caretaker.


     3. “Gone, Gone, Gone”

Artist: Phillip Phillips

Album: The World From the Side of the Moon

     This song just makes me want to dance, and I’m hoping to use it in a friend’s wedding video very soon. Even though, when you reeeally listen to the lyrics, the relationship is conditional (“Give me reasons to believe that you would do the same for me, and I would do it for you,”) it’s still a nice modern version of the sappy romance that we all know and love… and makes me start reaching for the chocolates.

Sarah Munson

So Close by Jon McLaughlin: I fell in love with this song the first time I heard it in the movie "Enchanted" and it feels magical to me every time I listen to it. I think it's beautiful how it blends both love and loss in the lyrics. Not every relationship works out, and the words, "So close, so close, yet still so far," really capture that for me. Sometimes we love but experience loss, but it's an essential part of life. this song also reminds me of an almost-couple in the novel I'm writing, so I've listened to this song several times writing their scenes.


A Thousand Years by Christina Perri: No, I do NOT like Twilight. I've never read or watched it, and have no plans to. However, this song came on my Pandora station one day and captured my heart. I think the melody is captivating, and the lyrics are so sincere and heartfelt. It's the sort of song that would be perfect for a wedding, if only people didn't think of Twilight first. Ignoring that last fact, it's also a song that fits with several of my favorite OTP's. It fits a couple from my own novel, two pairs from the River of Time series, Captain America and Peggy... I could go on and on. :)


All About Us by He is We with Owl City: I'll admit, I tend to gravitate towards soft, melodic, somewhat melancholy songs of the heart. This is not one of those. All About Us is such a fun, upbeat, yet heartfelt song. It makes me want to dance and laugh, and reminds me of bright smiles and summer days. If I actually knew how to dance, I would seriously consider this for a wedding song. Since I can't dance, and I'm not planning on getting married any time in the near future, I'll just keep blasting it while I clean my room. As for OTP's, it reminds me a bit of Flynn & Rapunzel and also of Adam & Belle.

Sky Destrian

1. Tenerife Sea by Ed Sheeran.

This is one song that never fails to make me blush, but in the best kind of way. The pure innocence of it is so beautiful and it tells a story in my mind every time. (However, Ed Sheeran is the king of love songs in my opinion. Runners-up include "Thinking Out Loud," "Shirtsleeves," "Give Me Love," and "Kiss Me.")


2. Be Okay by Oh Honey
This isn't explicitly a love song, but it's got such an upbeat tune and makes me feel so happy. And, I might argue, it is a love song, because it's a song about being in love with life.


3. I See the Light by Mandy Moore & Zachary LeviThis hearkens back to our Disney OTP collab, but I couldn't leave this one out because it's made me tear up on many occasion. As we've discussed here, Flynn and Rapunzel's love is real and innocent and true. And it's very, very strong. This song reminds me of their bond with each other and the potential bond I'd like with someone else. It's so gorgeous. 
4. Shut Up and Dance with Me by Walk the Moon
I'm cheating by adding a fourth, but this is honestly one of my favorite love songs of all time. There is no way to listen to it and not smile. Also, I believe this one tells a story as well, and songs like that are just beautiful. But don't take my word for it:


Honorable mentions: On My Way Home by Pentatonix, Wake Me Up by Avicii, and Stay with Me by Sam Smith.

What are your favorite love songs?