The best love songs have the kind of poetic lyrics that one has to sit with to really get. And when it comes to the following three love songs, their lyrics manage to say “I love you” without ever using those specific words. If you’re a songwriter, the following tunes might just inspire you.
Videos by American Songwriter
“Butterflies” by Kacey Musgraves (2018)
“Cloud nine was always out of reach / Now I remember what it feels like to fly / You give me butterflies.”
According to lore, Kacey Musgraves wrote this song just a few weeks after meeting he ex-husband, Ruston Kelly. “Butterflies” is about going through life with one important piece missing and finally finding that love and connection that lifts one up, rather than weighs one down.
“Butterflies” peaked at No. 32 on the Hot Country Songs chart and would earn Musgraves a Grammy Award for Best Country Solo Performance in 2019.
“Like Real People Do” by Hozier (2014)
“I had a thought, dear, however scary / About that night, the bugs and the dirt / Why were you digging? What did you bury / Before those hands pulled me from the earth?”
This warm, acoustic tune from the master of love songs, Hozier, is full of interesting metaphors. It’s a song rooted in nature, particularly insects. However, the song itself is a true love song about wanting the object of one’s affection to give them a smooch. On a deeper level, though, it’s a song about understanding the person you love’s trauma enough to love them even more. It’s sweet and not nearly as devastating as some of Hozier’s other songs on his debut album.
“Yesterday” by The Beatles (1965)
“Why she had to go / I don’t know, she wouldn’t say / I said something wrong / Now I long for yesterday.”
There are no “I love you” lyrics to be found in this Fab Four classic. There are also no allusions to bitterness in a breakup, either. It’s an objective, observant song about the passage of time and how love can come and leave so devastatingly fast. Paul McCartney really knew what he was doing with this classic song about lost love. And it’s interesting that he was the only member of the band to appear on the song, with just his voice and an acoustic guitar.
Photo by ITV/Shutterstock
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.