k.d. lang performs in Toronto in June, 2017.J.P. MOCZULSKI/The Globe and Mail
Whether or not you’re feeling love in the air this Valentine’s Day, nothing says romance like a love song.
In our bracket to find the best one, The Globe’s audience team aimed to have something to pluck at every reader’s heartstrings. But with a limit of 16 songs, we knew our choices would inevitably break some hearts.
This is the best love song of all, as voted by Globe readers
Readers voted “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” by Elvis as the winner of our Valentine’s Day competition, but also made sure to comment and e-mail letting us know which songs we missed.
So in the spirit of spreading the love, we’ve compiled them all here in a romantic playlist for you to enjoy.
Here are 14 special mentions of the most requested songs and why readers hold them so dear:
Constant Craving by k.d. lang
Readers really had a hankering for the Canadian singer’s 1992 lesson in yearning, with one commenter going so far as to suggest The Globe should pull the article altogether because of the lack of lang. In 2017, the “Pride of the Prairies” toured to mark the 25th anniversary of the song and its album, Ingenue. She was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame last year.
k.d. lang sings at the O’Keefe Centre in Toronto in March, 1996.Fred Lum/Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Stardust by Willie Nelson
The titular first track of Nelson’s 1978 pop album held a special place in B.C. couple Morley and Joy Lertzman’s 71 years of marriage before Ms. Lertzman died of Alzheimer’s last year at age 93. “Even in the last stages of her disease, she was able to sing and remember some of the words of Stardust and Always [by Irving Berlin] when I played them on the piano. These had always been her favourites,” her husband wrote to The Globe.
a thousand years by Christina Perri
The 2011 ballad pledging to love someone for a millennium is for those with long-time companions, commented Globe reader Dave S. For millennials, the song is the soundtrack to (spoiler alert!) Bella and Edward’s dreamy human-vampire forest wedding in the fourth Twilight movie, and a cheeky nod to the immortality the vampires are hiding. A recent TikTok trend has brought it to the attention of younger generations.
At Last by Etta James
We picked the wrong song for both Etta James and Beyoncé in the bracket, according to reader Lydia Hatcher. Either artist’s version of the 1960 ode to a long-awaited love is her “number 1″ and “far better than all the other songs list,” she wrote.
Leonard Cohen in Toronto in January, 1975.Jack Dobson/Jack Dobson/The Globe and Mail
Dance Me to The End of Love by Leonard Cohen
“I find it hard to believe that there isn’t a Leonard Cohen song on the list of pairings. There are so many to choose from that resonate and do so in an intergenerational and timeless way,” wrote Toronto reader J.C. Sulzenko, who nevertheless called the vote “a pleasant antidote to the other dreadful headlines.” His sentiment was joined by many other Cohen fans who also mentioned I’m Your Man and Take This Longing.
The Power of Love by Jennifer Rush
We’ll let reader Anne Marie O’Sullivan do the talking: “The Best Love Song of all Time was missing from your list. The hands down best love song of all time is THE POWER OF LOVE and get’s my vote every time. And it doesn’t matter if it’s being sung by Celine Dion or Jennifer Rush. Although my favourite is by Jennifer Rush. Would have love to have seen this song in the top picks. But definitely a fun thing to do.”
What Are You Doing For The Rest Of Your Life? by Michael Dees
Originally written for the 1969 film Happy Ending, this song has famously been covered by Frank Sinatra – and it’s a favourite song of Karin Dean-Williams and her partner no matter who is singing it. “It has a haunting melody and timeless lyrics. The lyrics are perhaps especially poignant for those of us given a second chance at love. We recently saw Renee Rosnes dedicate this song to her husband Bill Charlap during a concert. I think everyone in the audience teared up - I know I did!” she wrote.
Best Part by Daniel Caesar (feat. H.E.R.)
The 2017 collaboration between Canadian Daniel Caesar and American singer H.E.R. was the only song from the last decade multiple readers said was missing from our list. The duet is a slow and tender mutual declaration of love, and it won the Grammy Award for best R&B performance in 2019.
H.E.R., left, and Daniel Caesar perform at the BET Awards in Los Angeles on June 24, 2018.Richard Shotwell/The Associated Press
Crazy by Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline’s 1961 version of Willie Nelson’s meditation on love and insanity became the most played song on American jukeboxes in 1996, and has been considered a country standard for decades. It went viral on TikTok during the COVID-19 pandemic, spawning a trend of videos in which people jokingly confessed the “crazy” things they had done for love interests in their lives.
Cry To Me by Solomon Burke
A certain Globe editor exercised a great deal of restraint by not placing this vulnerable, tender plea in the initial bracket – only to have a reader agree it was an oversight. Burke promises to his beau that “you won’t ever have to walk alone” in the 1955 hit, a simple but deeply romantic pledge of companionship. It’s also the iconic soundtrack of the moment Baby and Johnny finally give in to their mutual attraction in the 1987 movie Dirty Dancing.
Gordon Lightfood pictured in 1993.The Canadian Press
Song For A Winter’s Night by Gordon Lightfoot
Several readers wanted some representation from the Canadian folk legend, with the song off his 1967 album The Way I Feel being the most requested. Lightfoot wrote it on a hot summer night in Cleveland while missing his wife at the time, making it a tale of domestic longing. Some of this other songs, including Did She Mention My Name? and Beautiful were also on readers’ wish lists.
Long, Long Time by Linda Ronstadt
“My emotional reaction is strongest for songs that chronicle unrequited love and love lost,” commented Globe reader Rich Mole as he made his case for the mournful 1970 ballad. “The philosophical lyrics, the melody, the arrangement and that voice!"
You Are The Sunshine of My Life by Stevie Wonder
Wonder’s 1973 stirring pop-ballad deserved its Grammy for best male pop performance and a spot in the bracket, according to Globe readers who said our playlist was missing a little sunshine.
Make You Feel My Love by Adele
Bob Dylan tunes were requested by several readers, but no one song more than Adele’s version of his 1997 Make You Feel My Love. The ardent yet understated declaration of the lengths the singer would go to impress their love upon their partner has become a modern standard, covered by more than 450 artists including Neil Diamond, Michael Bolton, Garth Brooks and Pink.
Adele performs at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto in May, 2011.Moe Doiron/The Globe and Mail
Listen to all the beloved love songs from our bracket and the ones readers wished were included:
With comments by Globe readers.