Our selection of essential love songs
Tender or passionate, confidential or grandiloquent, romantic or heartbreaking … There are a thousand and a thousand love songs. We all have, our favorites, who, in a few words and a few notes, awaken memories, make us smile or give us tears. All together, they form a common heritage.
“They may be profane, love melodies are humanity cathedrals,” even writes psychoanalyst Joseph Agostini, co -author, with journalist Daniela Lumbroso, from the book Love songs heal the heart of the world (Ed. Robert Laffont). Some of our artists are addressed directly to the loved one: Johnny Hallyday with That I love you, Mike Brant in Let me Love You, Michel Delpech and his For a flirt.
Others simply sublimate love in general, such as Michel Fugain who sings It’s a beautiful novel, it’s a beautiful story or Dalida with Story of a love. Francis Cabrel takes the whole world to witness in I love him to die While Barbara used to finish her concerts by entrusting her audience: “My most beautiful love story is you. Even the overwhelming Don’t leave me, de Jacques Brel is a real passion ode.
A universal feeling
Why do these songs affect the public so much? “Because they are interested in the most universal feeling there is”, replies the columnist Frédéric Zeitoun*, who has just published a very complete work. Dozens of examples attest to it: singing love is almost an obligatory passage.
Obviously, the result differs depending on whether the artist is called Alain Souchon or France Gall, Enrico Macias or Aya Nakamura… Each has their words, each their style! For Frédéric Zeitoun, the absolute reference in the genre is Charles Aznavour, who, with Bohemia, you have to know, no, I have not forgotten anything Or And me in my cornerexplored the thousand facets of the feeling of love.
The specialist also welcomes the genius of Jean-Jacques Goldman. In Know that Ithe singer managed the feat of writing a sublime love song … without ever saying “I love you” to the loved one!
*Also a songwriter, he released his 4th album “Les Souvenirs de Tomorrow” at Bayard Musique.
