All (The Best) Songs Are Love Songs
Visual Created by Quinn Donnelly // @stepmommy444
My dad used to say that all songs are love songs. I didn’t really know what he meant by this because, theoretically, you can write a song about anything.
Recently, I realized he may have been right. As I was going through a variety of my favorite songs, I noticed that there was a commonality they all shared. Across all genres, my favorite songs are always vulnerable and emotional; ultimately all good songs have to be.
I was curious how a songwriter/musician would feel about my discovery. Josie Arthur, class of ’24, is one of Emerson’s rising songwriters. Being in a family of musicians, Josie has been exposed to music her whole life.
Arthur told me that when she writes music, she is “inspired by [her] own life and the things that happen to [her].”
“That’s how I process most of my emotions around breakups or anything happening romantically,” said Arthur.
I wasn’t too surprised by this. As a writer myself, I’ve noticed that I do my best work when I am inspired by something occurring in my love life––when I am falling in love, or even falling out of it.
Vincent Paz, class of ’24, is another songwriter with an intense love for music. Paz said he grew up idolizing heartbreaking lyrics from bands such as My Chemical Romance. He began putting out covers during the pandemic and eventually moved towards song writing.
He, like Arthur, also said that his lyrics come from personal experiences, usually love and heartbreak. “I always find myself writing best when I’m sad.”
Another songwriter, Taylor Schonbuch—who has been taking music lessons and performing from a very young age—said that her songs are heavily influenced by both romantic love and “friendship love,” as she calls it. To her, all types of love have relevance to music.
It seems that many songwriters share this inspiration because love is an emotion that can be incredibly heavy, and it is often the thing driving our motivations. Alternatively, we know artists are driven by pain, and there are many ways love can cause pain; heartbreak included.
So we know that artists and writers love to write about love. But why do we, as listeners, care so much? Why do we push songs about love and heartbreak to the top of the charts? Is it because we, too, are in love? Is it because we, too, are heartbroken?
Schonbuch believes “people are drawn to love songs because everyone can relate to that, whether it's platonic love, parental love or partner love.”
Paz says that “music can help us in so many ways, and personally, heartbreaks are when I need music the most.” What it really comes down to, is that people listen to songs that reflect their own experiences. The heartbroken listen to heartbreaking songs. The lovers listen to love songs. We all love nothing more than to hear other people tell our own stories; it's far easier than telling them ourselves.
Arthur also thinks that people are drawn to love songs because of their authenticity. People like when songs are honest. Arthur says that when an artist writes about love or loss of love, “the truth has to come through.” Love is a hard emotion to fake. And being in love is a powerful and unique experience that only an insider can truly understand. And we, as listeners, love to feel understood.
Love songs can mean many different things for different people, and these meanings are malleable––with the power to affect us differently depending on our own experiences.
One of my favorite love songs last year was “Naked” by Sabrina Claudio. Claudio writes, “All of me is all for you.” This line has resonated with me deeply, and I instantly felt a connection to the narrative Claudio was expressing. When I was in love, this song made me feel more comfortable being metaphorically “naked” in a relationship—in other words, exposing myself entirely to the person I loved and devoting everything I was to them. When that love ended, the song’s meaning changed for me. It began to feel like Claudio was trapped in a relationship. To me, “Naked” started to convey being powerless to the control that someone else can have over you and wanting to escape but being unable to do so.
Ultimately, there are a million ways to interpret love songs, and most of us music lovers have developed special connections to songs that seem to speak to us in some way.
In order to get a feel for the variety of love songs that are meaningful to people, I asked several individuals including some Emersonians to share their favorite love songs with me (whatever “love” means to them).