by Alex Tours

Created on: June 04, 2008   Last Updated: June 19, 2008

"Best of" lists have always fascinated music lovers and one of the most popular topics is "the best love songs of all time". What a seemingly impossible task! Most popular songs are about love, so this particular list is selecting from virtually the whole world of song!

The only way to sensibly tackle this is to choose one's own favorite love songs - difficult enough! - and let some dedicated statistician poll all the results together at some later date!

I have picked my three favorites. Not one of them is recent, so I'm afraid that my selection reveals much about my age!

1. THE BEATLES - YESTERDAY
"Why she had to go; I don't know, she wouldn't say".
There has to be a Beatles song in here, certainly for someone from my generation. It's the only song in my list which is about lost love.

It's enormous power stems from the fact that everyone, even after hearing only a few notes, knows the tune! It's so simple, isn't it, that you or I could have written it! If only! Simplicity and beauty come with genius, as this song exemplifies.

2. FRANK SINATRA - STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT
"Something in your eyes was so inviting; Something in you smile was so exciting".
This song has always been around in my life.

It was my parents who were "old blue eyes" fans so I must have picked up the melody subconsciously. It kept playing about in my mind, and occasionally I would be teased by hearing snippets on the TV or the radio, until I could tolerate it no longer and bought the record! I then fell in love with the lyrics too - it's the perfect love song!

3. VAN MORRISON - HAVE I TOLD YOU LATELY
"Fill my heart with gladness; Take away all my sadness"
This might be better known in Rod Stewart's version but I prefer the original.

I know that my wife adores me because I have sung this to her many times and she still hasn't left me! It's become "our song": the incident that finally sealed its status was one of those bizarre coincidences that follow you in life.

We were holidaying in Mauritius, having a coffee at a table in a plaza, when a busker came wandering by and asked if we'd like him to play for us. Of all the songs in all the world, he chose "Have I Told You Lately". It was a beautiful moment for us!

So there you are: of the 11,000 songs on my iPod, I have picked the three love songs that mean most to me.

How more revealing about my innermost self could I ever be?

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