You could say that every February 14th, the world divides into two classes of people: those who love Valentine's Day and those who run away at the mere sound of those words. Of course, most of us fall somewhere in between. We wouldn't want our partner to surprise us by suddenly showing up at our office, dressed as Cupid, with arrows and all, but a little something isn't a bad idea. For example, a playlist of romantic songs to listen to in the car.
Or wherever you want, of course.
Our top 10 Valentine's Day songs
As we've done
on previous occasions , our idea is to offer you a varied playlist, a bit surprising but without omitting the great classics and, of course, without repeating artists. In this case, we've also left out some great songs for road safety reasons; for example, we haven't included "
Qué difícil es hacer el amor en un Simca 1000" (How difficult it is to make love in a Simca 1000 ) because behind the wheel you have to pay attention to what you're doing, with all your senses focused on driving.
Let's go with the Valentine's list.
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DRIVING YOUR GIRLFRIEND HOME, MORRISSEY (1991)
Paraphrasing
Raymond Carver , we ask ourselves: what are we talking about when we talk about love songs? Because in most "romantic" songs, we find other emotions: loneliness, nostalgia, rejection... So, who better to start our list than Morrissey?
In this half-Jane Austen, half-Ken Loach, half-suck-up (yes, it's three halves: you know, love doesn't understand math) heartbreak tale, Mozz is giving someone else's girlfriend a ride home. She says, "
Turn left ," he turns left. She says, "
Go on ," he goes on. And he hears:
"How did I end up so wrapped up in the very life I planned to avoid? " There are no answers in this song, one of the most underrated lyrics from pop's, much to his chagrin, greatest romantic storyteller.
Listen to the song here.
https://open.spotify.com/track/1InxTHpiOGTd3rgX2qMtdr?si=416f4b2f069b4e65
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BRAND NEW CADILLAC, THE CLASH (1979)
There must be thousands of songs about love in a Cadillac (and about sex in a Cadillac, don't even get me started). The best thing about this one is its point of view: Vince Taylor, who wrote it in 1959, isn't behind the wheel. He's the one who's going to be stranded on the street: "
She ain't comin' back to me ." She's going to get into that expensive car ("
I said, "Jesus Christ! Where'd ya' get that Cadillac? "") and drive off forever. For many, this was the first British rock song. And that's why The Clash chose it for their masterful "
London Calling."
Changing the lyrics a bit: Joe Strummer's blasphemous and very punkish "
Balls to you, Big Daddy " could not have been included in Vince's original recording.
Listen to the song here.
https://open.spotify.com/track/7aN5Dd1mTrZei6Tt6ZhzI2?si=4ee1bedb32ca47db
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LOVE IN A CAR, THE HOUSE OF LOVE (1988)
For starters, they named themselves after an Anaïs Nin novel. Then, they filled their repertoire with noise, melting melodies, and desperate romanticism: “
Destroy the Heart ,” “
I Don't Know Why I Love You ,” “
Someone's Got to Love You ”… A mix of The Jesus & Mary Chain and Roxy Music, fronted not by a seductive dandy, but by your second-floor neighbor, who has just been dumped, yet again, by his girlfriend. The House of Love, of course, didn't have a happy ending. As
Joshua Klein describes, “
They seemed poised for something big, which never came: they had great songs, they had a great sound, they had the attitude, but in the end, it all boiled down to the foundations of a small cult .” It doesn't matter. Ever since Romeo and Juliet, we've all preferred love stories that don't end well.
Listen to the song here.
https://open.spotify.com/track/7aIyIQ0ocrwvvKr9f4LwF1?si=92573e164cd9444a
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I DROVE ALL NIGHT, CINDY LAUPER (1989)
We urgently need a pop revisionism that puts Cindy Lauper back in her rightful place: way, way up there. Many didn't grasp at the time the message hidden in such a perfect song as "
Girls Just Want to Have Fun ." Since we live in less-than-subtle times, Cindy herself made it crystal clear in 2020 with the new version: "
Girls Just Want to Have Fundamental Rights ." The same goes for "
I Drove All Night ," a song she made her own: "
I liked the idea of a woman behind the wheel, a woman in control ." The song was written for Roy Orbison to record, but he never released it during his lifetime. Cindy's version was an instant hit; that "
I drove all night / to get to you " is almost as memorable as the most legendary road safety advice in television history: if you drink, don't drive.
Listen to the song here.
https://open.spotify.com/track/3J0AoQhAufniMrznCRJASD?si=3f5fe7149a2d4a5f
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BORN TO RUN , BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (1975)
Another constant in romantic songs is escape. Love as an escape/refuge from the dissatisfactions of everyday life: you don't like your job, but it pays your share of the rent. Replace rent with a used car on an endless highway and you're in the Springsteen universe, that down-to-earth romantic idealism. "
Born to Run ," the Boss's best song according to
Rolling Stone , is actually much more than that: an attitude toward life, an anthem to eternal youth. "
We should leave while we're young / Because bums like us, we were born to run."
Listen to the song here
https://open.spotify.com/track/6hTcuIQa0sxrrByu9wTD7s?si=58be54a4be8e4525
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CRYING IN THE LIMO, C.TANGANA (2018)
Superstars have a heart, too. No, they don't only think about money. And if you don't believe us, C. Tangana himself clears it up: "
Hey, I lost my friends / Look at me, that monkey crying in the limo / Sing with me / Fuck money, I want to be with you / Hey, I'm in love with cheese / But I prefer a kiss, your kiss ." Perhaps it's worth clarifying, before continuing, that "cheese"
is not a reference to the dairy product . "
Llorando en la limo," produced by an old Madrid native, Alizzz, was included on "
Avida Dollars ," the follow-up to his debut album, "
Ídolo." And, as we all know, a lack of self-love isn't a problem for Antón Álvarez Alfaro.
Listen to the song here.
https://open.spotify.com/track/3YURfhPPT7GipmI7pIj0m3?si=4586ff10ce624bd5
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JOURNEY TO POLAR DREAMS, FAMILY (1993)
These days, we read articles about
the return of twee as just another TikTok trend; it's worth remembering that, as naive as it may seem, the movement that emerged in British pop thanks to, among others,
Sarah Records, was much more revolutionary. A term that also fits perfectly with Family. And again, not just musically: let's remember that one of the duo's members was Javier Aramburu, an essential figure in Spanish design. "
Journey to Polar Dreams ," one of the tracks on the
group's only album, is, of course, irresistible. Highways drawn on imaginary maps, which can only take you to one place: "
Where fears and apprehensions become landscapes of infinite birch trees of incomparable beauty / Where I will always love you ."
Listen to the song here.
https://open.spotify.com/track/40DVGRnw5vhUbJg5CmLOSj?si=d13a790231064024
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FAST CAR, TRACY CHAPMAN (1988)
Sometimes we like to laugh at them ironically, but we also know the power that great love stories can have. That feeling that they speak about us, that they reflect who we are and how we feel, even if they were written, sung, or filmed by someone we'll never meet. “
I never had a car like that,” says Tracy Chapman, “
but I've met so many people who have told me they felt it was their song… Someone once told me they thought I must have read their letters, that I knew their story too well .” And “
Fast Car ” contains it all: from the cruel injustice of being born with everything against you to the discovery of how love can give meaning, however fleetingly, to everything: “
I remember when we were in your car, going so fast I felt like I was drunk, the lights of the city unfolding in front of us, feeling your arm around my shoulder… I had the feeling that I had found something… that I could, I could be someone .”
Listen to the song here.
https://open.spotify.com/track/2M9ro2krNb7nr7HSprkEgo?si=18a43ffe61e04f4f
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RIDE, LANA DEL REY (2012)
It's hard to believe we've only been with Lana Del Rey for ten years (if you exclude a brief previous incarnation): "
Video Games ," the single that birthed the legend, was released online in June 2011. Since then, Lana has been talked about nonstop, both good and bad. Probably the most important
crooner of the 21st century. Since that debut about a story that couldn't end well ("
There was something sublime about that life, we went to work and he played his video games... but maybe it was all too predictable"), we've lived a thousand stories full of fake glamour, like all glamour, nostalgia for moments never experienced, hopes, encounters, and escapes. That enigma described in just a few meters of road:
“
I hear the birds in the summer breeze / I’m driving fast / I’m alone in the midnight hour / I’ve tried to stay out of trouble / but I’ve got a war on my mind, ” preceded by an unanswered prayer: “
Don’t leave me now / Don’t say goodbye / Don’t turn your back on me.”
Listen to the song here.
https://open.spotify.com/track/4RnVVU2wewkcPYEZAMFBrr?si=acc9185371784f37
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GREEN LIGHT, LORDE (2017)
The other side of the coin: when a breakup signals the beginning of something better: “
This is the first chapter of the last two wild, fluorescent years of my life; this is where they started,” in Lorde’s own words. There’s no escaping this, but quite the opposite: the need to shout a few truths in someone’s face. That “
liar, liar, ” repeated up to ten times after the song’s first lines:
“
I do my makeup in someone else’s car / We order different drinks at the same bars .” What was the problem? Were you scared of what we had? “
I thought I heard you say you’d always be in love / But you’re not, not anymore .” It hurts to do what you have to do, but this isn’t a story of a broken heart, but of a courageous rebuilding; the mantra “
I’m waiting for her, that green light, I want her ” isn’t a plea, but a self-fulfilling prophecy. The most brilliant “fuck you” of the decade.
Listen to the song here.
https://open.spotify.com/track/6ie2Bw3xLj2JcGowOlcMhb?si=2017c86b972f44ef
Did you like the list, my lovelies? We hope so. And if not, we'll be happy to add and remove anything you need. You can find our
entire Valentine's Day playlist here .
You know: we can change…
