...from the motion picture Dil Se (From the Heart, 1998, Dir. Mani Ratnam,) verses by Gulzar:

jinke sar ho ishq kii chha.nh
pao.n ke niiche jannat hogi
jinke sar ho ishq ki chha.nh
chal chhaiyya
Paon jannat chale chal chhaiyyan 

vo yaar hai jo khushbuu kii tarah
jiskii zabaan Urdu kii tarah
merii shaam raat merii qayaamat
vo yaar mera saiyya saiyya

------

He whose head is in the shadow of love
will have heaven beneath his feet. 
Whose head is in the shadow of love...
Walk in the shadow.
Feet jingling (i.e., with anklets), walk in the
shadow.

There's a friend who is like a sweet fragrance, 
whose words are like poetry (lit. Urdu, the language of poetry),
who is my evening, my night, my resurrection. 
That friend is my beloved!

------

[Found on the BollyWHAT? site, in the lyrics to "Chaiyya Chaiyya", ("Shade, Shade.")]

...or the ones in "Satrangi Re" ("You of the Seven Colors.") [Same film and lyricist, and reproduced on same BollyWHAT? page.]

This dark classic features direction and screenplay by Mani Ratnam, who this year gave us the inspirational Guru, mentioned in my earlier post.

-Bill

Now you've made me cry, sappy old sentimentalist that I am.

Try this one, written by Guy d'Hardelot (not actually "his" real name—"he" was a she!) in 1916, recorded by the great Caruso in French, sung here by Mario in the movie The Great Caruso in English:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGVC34KuH48&NR

Because you come to me
With naught save love
And hold my hand and lift mine eyes above
A wider world of hope and joy I see
Because you come to me.

Because you speak to me in accents sweet
I find the roses waking round my feet
And I am led through tears and joy to thee
Because you speak to me.

Because God made thee mine
I'll cherish thee
Through light and darkness through all time to be
And pray his love may make our love divine
Because God made thee mine!

lol, I can't imagine Linz getting into Bollywood cinema though you never know. No, the best love song I can imagine is Mario Lanza's rendition of 'O Sole Mio'
Whether it's because it's in Italian and a popular melody or, most likely, Mario's amazing voice I don't know and I don't care. Even though I do like a lot of contemporary music when it comes to love songs everything else seems trite in comparison. Maybe it's the simplicity of it's folkish origins I dunno. I found this through one of Lindsay's links and I suggest you check it out also:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYfdN6Q9LHw

‘O SOLE MIO (Italian)
G. Capurro / E. Di Capua

Che bella cosa na jurnata 'e sole,
n'aria serena doppo na tempesta!
Pe' ll'aria fresca pare gia' na festa...
Che bella cosa na jurnata 'e sole.

Ma n'atu sole
cchiu' bello, oi ne'.
'o sole mio
sta 'nfronte a te!
‘o sole, ‘o sole mio
sta 'nfronte a te!
sta 'nfronte a te!

Lùcene 'e llastre d'a fenesta toia;
'na lavannara canta e se ne vanta
e pe' tramente torce, spanne e canta
lùcene 'e llastre d'a fenesta toia.

Ma n'atu sole
cchiu' bello, oi ne'.
'o sole mio
sta 'nfronte a te!
‘o sole, ‘o sole mio
sta 'nfronte a te!
sta 'nfronte a te!

Quanno fa notte e 'o sole
se ne scenne,
me vene quase 'na malincunia;
sotto 'a fenesta toia restarria
quanno fa notte e 'o sole
se ne scenne.

Ma n'atu sole
cchiu' bello, oi ne'.
'o sole mio
sta 'nfronte a te!
‘o sole, ‘o sole mio
sta 'nfronte a te!
sta 'nfronte a te!

MY OWN SUN (English)

What a wonderful thing a sunny day
The cool air after a thunderstorm!
The fresh breezes banish the heavy air…
What a wonderful thing a sunny day.

But another sun,
that’s brighter still
It’s my own sun
that’s in your face!
The sun, my own sun
It’s in your face!
It’s in your face!

Shining is the glass from your window;
A washwoman is singing and bragging
Wringing and hanging laundry and singing
Shining is the glass from your window.

But another sun,
that’s brighter still
It’s my own sun
that’s in your face!
The sun, my own sun
It’s in your face!
It’s in your face!

When night comes and the sun
has gone down,
I start feeling blue;
I’d stay below your window
When night comes and the sun
has gone down.

But another sun,
that’s brighter still
It’s my own sun
that’s in your face!
The sun, my own sun
It’s in your face!
It’s in your face!

A true love song, to me, would be something like the song 'Time To Say Goodbye' or 'Edelweiss'. A lot of the love song ballads are sophmoric attempts at trying to explain love in a malevolent context.

If I only had the words to tell you
If you only had the time to understand
Though I know it wouldn't change your feelings
And I know you'll carry on the best you can.

If I only had the urge to tell you
If you only knew how hard it is to say
When the simple lines have all been taken
And the radio repeats them ev'ry day.

If I never find the song to sing you
If you always find it hard to comprehend
Well, you know there wouldn't be much meaning
If I had to sing those tired words again.

Life goes on and on
And tonight will soon be gone
But if we try we can be sure.

If I only had the words to tell you
If you only had the time to understand
But I only have these arms to hold you
And it's all that you can ask of any man.

How's *that* for appropriate?

Melissa

"Shiny. Let's be bad guys."

Is that some kind of terror-muppet?

I take it back! At least the original eyes were sort of sexy...

Melissa

"Shiny. Let's be bad guys."

...is that the words "I Love You" simply don't cut the mustard when it comes to expressing the emotion. It takes a little creativity and romantic-poetic lyricism. Something that's wholly lacking in rap, hip-hop and modern computer-generated barf-pop and bonk-jingles.

As far as the standards go, nothing beats Fly Me To The Moon; especially Tony Bennett, especially done live. I've heard him do it live and it's stupendous**.

Elvis' Love Me Tender and his rendition of Can't Help Falling In Love are superb.

For the best modern love songs and true sentimentality, country music is where it's at. Lyrically and emotionally, those guys & gals have the rest beat.

**if I ever meet Rod Stewart, after shoving his American Songbook discs up his ass, I intend to give him a piece of my mind. He should have stuck to Maggie May and You're In My heart.

Author: Thomas Moore. Sung by the Irish Tenors. 

Believe me, if all those endearing young charms,
Which I gaze on so fondly to-day
Were to change by to-morrow, and fleet in my arms,
Like fairy-gifts fading away,
Thou wouldst still be adored, as this moment thou art,
Let thy loveliness fade as it will,
And around the dear ruin each wish of my heart
Would entwine itself verdantly still.
It is not while beauty and youth are thine own,
And they cheeks unprofaned by a tear,
That the fervor and faith of a soul can be known,
To which time will but make thee more dear;
No, the heart that has truly loved never forgets,
But as truly loves on to the close,
As the sun-flower turns on her god, when he sets,
The same look which she turned when he rose.

Melissa, I'll compromise...

"I am the eye in the sky, looking at yoo-ooo-ooh, I can read your mind...." Alan Parsons.

I adore love songs, the sappier the better...and I'm not ashamed of it! I listen to them in the car, hum them when I'm not paying attention, and sing them when I'm alone. The only time I don't like them is when I'm heartachy, which isn't often. The thing is, the best love songs I know are not the sappy kind. Cake's "Love You Madly" and Billy Joel's "Shameless" are two of my favorites...and neither of those are your cliche standard. Hmm. Perhaps I'm weird.

On a completely unrelated note, Joe, your picture is scary. It's a little too 'Big Brother is Watching' for comfort.

Melissa

"Shiny. Let's be bad guys."

In the UK the radio is often tuned to a popular radio station when I am working in the lab.

Most of the songs I hear are what are basically modern "love ballads". Using "light" electric guitars and pianos and sometimes having raspy voices they mainly sing about relationships and love and nothing much else.

Fortunately (C)rap music is not mainstream in this country.

I saw an advertisement on a subway a while back for an online dating site that featured the caption, "understand sappy love songs". I think love songs will always be appreciated in part because many people are in love (or think they are), or at the very least they aspire to be. When you associate a song with powerful emotional feelings toward a specific person, the song takes on a whole new level.

On the flip side, I think that you're dead on in terms of the rehashed cliches and overly repetitious nature of so much of the stuff out there. The traditional norms of heterosexual male masculinity also frown upon appreciation of such music, and that's a factor in some case I'm sure.

Joe (and Linz,)

I think the solution to your present partial (or seemingly total, in Linz's case!) disillusionment with modern music is to watch more Hindi cinema. The romantic love ballad remains the staple of the genre in India, and the level of musical artistry and creativity there has only been rising in recent years.

If there is any way that you could watch the romantic comedy Salaam-e-Ishq (A Tribute to Love,) which is still playing in some theaters and is also already available on DVD, I think you would see my point.

The recent film Guru, loosely based on the life of Dhirubhai Ambani, who rose from obscurity in a remote village to become India's greatest industrialist, also has a splendid love story sub-plot, with music to match.

-Bill