Memory Play Notes

Without love songs, it’s hard to imagine what music there would be in the world. Sure, not every song is about romantic love, but there sure are a lot of them. In the words of Paul McCartney, “Some people want to fill the world with silly love songs. And what’s wrong with that?” But chances are, most of the love songs you could list off the top of your head are in English, which is severely limiting in our opinion. That’s why we created a playlist for love songs in other languages that explores the bounty the world has to offer.

There are some obvious choices for romantic music. French is a Romance language not only because it’s descended from Latin, but also because it’s considered a language of love. Thus, we start off our list with classics like Édith Piaf’s “La Vie en Rose” and Jacques Brel’s “Ne me Quitte Pas.” 

Lest you think our playlist is limited, we assure you there’s something for everyone here. There’s ’80s German music with Die Ärzte’s “Zu Spät,” Turkish rock with Barış Manço’s “Gülpembe,” and Bollywood hits with Lata Mangeshkar’s “Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya.” We also end with an hour-long Arabic ballad, Umm Kulthum’s “Enta Oumry,” in case you think most songs are too short to express your feelings. There are also songs in Portuguese, Greek, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Yoruba, Italian and Japanese. To add even more variety, the music ranges in age, stretching from the early 20th century to the most recent decade.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of love songs in other languages, but it’s sure to give you an opportunity to branch out during your next serenade. After all, love songs aren’t the same everywhere, even within a single language; there’s so much variety out there, so why would you want to stick with one language?