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7 songs to get you through Valentine’s Day

7 songs to get you through Valentine’s Day - The Mesquite Online News - Texas A&M University-San Antonio

Durand Jones & The Indications on the Mainstage at Haldern Pop Festival Aug 8, 2019. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Durand_Jones_%26_the_Indications_am_Haldern_Pop_Festival_2019-05_-_Foto_Martin_Schumann.jpg

Whether in love, heartbroken or caught up on an ex, Valentine’s Day can be emotional. Oftentimes it can be difficult to put these emotions into words. 

Below is a playlist curated to express those vulnerable emotions. Some are love songs; others are about anguish. Regardless, hopefully they’ll make you feel, appreciate and reminisce. 

Cruisin’ to the Park – Durand Jones & The Indications: Sometimes the best songs are the ones that don’t take too much thought or analysis to appreciate. They just make you feel good.

Vocalists Durand Jones and Aaron Frazer sing of just wanting to embrace the moment with their partners, not caring what’s next. Their love is simple and dreamy and there’s nothing complicated about it 一 just like the track itself. 

Baby, let’s cruise together
With you next to me
Maybe we will cruise forever
Pure ecstasy”

Make You Feel My Love – Adele: Adele is well-known for her emotionally devastating lyrics. Although this track was originally written and performed by Bob Dylan, she does it justice.

Adele isn’t just telling her partner she loves him; she’s willing to show him, and perhaps that’s the most important part. With lyrics so sweet and sincere, there’s no need to decipher.

I will never do you wrong
I’ve known it from the moment that we met
No doubt in my mind where you belong”
It’s a love letter to her partner ㅡ transparent and pure, just like love should be. 

Golden Hour – Kacey Musgraves: Kacey Musgraves won album of the year in 2019 for Golden Hour for a reason ㅡ and this self-titled track is reason enough.

Every single verse in this song is noteworthy. Musgraves was absolutely enamored with her lover when writing this, and it’s obvious. She was grateful and in love, and that’s the perfect recipe for a track like this. 

I used to get sad
And lonely when the sun went down
But it’s different now
‘Cause I love the light that I’ve found In you”

I’d Rather Go Blind – Etta James: Released over 50 years ago, this ballad is proof why Etta James is a music icon. James describes the heartbreak of seeing the one she loves with another girl. She explains she would rather not see anything at all for the rest of her life, than see her lover with someone else. 

“Something told me it was over when I saw you and her talking … I would rather go blind boy, than to see you walk away from me.”’

Quite frankly, the lyrics are a tad dramatic ㅡ but love makes everyone a little dramatic at times. 

Her soulful vocals tied with the ‘60s R&B instrumentation makes this the perfect track to accompany an aching heart. 

(There Is) No Greater Love – Amy Winehouse: She brought magic to everything she touched and did nothing less covering this song from 1936. 

She’s all-in for her partner, in a way only she can be. Winehouse sings with an earnestness that can’t be feigned, only achieved by true love. 

“There is no greater thrill
Than what you bring to me
No sweeter song
Than what you sing”

There’s no need for much explaining as to why this is a Valentine’s Day necessity. The track speaks for itself.

I’ll Still Have Me – Cyn: With witty and devastating lyrics complemented by a beautifully echoed guitar, Cyn created a bittersweet track of relationship dissolution. 

Instead of feeling angry with her partner or herself, she manages to appreciate the relationship for what it was, while accepting its end and ultimately realizing that she hasn’t lost it all because she still has herself. 

It’s a song of love, distress, appreciation and self-empowerment all in one. 

“There’s no reason to speak badly
We just reached our end
I will see you in parts of me
In who I was back then”

pov – Ariana Grande: Ending the playlist on a track like this just makes sense. In just over 3 minutes and 30 seconds, she teaches listeners a lifelong lesson: true love from a partner will be so palpable that it will make you want better for yourself, from yourself.

“I wanna trust me
The way that you trust me
Cause nobody ever loved me like you do
I’d love to see me from your point of view”

It’s fitting for those who are in a relationship, but it will also make those who aren’t, hopeful for the love that’s sure to come. 

Listen to it here on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2vfwWvIVXQpNGWGmbX9OnQ?si=b91b3c59daac4808

About the Author

Asiah Mendoza
Assistant Editor
Asiah Mendoza is a communications junior with a minor in psychology. Born and raised in San Antonio, she enjoys writing and listening to music in her free time. Her favorite things to do are go to concerts and discover new artists. After graduation, she hopes to combine her two interests and become a music journalist.

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