Songs for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is almost here.  So what are the best "love songs" from the musical theatre?

For this list, only plain unabashed emotional love songs sung with or to the right one count. So, for example, "Something Wonderful" from "The King and I" doesn't count, because it's not sung by Lady Thiang to the King.  The amazing "So In Love" from "Kiss Me Kate" on stage is not sung by Lilly to Fred - and the film version is just...odd.  "On The Street Where You Live" from "My Fair Lady" is disqualified because it's a creepy stalker song.

With that said, here are some songs to get you ready for Valentine's Day.  There's still time to learn one or two and sing it to your loved one on Sunday.

In alphabetical order:

Do You Love Me?  - Fiddler on the Roof.  No extra words are needed.  For couples that have been together for awhile.

If I Loved You - Carousel.  This gets mentioned a lot as people's "favorite".  If you know it, then you understand why.  If you don't know it, one listen will tell you why.

I'll Cover You - Rent  So, that rush of first love.  That instant devotion.  That total surrender.  This encapsulates it.  I like Jesse Martin better as Collins, but the only decent clip of Martin seems to be from the film.

Last Night of the World - Miss Saigon  This show makes me cry every time.  And while the lyrics for this song are not brilliant - the emotion contained carries me away. Every time.  Again, that amazing instant rush you get when you first fall in love.  The promises.  The dreams.  The sense of that nothing ever will get in your way.   Here's Lea Salonga with her first Chris - Simon Bowman.

 And while Will Chase is not Simon Bowman, this version with full orchestration should carry you away as well.

Some Enchanted Evening - South Pacific  This nearly is perfect.  And it is extra special because I truly did first see the love of my life across a crowded room and was hooked for life.

Till There Was You - The Music Man   My personal favorite.  The words. The emotions.  The all too true sense that life did not exist and can not exist unless you are with the one you love.  To me, it's perfect.