Country music is full of romantic songs, a trend that has been part of the genre since the beginning. In honor of Valentine’s Day, we’re taking a look at some of the many sweet love songs country music has to offer. Keep reading to find ten of our favorites.
10. “It’s Your Love,” Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
“It’s Your Love” is the first of many duets that Tim McGraw and Faith Hill sang together, with Hill very pregnant with the couple’s first child in the video.
“We were dating at the time, and we were in the middle of a tour together,” McGraw recalled, (via The Boot). “I remember I had a place out in Leiper’s Fork [outside of Nashville] and the bus was sitting there. Missi [Gallimore, wife of producer Byron Gallimore] showed up with that song and we went to the back of the bus to listen. I instantly knew I was going to cut it. I played it for Faith and told her I wanted her to sing on it. We both really felt like we had something.”
Watch the video here.
9. “No Place That Far,” Sara Evans
“No Place That Far” became Sara Evans‘ first No. 1 hit. The song, which featured Vince Gill, is the title track of Evans’ sophomore album. Evans wrote the song with Tony Martin and Tom Shapiro, which she says helped propel the song to the top of the charts.
“I think that as a singer when you write your own songs it sometimes can sound more authentic,” Evans said. “Like ‘No Place That Far,’ it’s a melody that I wrote myself and I really enjoyed writing it. It’s not to say that I won’t throw out a song that I’ve written for a better song that I did not write because there are many, many times that I’ve been pitched a song that I couldn’t write or sounded more like me than something I wrote.”
Watch the video here.
8. “Happy Anywhere,” Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani
“Happy Anywhere” is the second duet Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani sang together, before they were even married. The song, which Shelton released after their “Nobody But You” collaboration, was one Stefani was thrilled to be invited to sing with her then-boyfriend.
“I am such a fan of songwriting and writers. When Blake asked me to be on ‘Happy Anywhere,’ I cried because I was so excited about it,” Stefani said (via People). “The song is so ‘our song’ and we’re so in love and it really is the perfect way to describe us.”
Watch the video here.
7. “You Decorated My Life,” Kenny Rogers
“You Decorated My Life” is a song that has definitely stood the test of time. Recorded by Kenny Rogers and released in 1979, the song, which appeared on his Kenny album, was a No. 1 hit for him at country radio, and a Top 10 on the pop charts as well.
“It’s not a Nashville song,” co-writer Bob Morrison told The Tennessean. “The story goes that [music publisher Bob] Beckham brought it to the great Larry Butler, a great producer and musician. Larry said basically, ‘Gee, I don’t know, Bob. Let me put this on the bottom of the stack and when Kenny comes in, I’ll play the various stuff stacked above it.’ Kenny came in and kept saying, ‘Nah, Nah. No.’ Then [Larry] got to the bottom of the stack and almost reluctantly played it. And Kenny said, ‘That’s the one!'”
Listen to the song here.
6. “When You Say Nothing At All,” Keith Whitley
Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz wrote “When You Say Nothing At All,” which was recorded by multiple artists. But it was Keith Whitley who had the most memorable version of the song, which became a No. 1 hit for him.
Ironically, Whitley had passed on two songs that became hits for other artists, namely “Nobody In His Right Mind Would’ve Left Her,” which was recorded by George Strait, and Randy Travis‘ “On The Other Hand.” So when Whitley heard “When You Say Nothing At All,” he was determined to be the one to record it.
“After I let those two get away, we had a running joke that Don and Paul wanted me to record another one of their songs, and get the first crack at a single on it,” Whitley recounted. “So when I heard ‘When You Say Nothing At All,’ I wasn’t about to let that one slip through my fingers.”
Watch the video here.
5. “Thank God,” Kane and Katelyn Brown
“Thank God” is the first song Kane Brown recorded with his wife, Katelyn. but likely won’t be their last. The song, which earned the pair a CMT Music Award for Video of the Year, is likely the first of many collaborations the couple will record together.
“Kate’s always been an artist,” Brown told Everything Nash and other outlets during a recent media event. “And she stepped back and is doing the mom and wife thing. She’s kept holding our house together, and she sings all the time. She loves music. So just to get to do that with her, and get to live her dream with her, means the world to me. Just to see how excited she is to be on stage. She’s a nervous wreck when it comes to any awards shows, so it will be fun just sitting there beside her.”
Watch the video here.
4. “Speechless,” Dan + Shay
Dan + Shay‘s “Speechless,” released in 2018 as part of their eponymous third studio album, became one of the biggest songs of their career, likely thanks in part to both Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney using their own video footage for the song.
“Shay had just gotten married also, so we both had that feeling fresh on our minds and we wrote about it,” Smyers told People. “Shay and I were both in each other’s weddings as groomsmen, and there were some fun moments in there of us tying each other’s ties.”
“It’s about not being able to find the words every single time, which is a special thing,” he added. “When it came time to do the video and given the fact that we had both had weddings the year before, I was like, ‘Man, maybe this video is already done.’ I had the crazy idea of taking Shay and my wedding footage [and] parallel those stories to showcase the moments.”
Watch the video here.
3. “Remember When,” Alan Jackson
When Alan Jackson released “Remember When” in 2003, he likely had no idea how much the song would stand the test of time. Written solely by him, as part of his Greatest Hits Volume II album,
“Denise and I met as kids, and all that’s true,” Jackson said last year, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the song. Most of that is just a relfection of our life, and some of it looking ahead. I’ve had so many comments saying, ‘That’s one of my favorite songs,’ or ‘That’s our song.’ I have so many couples come up and say, ‘That’s our song,’ and all that stuff … It connected with a certain audience, I guess.”
Alan reflects on the story of "Remember When" and his life with his wife Denise. He discusses how it connected with audiences and why it's a fan favorite! #RememberWhen20 pic.twitter.com/NrtKeq2hjX
— Alan Jackson (@OfficialJackson) August 3, 2023
Watch the video here.
2. “Die a Happy Man,” Thomas Rhett
Thomas Rhett likely had no idea when he wrote “Die a Happy Man” with Sean Douglas and Joe Spagur what the song would do for his career. Inspired by his relationship with his wife, Lauren Akins, Rhett also has Ed Sheeran to thank for helping him write the romantic tune.
“To give you a long story short, I remember Ed Sheeran had just put out his record, and when I heard ‘Thinking Out Loud’, I was like, it’s one of the greatest songs I’ve ever heard in my life,” Rhett told Smooth Radio. “I was like, I haven’t ever written a real love song, so if it hadn’t been for me hearing that song, I don’t know that I would have been inspired to write that song.”
“Die a Happy Man” was a No. 1 hit for Rhett at country radio, but also landed in the Top 30 at pop radio as well.
Watch the video here.
1. “I Will Always Love You,” Dolly Parton
It’s hard to top Dolly Parton‘’s “I Will Always Love You” as one of the sweetest love songs ever, even though it actually was inspired by a break-up, but not a romantic one. Parton wrote the song as a goodbye to Porter Wagoner, and his The Porter Wagoner Show, to turn her focus to her own solo career.
“I was trying to get away on my own because I had promised to stay with Porter’s show for five years. I had been there for seven,” Parton told CMT of the inspiration behind the song. “And we fought a lot. We were very much alike. We were both stubborn. We both believed that we knew what was best for us. Well, he believed he knew what was best for me, too, and I believed that I knew more what was best for me at that time. So, needless to say, there was a lot of grief and heartache there, and he just wasn’t listening to my reasoning for my going.”
Watch the video here.