30 Love Songs for Him, Plus One Written About Him

Finding love songs for him is harder than it sounds. A lot of the famous ones are sung by a man to a woman, and they don't quite fit when it's you saying it to him.

So this list is built from her side: 30 songs for your boyfriend or husband, grouped by where you are together and by what he actually listens to. At the end, three ways to give one so it means more than a link.

Pick one in 30 seconds

No time to scroll? Start here:

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  To say it plainly, any day of the year

  At Last · Etta James
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  A new boyfriend you can't stop smiling about

  Butterflies · Kacey Musgraves
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  Your husband, years in

  You're Still the One · Shania Twain
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  He's an R&B guy

  I Love Me Some Him · Toni Braxton
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  He skips every ballad

  Everlong · Foo Fighters

Classic love songs to dedicate to a man

For when you want him, and maybe the whole room, to know exactly what you mean. These are the love songs for him that work at any age and on any occasion, from a wedding to a random Tuesday.

The classic, and it still works every time. Play it for an anniversary dance or the first dance at your wedding, when you want him to know he was worth the wait.

Huge, bright and completely sincere. For the man who turned up when you needed someone, sung with enough power that he can't miss the point.

Aretha at full strength, and the title is the whole message. For the partner who makes you feel most like yourself.

Playful, proud and a little old-school. The one to put on when you want to brag about him a bit, at a party or with friends around. It's also a sweet, light choice if a big ballad would make him squirm.

Soft, sweet and sunny, with those famous high notes. A gentle morning song for the first coffee of the day together.

For your boyfriend: new, giddy, can't stop smiling

Early on, a big wedding ballad can feel like too much too soon. You want him to smile, not panic. These are light, happy and easy to send, and none of them will read as a proposal.

Soft and floaty, the sound of a crush that has turned into something real. Send it after a great date, with no caption at all.

Slow, warm and a little old-fashioned, like the last dance at a long party. For the boyfriend you're quietly starting to picture a future with.

Light, acoustic and happy. The kind of song you play on a lazy Saturday morning when nobody is in a hurry to get up.

Dreamy piano and a lot of hope. For the early weeks when you're still a little amazed this is actually happening.

Bright, fun and full of nostalgia. For a road trip with the windows down, or the boyfriend who makes you feel young and reckless again.

For your husband: love songs for the long haul

You've shared a bathroom, a mortgage and at least one terrible vacation. These songs are for the man who stayed through all of it. They suit anniversaries, vow renewals, and the quiet evenings when you look across the couch and remember why.

Made for the couple who are still here, years later. Play it on an anniversary, or after a year that tested you both and didn't win.

A song about choosing someone on purpose. Lovely for a vow renewal, or a quiet anniversary dinner at home.

Big and sweeping, about loving all of a person, the messy parts included. For the husband who has seen you at your worst and stayed.

Soft piano and strings, sung by a woman who has waited a long time for one person. For the husband you'd marry all over again, slow enough for a first-dance redo in the kitchen.

More of a thank-you than a love song. For the man who believed in you before you believed in yourself.

R&B love songs for him

Smooth, slow and grown-up. If his playlists lean toward R&B and soul, start here. These also make a good late-night playlist for the two of you, in this order.

The title says it all. Warm, unhurried and very sure of itself, for when you want him to know he's the one, no hedging.

Rich, slow and made for late evenings. Put it on for a night in when the TV stays off.

Piano, a big voice and a lot of conviction. For the boyfriend or husband you'd stand up for in front of anyone.

Lazy, dreamy and devoted. For a slow Sunday when neither of you wants to leave the bed.

A tender, old-school R&B ballad. For the man who showed up when you had stopped expecting anyone to.

Country love songs from her to him

If he drives a truck, owns a pair of boots, or just likes a good story in a song, these are for him. Country is full of love songs sung from her side, so you have plenty to choose from.

A country duet, so the two of you can sing it together. Good for a first dance, a long drive, or an anniversary on the porch.

Slow and swooning. Play it at the end of a long day when it's finally just the two of you.

For the woman who would happily trade it all for a quiet life with him. Bright, open and made for a drive with nowhere in particular to be.

Gentle and bluegrass-tinged, all about how much a look can say. Perfect for the quiet type who isn't big on words.

The singalong duet. Put it on at a party or a family barbecue and see if he takes the Kenny part.

Love songs men actually like

Plenty of men would rather get a love song that sounds like the music they already play. If he skips anything with violins and a key change, these have guitars, big choruses and no syrup. A quick test: open his most-played list. If it's mostly guitars, the best love songs for him are probably in this section, not the one above.

Loud, fast and one of the most romantic rock songs around, if you listen closely. For the guy who would never admit he loves a love song. Send it without explanation and let him work out why you picked it.

A big, glowing guitar song with a simple message. Made for a late-night drive with the volume up.

The rock ballad he has probably sung alone in the car more often than he'd admit. A safe bet for almost any guy who grew up on the radio.

Easygoing acoustic guitar and beach-day calm. For the laid-back guy who thinks the best date is doing nothing together.

Short, honest and a true classic. For the man with a record collection, or the one who'll finally listen to the lyrics because you sent it.

How to give him a song so it lands

Most men won't say much when you send a song. That doesn't mean it didn't work. Make it easy for it to matter:

1. Write the two sentences that matter. The song gets his attention; your note is what he keeps. Say which song, and why it's him. For example: "This came on at the store and I thought of you singing badly in the kitchen last Sunday. Still my favorite concert." Or: "Five years, two apartments and one very bad camping trip later, I'd still pick you every time."
2. Play it where he is, not where his notifications are. Queue it in the car when he's driving, so he hears the whole thing. Put it on while you're cooking together. Or make him a short playlist of five songs from this page and put the one that matters most at the end. At a wedding or a party, ask the DJ for it and then pull him onto the floor.
3. If it's a song about him, send the gift page. A song made on SongStory comes with its own gift page. When he opens it, it unwraps like an envelope, and the note you wrote sits right under the song. Send it on his birthday morning or your anniversary, and download the MP3 so it's in his car for the drive to work.

When none of these songs are about him

Here's the honest limit of every list, this one included: these songs were written about other people. They can get close. But none of them know that he names every stray cat in the neighborhood, that he still has the ticket from your first movie, or that he's the only one who can make you laugh when you're furious.

That's the part a song made from your story can do. You write a few of those details down, the way you'd tell a friend: how you met, the nickname, the thing he does that drives you crazy and that you secretly love. Half-sentences are fine. SongStory writes the lyrics around them, with his name in them. You can read every line and change anything before it's sung. Then you pick the sound: rock, country, R&B or one of the other 20+ styles, a male or female voice, in any of 40+ languages. You get two full versions.

The 60-second preview is free, so you can hear it before you decide. If it feels like him, $9.9 unlocks the full song. If it doesn't, you can redo it once for free. Start with a song for your boyfriend or a song for your husband, and if your anniversary is coming up, there's a page for an anniversary love song too.

Whether you pick a classic from this list or a song with his name in it, don't just drop it into a chat. Pick a moment, write the note, and let him hear it with you there. That's the part he'll remember.