I listen to a variety of music, and I consider myself pretty open minded when it comes to the different genres. One thing I will not tolerate though is this subject that consumes many love songs: “you’re nobody until somebody loves you.” This idea that you need another person to complete you is down right absurd. You are somebody and another person is merely a nice addition.

Some love songs like Mariah Carey’s “I Can’t Live” or Celine Dion’s “All By Myself” are perfect examples of love songs where a person feels at his/her best in a relationship. I in no way want to berate relationships because I think that they can be incredibly rewarding, but “the most important relationship you have is the one with yourself”. (Thank you Sarah Jessica Parker) I also realize that many songs are about heartbreak, and the feeling of complete emptiness. But then there are the upbeat codependent love songs such as the classic “You’re Nobody til Somebody Loves You” ? To many, it’s an upbeat song that everybody knows, but if you think about the words, it’s telling you that you don’t amount to anything until somebody else thinks you’re worth it. Is that really a positive message to be sending?

Of course there are love songs that celebrate us loving ourselves like, “The Greatest Love of All”. Love songs are fabulous and get me every time, but I think that we should be singing about how love enhances our lives, not about how we need to be in love with another person in order to feel alive.