16/01/2025

Best Beat

Setting the Rhythm for Your Music

The Wide Array of Love Comparisons in Popular Songs

The noun that comes up most frequently in popular songs is love. Often the word is used in comparison with a different concept in either a simile or metaphor.

Some tunes compare love to something beautiful or desirable, while others describe it with an unfavorable concept. Bob Dylan probably best stated it when he wrote “Love is a Four-Letter Word,” a song that was made a hit by Joan Baez.

Here are fifteen song titles that all compare love to another object or concept.

“Love is a Rose” by Neil Young

The folk-rock legend penned this one for his Homegrown album, and later it became a hit for Linda Rondstadt.

“Love is the Drug” by Roxy Music

Bryan Ferry’s alternative band first hit the charts with this classic, which spawned from the Siren album.

“Love Is Like Oxygen” by the Sweet

Though not as well-known as “Ballroom Blitz” or “Fox on the Run,” this hit was one of the last the pop-rock quartet ever scored.

“Love Is a Battlefield” by Pat Benetar

Soon after the rock princess dared listeners to “Hit Me with Your Best Shot,” she then augmented the emotion from a simple fist fight into a war.

“Ain’t Love a Bitch?” by Rod Stewart

This is one of the overlooked gems from Blondes Have More Fun, an album that reached number one mainly on the strength of “Do You Think I’m Sexy?”

“Love Is a Country” by the Wallflowers

Jakob Dylan and his 90s band reunited to record Glad All Over, the album from which this metaphorical title emerged.

“Love Is an Open Door” by Kristen Bell and Santino Fontana

This tune was a highlight from the Frozen soundtrack from 2010.

“Love Is (Thicker than Water)” by Andy Gibb

The youngest Gibb watched his brothers top the charts with the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, only to follow them himself with this number one single.

“Love Is Your Color” by Jennifer Hudson

The one-time American Idol finalist recorded a number of hits, including this one comparing love to a color.

“Love Is a Cat from Hell” by the Chiodos

Of the many things to which love has been compared, this one by the hard-core band might be the strangest and least appealing.

“My Love Is like a Star” by Demi Lovato

The one-time teen diva left her TV sitcom to record hits like this one.

“Love Is a Gamble” by Randy Travis

The country legend nailed the perfect metaphor for the emotion when he characterized it as a risky adventure.

“Love Is a Laserquest” by Arctic Monkeys

The Brit alternative band created this unusual comparison for the Suck It and See album.

“Love Is Pain” by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

Most people, at some point in their lives, could agree with the rock queen’s equating of love with something that hurts.

“Love Is a Stranger” by Eurhythmics

Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart, the duo who rose to fame after “Sweet Dreams,” also scored with this single.