Love Languages: 7 International Songs About Love

Music is a worldwide view of endless ways to express the endless emotions of love.

Written and illustrated by Audrey Kendrick

Each love song is a story, and all of the languages of the world tell it. Specific metaphors, vivid backstories, or simple, direct wording in songs can illustrate universal emotions that translate across all cultures and lives. Songwriters are able to capture the experience of choosing a person and them choosing you. These are some examples of saying “I love you” from all of the corners of the earth.

Warning: With mentions of humming winds, glowing fireflies, and feelings that extend past borders, these songs are sickeningly sweet. If you are cynical, or single, or both, proceed with caution.

“Háblame” — Chicano Batman

Te llevo en mi mente
Tú eres divina
Háblame y de volada yo me iré
Ámame que yo de vuelta siempre lo haré

[I carry you in my mind
You are divine
Talk to me and I’ll be gone
Love me and I’ll always return]

Sunshine at its center, “Háblame” translates all of the feel-good energy of talking to someone who lights up your day into a catchy, adoring hook. Like the daydreams about a person that burrow and resurface throughout the day, it radiates a sweet, uplifting nature with a chorus that’s easy to remember in idle thoughts again. It’s easygoing, elongated syllables and electric guitar solo create an unprocessed, honest profession with a tempo that keeps up with its sappiness.

“Tum Jab Paas” — Prateek Kuhad

Tum jab paas aati ho
Palko se muskurati ho
Havaaye bhi gungunati hai
Tum jab paas aati ho

[Whenever you come closer
And smile with closed eyes
The winds also begin to hum
Whenever you come closer]

In undemanding verses that are beautiful at both their surface level and in greater depths, Prateek Kuhad sings sweetly. His love’s presence is the softness of the humming winds. Her kind eyes are a point of focus for Kuhad against the confusion of many strange passing gazes in crowded cities. His pastel voice, evenly kept pace, and repetitive melody personifies the comfort of having closeness. Melting into each line with a constant, reassuring pattern, Kuhad knows there’s nothing like caring for (and understanding the treasure of) the simple company from someone special.

“Homesickness Pt. 2” — Emahoy Tsegue-Maryam Guebrou

Guebrou’s instrumental piece starts with piano vibrato like a fast-beating heart racing across the keys. Emahoy Tsegue-Maryam Guebrou was a nun, spiritually in love with her higher power. The melody stretches and grows like love itself. It drifts with restless longing, reaching for a stronger relationship, always moving in different directions, making beauty out of its rambling.

“Q&A” — Kishi Bashi

Hotaru hotaru
Futari no yume wo mireru hotaru no
Hotaru Hotaru
Tsuneru to yume ga
Sameru hotaruyoru
[Firefly, firefly
Two dreams we saw of fireflies
Firefly, firefly
With a pinch, we’ll be awoken
From the night of fireflies]

Setting the scene with some warm summer night guitar, Kishi Bashi poetically explains the puzzle piece connection of finding someone he cares about. Each hanging trail of notes builds a separate world of trust, imagining alternate lives with this perfectly-matched person. With twilight-flying fireflies, questions, answers, and strong promises, its hopeful daydream is the projection of pure, timeless love.

“Confini” — San Soucis

Se domani non ci fossero confini veri
Ti lascerei decidere dove andiamo
Ma in questa storia tutti vogliono guidare soli
Tu lasci il tempo ma io viaggio insieme a te
[If tomorrow there were no real borders
I’d let you decide where we go
But in this story everyone wants to drive alone
You leave time but I travel with you]

San Soucis wanders through early, uncertain love in the mellow “Confini.” From the spark of initial feelings to even newer admiration, she stands between the peace of being independent and the significance of trusting another. Blending feathery vocals with stone-sinking lyrics, it’s a snapshot of an unfolding experience. Its echoey, effortlessly gorgeous guitar layers blend perfectly under confessional statements that tiptoe around her fears and desires about idealistic, blinding love.

“Voyou” — Les Humains

Ça, y a des humains de toute part
Des grands, des tout petits
Des foules dévisagées de vie
Qui s'activent jour et nuit
Et de ces humains de toute part
C'est elle que t'as choisi, oh oh
[There are humans everywhere
Large, very small
Crowds staring at life
Which are active day and night
And of these humans everywhere
She’s the one you chose, oh oh]

Around the city, around the planet, in lands where he is illiterate, Voyou voyages, encountering all of the variety of life. All of this experience affirms one realization: His love is the one he wants and the one he chooses. In a sweet serenade full of uplifting “oohs and nas,” the happy melody lifts the song up, allowing listeners to appreciate it without any knowledge of its meaning. With only one statement, the grand, symbolic choice of loving someone is expressed in this endearing, storylined song.

“Selfish Lover” — Mild Orange

Well I swear to God that I need ya
And all your little quirks too
Well after all, it's what made me fall for you
Yeah I'm quite strange too

Kindly, like a summer day of empty but perfectly spent time, Mild Orange spells out a few thoughts in between melodic riffs and a steady beat. Rolling past the consideration of where things are going, it's unconcerned, liberated by the idea of loving. With assured energy and loose vocals that reflect the warm and fuzzy feelings of love, it's an affectionate tribute to appreciating the entirety of a person.

Throughout all languages and personal experiences, love is interpreted in song. Exquisite comparisons, rhythmic prose, and delicate melodies are the tools musicians use to free the fullest of feelings. From confused to certain, sappy to straightforward, love songs are a basis for relating, explaining, and creating on a universal scale.

Afterglow ATXMay 12, 2021audrey kendrick, love