When I was a kid, I wondered why so many songs were about love. For context: I’m an 80’s kid, so yacht rock, hair metal, and pop synth love ballads, interspersed with my parents’ Motown records, provided the soundtrack to my youth.

Exceptions were rare - and with my adult hindsight, I realize they were rarer than I thought. When Olivia Newton-John bopped around in a leotard and leg warmers on MTV, I thought a song about aerobics was an odd choice, but whatever.

Adorable, no?

With this trove of tunes, we can mine lyrics to help communicate nearly any expression of love, from sappy to salty. That glorious decade gave us lyrics for every candy heart situation.

The Bangles felt a burning so strong it’s couldn’t merely be a heart beating - it had to be an eternal flame. Peter Cetera promised to be the man who would fight for your honor (didn’t know it was under question?) AND the hero that you’re dreaming of.

Of course, there was loss. Air Supply was all out of love and so lost without you. Rick Astley followed up with a guarantee against loss; he’s never gonna give you up. It was a prescient offer, since we’re still getting rickrolled.

Oh, but the place love could take you. Up where we belong. Islands in the stream. Riding a skateboard gleefully through Hill Valley, basking in the power of love. You don’t need money, don’t need fame, don’t need no credit card to ride this train.

Prince, of course, is a category unto himself. Straightforward to complex, platonic to, um, romantic - he’s got it all. Prince & the Revolution were a revelation into the vastness of love.

Valentine’s Day sentiments can present a challenge. Getting the right mix of sweet and funny and endearing isn’t easy. The words may escape you.

But if you’re lost, you can look to 80’s lyrics, and you will find them. Time after time.