J.T. Knoll is a writer, speaker and prevention and wellness coordinator at Pittsburg State University. He also operates Knoll Wellness Training & Consulting in Pittsburg. He can be reached at 231-0499 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

PITTSBURG — Oh my love, my darling, I've hungered for your touch. — Righteous Brothers, “Unchained Melody”

For my money, there’s nothing that’s brings forth the depths of romantic love like a good love song. So with Valentine’s Day just a couple of days off, I thought I’d share lyrics from a few of my favorites and invite you to guess the titles and recording artists. (Should be no problem once you start singing along.) Answers at the column's end.

1) “I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day. An when it’s cold outside, I’ve got the month of May.” Every time I hear these opening lines I’m transported back to high school, 1964, transistor radios, 1106 Drive In, ball games, draggin’ the gut, and dreamy, teenage love.

2) “Romeo loved Juliet. Juliet she felt the same. When he put his arms around her, he said, ‘Julie, baby, you’re my flame.’” Shakespeare created the most lasting image of young love of all time in Romeo and Juliet. A sultry female singer put this song on the charts in 1958 and had lovers all over the country snapping their fingers and loosening their collars.

3) “Worry. Why do I let myself worry? Wondering, what in the world did I do?” Another talented female sang this ballad by Willie Nelson, about the confusion and heartache of breaking up. It made #2 on the charts in 1962.

4) “I'm, I'm so in love with you. Whatever you want to do. Is all right with me. 'Cause you make me feel, so brand new. And I want to spend my life with you.” This one, from 1972, features not only being deeply in love in the present but has a plea to keep it going. You may have heard President Obama sing the opening lines in a broadcast from the Apollo Theater in January.

5) “Some day, when I'm awfully low. When the world is cold, I will feel a glow just thinking of you.” This sweet love ballad has been covered by many artists over the years, but my favorite, for its subtle phrasing, was recorded this legendary song stylist and actor (not to mention 1940s teen idol) in 1964.

6) “Somewhere in her smile she knows, that I don't need no other lover. Something in her style that shows me. I don't want to leave her now. You know I believe and how.” Speaking of teen idols, this tender song, recorded in 1969, was called, by none other than Frank Sinatra, one of the best love songs ever written.

7) “If she's bad he can't see it. She can do no wrong. Turn his back on his best friend if he put her down.” This 1966 song gives credence to the phrase “Love is blind.” I used to sing it (eyes closed) with “The Soul Inspiration,” in the late 1960s at area teen towns, fraternity parties, and an occasional bar.

8) “I just can't fit. Yes, I believe it's time for us to quit. When we meet again, introduced as friends, please don't let on that you knew me when…” This heartbreaker, first released in 1966, is by the artist who’s been called the finest songwriter of my generation. Pretty prolific as well; over 450 songs released.

9) “Those happy hours that we once knew, though long ago, they still make me blue. They say that time heals a broken heart. But time has stood still since we've been apart.” This one brings memories of late nights, eating chicken at the Idle Hour after the dance at the Tower Ballroom. It’s a country western tune that’s been covered by many, but nobody, in my opinion, came close to this artist’s bluesy version in a 1962 crossover album.

10) “Do the chairs in your parlor seem empty and bare? Do you gaze at your doorstep and picture me there? Is your heart filled with pain? Shall I come back again? Tell me dear,” Every time I hear this song I sigh twice. First a sigh of sadness, then of joy. Sadness to feel the pangs of unrequited love. Joy to experience a song so beautifully written and soulfully sung. They don’t get any better than this; recorded in 1960.

11) “When you're down and out, when you're on the street, when evening falls so hard, I will comfort you.” The east coast duo that wrote and recorded this song of love and friendship tapped into something deep. A young singer-songwriter told me just last week in my kitchen that he couldn’t believe it wasn’t an old gospel song re-recorded by them. It was a #1 hit on an album of the same name in 1971.

12) “Put your sweet lips a little closer to the phone. Let's pretend that we're together, all alone. I'll tell the man to turn the juke box way down low,” This is a late-night, sweet-talking, country, love song extraordinaire. Recorded in 1959, the song, written by Joe and Audrey Allison, was inspired after the couple was having difficulty communicating by telephone. Audrey had a soft voice and was unable to speak up so her husband could adequately hear her, so Joe would have his wife place the receiver closer to her mouth. (Another example of what’s lost these days to texting.)
 
Answers: 1) “My Girl” - The Temptations; 2) “Fever” – Peggy Lee; 3) “Crazy” – Patsy Cline: 4) “Let’s Stay Together” – Al Green; 5) “The Way You Look Tonight” – Frank Sinatra; 6) “Something” – The Beatles; 7) “When a Man Loves a Woman” – Percy Sledge; 8) “Just Like a Woman” – Bob Dylan; 9) “I Can’t Stop Loving You” – Ray Charles; 10) “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” – Elvis Presley; 11) “Bridge Over Troubled Water” – Simon & Garfunkel; 12) “He’ll Have To Go” – Jim Reeves.