Country Love Songs

Few genres of music can boast such a large percentage of songs about love as country & western music, and country love songs tend to dwell on the worst aspects of romance. There aren't many country tunes that end with "happily ever after", I guess because a cowboy's life is about individualism, isolation, struggle and a good amount of heavy drinking.

Country Songs About Love

Marriages tend to fray in the country and western song genre, because county singers sing about bars full of women in tight jeans, struggling to pay the bills and forgetting about the past with a good shot of liquor. That makes for a lot of good love songs about the country way of life, whether that's how reality plays out or not. Either way, there's an endless stream of country songs about love and the heartbreaking moments of life.

Classic Country Love Songs

From the very beginning of country music, love songs were an integral part of the artist's muse. Some people say that Hank Williams was the foundation of what we now consider country & western music. While there were country acts before Hank Williams, he did contribute so much and inspire so many artists, that we might as well start with the man. Some people are born knowing how to write love songs, and Hank Williams Sr. was one of those.

• Cold Cold Heart - Hank Williams
• I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You) - Hank Williams
• Lovesick Blues - Hank Williams
• I'm So Lonesome, I Could Cry - Hank Williams
• I Still Miss Someone - Johnny Cash
• I Walk the Line - Johnny Cash
• A Woman in Love - Ronnie Milsap
• Pure Love - Ronnie Milsap
• Almost Like a Song - Ronnie Milsap
• I Can't Stop Loving You - Don Gibson
• Only One Love in My Life - Ronnie Milsap
• Always on My Mind - Willie Nelson
• Crazy - Willie Nelson (version)
• Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain - Willie Nelson
• Amanda - Waylon Jennings
• Before the Next Teardrop Falls - Freddy Fender
• Behind Closed Doors - Chalie Rich
• Gentle on My Mind - Glen Campbell
• He'll Have to Go - Jim Reeves
• My Woman, My Woman, My Wife - Marty Robbins
• Golden Ring - George Jones & Tammy Wynette
• He Stopped Loving Her Today - George Jones
• Today I Started Love You Again - Merle Haggard
• Kiss and Angel Good Mornin - Charley Pride
• I'd Love to Lay You Down - Conway Twitty
• Hello Darlin - Conway Twitty

Country Love Songs from the 80s and 90s Era

Not all of these fit into the Eighties and Nineties, but they were produced by artists who became huge in the 1980s and 1990s. Some of these guys are still going strong, while others, you kind of wonder where they are these days.

• The Dance - Garth Brooks
• If Tomorrow Never Comes - Garth Brooks
• Tom Make You Feel My Love - Garth Brooks
• Unanswered Prayers - Garth Brooks
• I'll Go on Loving You - Alan Jackson
• Feels So Right - Alabama
• Forever and Ever, Amen - Randy Travis
• Something That We Do - Clint Black
• Anymore - Travis Tritt
• Rememeber When - Alan Jackson
• I Still Believe in You - Vince Gill
• When I Call Your Name - Vince Gill
• When Somebody Loves You - Alan Jackson
• When We Make Love - Alabama
• When You Say Nothing At All - Keith Whitley
• You Won't Be Lonely Now - Billy Ray Cyrus
• It Only Hurts When I Cry - Dwight Yoakam

George Strait Love Songs

Some of these country artists could fill out a list of love songs on their own, and George Strait is one of them. Maybe it's because my entire childhood was spent hearing my sister blare these songs in the car, but there's just a huge number of great George Strait love songs to list.

• Carrying Your Love with me - George Strait
• I Cross My Heart - George Strait
• The Man in Love With You - George Strait
• The Fireman - George Strait
• All My Exes Live in Texas - George Strait
• The Chair - George Strait
• Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind - George Strait
• The Cowboy Rides Away - George Strait
• It Ain't Cool to Be Crazy About You - George Strait
• Nobody in His Right Mind Would've Left Her - George Strait
• You Look So Good in Love - George Strait
• If You're Thinking You Want a Stranger (There's One Coming Home) - George Strait
• Unwound - George Strait

Country Love Songs by Women

Women know a thing or two about romance, heartache and breaking up, too, so there are plenty of great country love songs performed by female artists. Here's a tiny sampling of those song of romance and heartbreak, from the gentler species.

• Crazy - Patsy Cline
• I Fall to Pieces - Patsy Cline
• Help Me Make It Through the Night - Sammi Smith
• I Will Always Love You - Dolly Parton
• Strawberry Wine - Beana Carter
• The Heart Won't Lie - Reba McEntire & Vince Gill
• Breathe - Faith Hill
• Two Sparrows in a Hurricane - Tanya Tucker
• Forever and For Always - Shania Twain
• How Do I Live - Trisha Yearwood
• She's In Love with the Boy - Trisha Yearwood
• She's Got You - Patsy Cline
• This Kiss - Faith Hill
• Cowboy Take Me Away - Dixie Chicks
• No Place That Far - Sara Evans

Contemporary Country Love Songs

Country music just keeps on churning out sad love songs. Whether you love these guys or hate them, whether you think they're country rebels doing their own thing or cookie-cutter examples of the Nashville Sound, you have to admit the people on this list know how to perform a memorable country love song.

• Somebody Like You - Keith Urban
• Raining on Sunday - Keith Urban
• It's a Love Thing - Keith Urban
• But for the Grace of God - Keith Urban
• Your Everything - Keith Urban
• Amazed - Lonestar
• Don't Take the Girl - Tim McGraw
• From Here To Eternity - Michael Peterson
• Help Me Understand - Trace Adkins
• How Forever Feels - Kenny Chesney
• You Had Me From Hello - Kenny Chesney
• I Believe - Diamond Rio
• One More Day - Diamond Rio
• I'm Already There - Lonestar
• I Melt - Rascal Flatts
• Keeper of the Stars - Tracy Byrd
• I Love the Way You Love Me - John Michael Montgomery
• You're the Best Part of Me - Dale Watson
• The One - Gary Allen
• We Danced - Brad Paisley
• You Won't Ever Be Lonely - Andy Griggs
• It's Your Love - Faith Hill & Tim McGraw
• Let's Make Love - Faith Hill & Tim McGraw
• Me and You - Kenny Chesney

Love Songs by Country Artists

As long as country & western music continues to be written and performed, county musicians are going to be singing and playing about love songs. Most of the time, those tunes are going to be about broken hearts, infidelity and bad love affairs, but that's what country music was always about, anyway. You have a list now, so open up a beer or whiskey, turn up your radio or rack up your iPod, and get ready to listen to some great country love songs.