Category Archives: 1990s songs

The best 500 songs from the 1990s. Lyrics, meanings and interpretations from your favorite musicians. Radiohead, REM, Weezer, No Doubt, Alanis, Jewel, and Guns and Roses. See which of your favorite 90s bands and artists rank highest on the greatest songs of all-time lists.

1990s songs, unrequited love

#53 I Can’t Make You Love Me- Bonnie Raitt

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‘Cause I can’t make you love me if you don’t/
You can’t make your heart feel something it won’t.

“I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt is one of the rare songs that had cross-over success on both the country charts and the pop charts. The song also sounds bluesy. It is truly hard to create a great song for both audiences. I think there are less than five such songs on this list.

“I Can’t Make You Love Me” is about how Raitt wishes her lover could feel more for her but he/she simply doesn’t. So, she will take what she can and accept the physical intimacy that is offered. The song is sad, since it is one of mismatched desires and unrequited love. Ideally, she wants to be love, but for tonight she’ll accept whatever he is willing to give her. What else can she do? She can’t make him love her.

I Can't Make You Love Me Meaning
Bonnie Raitt

This is another song on this list where the piano part is played by Bruce Hornsby. The End of the Innocence was also. The piano has some standout riffs—I believe that is harder to pull off on piano than on guitar. The song also has keyboards to fill in the sound.

Raitt’s vocal makes the song. She sounds resigned to her current situation. We empathize because it is a situation most of us can relate to. And it is heartbreaking. Interestingly Raitt’s biggest hit was when she over forty. So few artists have new hits after 40. I think Sia and Leonard Cohen might be the only two others on this list.

Check out the great cover by SOAK.

I Can't Make You Love Me Meaning
SOAK

I Can’t Make You Love Me Lyrics

Turn down the lights,
Turn down the bed.
Turn down these voices inside my head.
Lay down with me,
Tell me no lies.
Just hold me close, don’t patronize,
Don’t patronize me.

‘Cause I can’t make you love me if you don’t.
You can’t make your heart feel something it won’t.
Here in the dark, in these final hours,
I will lay down my heart and I’ll feel the power.
But you won’t, no you won’t,
‘Cause I can’t make you love me, if you don’t.

I’ll close my eyes, then I won’t see,
The love you don’t feel when you’re holding me.
Morning will come and I’ll do what’s right,
Just give me till then to give up this fight.
And I will give up this fight.

‘Cause I can’t make you love me if you don’t.
You can’t make your heart feel something it won’t.
Here in the dark, in these final hours,
I will lay down my heart and I’ll feel the power.
But you won’t, no you won’t,
‘Cause I can’t make you love me, if you don’t.

written by Bonnie Raitt

1990s songs, looking for love

#51 Big Love (live)- Fleetwood Mac

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Lookin’ out for love.
Big, big love.

Listen to Fleetwood Mac’s “Big Love” on The Dance performed by Lindsey Buckingham. How many guitars do you think that is? I’ll post the answer at the bottom while you look and listen.

The original album version of “Big Love” was not good. It was very 80s sounding. In the 90s Fleetwood Mac did a live tour called The Dance and Lindsey Buckingham rearranged the song. Everything you hear on the live version is just Lindsay playing live with his acoustic guitar. One guitar. That’s Lindsey Buckingham playing “Big Love” solo.

Big Love The Dance Meaning
Lindsey Buckingham

“Big Love” shows Lindsey Buckingham at the top of the game and establishes him as one of the greatest guitar players of all-time. Also, one of the most under-rated guitar players ever.  It is baffling that he can get all of that sound out of the guitar at the same time that he sings. It is simply superhuman. And the guitar arraignment is extremely unique. The precision and speed is mind-blowing.

Big Love meaning
Lindsey Buckingham

The vocals on the song sound great. I am ambivalent about the oohs and ahhs at the end, but whatever. It is a difficult vocal to perform. His voice often gets overlooked because he is in a band with two other great vocalists: Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie. The concept of “looking for a big love” is solid, but there is not much to the lyrics.

Check out another deep cut of Fleetwood Mac that feature’s Lindsay.

Big Love Lyrics

Looking out for love.
In the night so still.
Oh, I’ll build you a kingdom
In that house on the hill.

Lookin’ out for love.
Big, big love.

You said that you love me.
And that you always will.
Oh, you begged me to keep you
In that house on the hill.

Lookin’ out for love.
Big, big love.

I wake up
Alone with it all.
I wake up
But only to fall.

Lookin’ out for love.
Big, big love.
Just lookin’ out for love.
Big, big love.

written by Lindsay Buckingham

1990s songs, heroes

#38 My Hero (acoustic)- Foo Fighters

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There goes my hero…he’s ordinary.

The Foo Fighter’s “My Hero” is a tribute to the everyday heroes. Specifically, the ones who aren’t famous rock stars or athletes…they’re “ordinary”. Obviously anyone who is a hero isn’t ordinary. People who are mother’s and fathers, or doctors or teachers…just ordinary good people. We hear songs all the time about the extra-ordinary people. This is a song for the everyday heroes.

This song reminds me of a couple things. Charles Barkley got a lot of shit from the media when he said, “I am not a role model”. He was trying to express something similar to what Grohl is saying. Whenever this song plays it always reminds me of my dad.

My Hero meaning
Foo Fighters

For the definitive version of the song, listen to Grohl play live from the Howard Stern Show in 1999 (above). Interestingly, I think this is the second song on this list where I have said the definitive version is from the Stern Show. I can’t think of another show that had a signature performance performed on it. (Sia’s performance of Diamonds was the other, and Imagine Dragon’s Shots would be close too, but they have duplicated that performance elsewhere).

My Hero Lyrics

Too alarmin’ now to talk about
Take your pictures down and shake it out
Truth or consequence, say it aloud
Use that evidence, race it around

There goes my hero
Watch him as he goes
There goes my hero
He’s ordinary

Don’t the best of them bleed it out
While the rest of them peter out?
Truth or consequence, say it aloud
Use that evidence, race it around

There goes my hero
Watch him as he goes
There goes my hero
He’s ordinary

Kudos, my hero, leavin’ all the mess
You know my hero, the one that’s on
There goes my hero
Watch him as he goes
There goes my hero
He’s ordinary
There goes my hero
Watch him as he goes
There goes my hero
He’s ordinary.

written by Dave Grohl