A Love Song for Your Husband: 6 Classics, Plus One Written for Him

You want a song that says what you feel about your husband, and the standards on every playlist feel close but not quite his. Maybe it's for an anniversary, maybe it's a Tuesday and you just want him to hear it. You have the feeling. You're after the right words to carry it.

Six love songs that say it to your husband

1. "At Last," Etta James (1960). The patient one. James put "At Last" on her debut album in 1960, and the ache in her voice is the sound of a long wait finally ending. If your love story had a slow start or a long road, this is the one that lands.

2. "Let's Stay Together," Al Green (1972). Al Green recorded this at Royal Studios in Memphis with producer Willie Mitchell, and it topped the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1972. It is a promise more than a confession: good times, bad times, all of it. A fitting pick for the husband you have already weathered a few things with.

3. "You Are the Sunshine of My Life," Stevie Wonder (1973). Bright, unguarded, no clouds in it. Wonder's single reached number one in the spring of 1973, and the first lines are actually sung by his backup singers before he comes in. For the husband who is the easy, warm part of your day.

4. "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," Aretha Franklin (1967). Carole King and Gerry Goffin wrote it, and Franklin made it hers in 1967 on her way to Lady Soul. The whole song is about one person who settles you, who makes the complicated feel simple. If that is what he does, this says it.

5. "Thinking Out Loud," Ed Sheeran (2014). The one about growing old on purpose. Sheeran and Amy Wadge wrote it, and it was the last song written for his 2014 album. The hook imagines still being in love at seventy, which is a lot of what marriage is actually promising. A modern standard for a reason.

6. "All of Me," John Legend (2013). Legend wrote this for Chrissy Teigen, and he has been open that it is about loving the whole person, the perfect imperfections and all. It climbed to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2014. For the husband who knows your worst and stayed anyway.

7. The one that uses his name. Every song on this list was written about someone else. That is the catch with a standard: it is close, but the person in it is a stranger. A custom song from Penned For You is written about your husband, with his name, the way you met, the joke only the two of you land. We take what you tell us and write the song around it.

A great standard gets you most of the way there. A custom song gets his name in the first line. You fill out a short form, about five minutes, with who he is, how you met, the details only you would know, and we write and record an original song from it. Standard turnaround is 24 hours, and if you need it sooner there is a 1-hour rush. It starts at $29.99, with 24-hour standard turnaround and 1-hour rush. Start your song and give him a song that is only his.

If there is a date circled on the calendar, give yourself the easy 24-hour window rather than the 1-hour scramble. When you're ready, we'll write his song.