1
A Day in the Life
A 1967 Beatles song closing "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," combining two unfinished pieces by Lennon and McCartney with a 40-piece orchestral crescendo.
Below are songs that contain the letter L anywhere in the name. Each of the 61 songs below opens to a full profile.
Table of contents
List of Songs That Contain L
2
All Along the Watchtower
A 1967 folk-rock song written by Bob Dylan, later transformed by Jimi Hendrix into a definitive electric rock interpretation in 1968.
3
Always on My Mind
A country ballad first cut by Brenda Lee in 1972, made a hit by Willie Nelson in 1982, and remade as a synth-pop single by Pet Shop Boys in 1987.
4
Billie Jean
A 1982 Michael Jackson single built on a distinctive bass riff, addressing a fan who claimed he had fathered her child, and a landmark in pop dance production.
5
Blowin' in the Wind
A 1963 Bob Dylan protest folk song featuring rhetorical questions about peace, war, and freedom, popularized by Peter, Paul and Mary.
6
Boogie Wonderland
A 1979 disco single by Earth, Wind and Fire featuring the Emotions on backing vocals, with brisk horn arrangements and a sustained dance groove.
7
Bridge Over Troubled Water
A 1970 piano-led ballad by Simon and Garfunkel, written by Paul Simon and sung by Art Garfunkel, drawing on gospel and soul vocal traditions.
8
California Dreamin'
A 1965 folk-rock song by the Mamas and the Papas, written by John and Michelle Phillips, evoking a longing for California during an East Coast winter.
9
Candle in the Wind
A 1973 piano ballad by Elton John and Bernie Taupin originally written about Marilyn Monroe, later rewritten in 1997 to memorialize Diana, Princess of Wales.
10
Careless Whisper
A 1984 saxophone-driven pop ballad written by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, released as Michael's first solo single during the Wham! era.
11
Closing Time
A 1998 alternative rock single by Semisonic, written by Dan Wilson, ostensibly about a closing bar but partly inspired by impending parenthood.
12
Comfortably Numb
A 1979 progressive rock song by Pink Floyd from "The Wall," with verses by Roger Waters and a sustained David Gilmour guitar solo over an orchestral arrangement.
13
Crazy in Love
A 2003 R&B and hip-hop single by Beyonce featuring Jay-Z, built on a horn sample from the Chi-Lites' "Are You My Woman."
14
Don't Stop Believin'
A 1981 arena rock anthem by Journey, built on a sustained piano motif by Jonathan Cain and Steve Perry's high lead vocal, set to a city girl meeting a small-town boy.
15
Englishman in New York
A 1987 single by Sting written about the writer Quentin Crisp, who had recently moved from London to Manhattan, with a Branford Marsalis saxophone solo.
16
Folsom Prison Blues
A 1955 Johnny Cash country single later re-recorded live at Folsom State Prison in 1968, capturing a famous concert response from inmates.
17
Friday I'm in Love
A 1992 single by The Cure, an unusually bright pop song from a band better known for darker textures, marking each day of the week.
18
Get Lucky
A 2013 disco-funk revival single by Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers, built on a sustained four-chord progression and live guitar.
19
God Only Knows
A 1966 Beach Boys song written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, featuring a French horn introduction and complex shifting harmonic motion.
20
Hallelujah
A 1984 Leonard Cohen song, drawn from a long writing process and made widely famous through later interpretations by Jeff Buckley and others.
21
Heartbreak Hotel
A 1956 Elvis Presley single, his first RCA release, inspired by a newspaper story about a suicide and built on a stark blues arrangement.
22
Hotel California
A 1976 Eagles single, an allegorical song about excess and the American dream, featuring a closing dual-guitar harmony solo by Don Felder and Joe Walsh.
23
I Walk the Line
A 1956 Johnny Cash country single that pledges fidelity, built on a key-change pattern between verses and hummed inter-verse pitch references.
24
I Want to Hold Your Hand
A 1963 Beatles single that became the band's first U.S. number one and triggered the wave known as the British Invasion.
25
I Will Always Love You
A 1973 Dolly Parton country ballad transformed in 1992 into a worldwide pop hit by Whitney Houston for the film "The Bodyguard."
26
Jailhouse Rock
A 1957 Elvis Presley single written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller for the film of the same name, opening with a famous repeated guitar punctuation.
27
Jolene
A 1973 Dolly Parton country single, an address to another woman pleading with her not to take the singer's partner, set to a fast acoustic strum.
28
Karma Chameleon
A 1983 Culture Club single, a country-influenced pop song with a prominent harmonica part by Judd Lander and Boy George's sung lead vocal.
29
Karma Police
A 1997 Radiohead single from "OK Computer," a piano-led track with an extended ambient outro, with a music video shot in a single moving-vehicle take.
30
Killer Queen
A 1974 Queen single written by Freddie Mercury, an early commercial breakthrough featuring layered vocal harmonies and a vaudevillian piano arrangement.
31
Layla
A 1970 Derek and the Dominos single, written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, with a sustained guitar riff opening and an extended piano coda.
32
Let It Be
A 1970 Beatles single written by Paul McCartney, inspired by a dream about his mother, with a gospel-influenced piano arrangement and a closing guitar solo.
33
Like a Rolling Stone
A 1965 Bob Dylan single, a six-minute electrified track that helped define the album-era expansion of pop song length and form.
34
Lithium
A 1992 Nirvana single from "Nevermind," its verses moving quietly against loud chorus crashes, a defining structural pattern of early 1990s alternative rock.
35
London Calling
A 1979 single by The Clash, a post-punk track addressing nuclear anxiety and the Three Mile Island accident, with a Morse-code "SOS" guitar coda.
36
Lose Yourself
A 2002 Eminem single from the soundtrack of the film "8 Mile," with a piano motif and Eminem's stark rap verses about seizing one opportunity.
37
Love Me Tender
A 1956 Elvis Presley ballad adapted from the 1861 Civil War-era folk song "Aura Lee," recorded for and named after his first film.
38
Material Girl
A 1984 Madonna single from "Like a Virgin," a synth-pop song about an unapologetic pursuit of wealth, with a music video referencing Marilyn Monroe.
39
Moves Like Jagger
A 2011 single by Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera, a whistled-hook dance-pop track named after Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger.
40
Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da
A 1968 Beatles song from "The White Album," with a ska-influenced rhythm written by Paul McCartney, telling a brief storybook narrative of Desmond and Molly.
41
Old Town Road
A 2018 country-trap single by Lil Nas X, built on a sample of a Nine Inch Nails instrumental, that became the longest-running Billboard Hot 100 number one.
42
Only You
A 1982 single by British electronic duo Yazoo, written by Vince Clarke, with Alison Moyet's soul-influenced vocal over a synthesizer arrangement.
43
Paint It Black
A 1966 Rolling Stones single in a minor key, with a sitar part by Brian Jones, opening with a tom and acoustic-guitar groove unusual in pop singles of its era.
44
Paper Planes
A 2007 alternative hip-hop single by M.I.A., built on a sample of The Clash's "Straight to Hell" and a chorus interrupted by gunshot sound effects.
45
Purple Rain
A 1984 Prince single, the title track of his sixth album and the accompanying film, building over eight minutes through ballad and extended guitar solo sections.
46
Rolling in the Deep
A 2010 Adele single, a soul-influenced rock track produced by Paul Epworth, blending acoustic guitar opening with a gospel-influenced chorus.
47
Royals
A 2013 minimal electro-pop single by New Zealand artist Lorde, addressing celebrity excess from the perspective of a suburban teenager.
48
Single Ladies
A 2008 Beyonce R&B single also known as "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)," with a black-and-white music video that became one of the most-imitated of its era.
49
Smells Like Teen Spirit
A 1991 Nirvana single that helped break grunge into the mainstream, with a four-chord guitar riff and Kurt Cobain's mumbled vocal phrasing.
50
Sweet Caroline
A 1969 Neil Diamond single inspired in part by a Life magazine photo of Caroline Kennedy as a child, with a singalong chorus phrase widely echoed at sports venues.
51
Sweet Child o' Mine
A 1987 Guns N' Roses single built on a Slash guitar riff that began as a string skipping exercise, with Axl Rose's lyric about his then-girlfriend.
52
Thriller
A 1983 Michael Jackson single, the title track of his sixth album, featuring a spoken-word coda by horror actor Vincent Price.
53
Umbrella
A 2007 Rihanna single featuring Jay-Z, with a "ella ella" chorus refrain that became one of the most recognizable pop phrases of its era.
54
Uptown Girl
A 1983 Billy Joel single written about the woman who became his second wife, model Christie Brinkley, in a doo-wop style with a Frankie Valli vocal reference.
55
Video Killed the Radio Star
A 1979 single by British synth-pop duo The Buggles, lamenting changes brought to popular music by television, which famously became MTV's first music video.
56
Viva la Vida
A 2008 Coldplay single, a string-driven anthem about the fall of a king, with a baroque arrangement and a title borrowed from a Frida Kahlo painting.
57
Waterloo
A 1974 ABBA single that won the Eurovision Song Contest for Sweden, becoming the band's international breakthrough.
58
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
A 1968 Beatles song written by George Harrison from "The White Album," featuring an uncredited lead guitar performance by Eric Clapton.
59
Wonderwall
A 1995 Oasis single written by Noel Gallagher, with an open-tuned acoustic guitar pattern and Liam Gallagher's lead vocal, becoming the band's signature track.
60
Yellow
A 2000 Coldplay single from their debut album "Parachutes," a guitar-led ballad that became the band's international breakthrough.
61
You Are the Sunshine of My Life
A 1972 Stevie Wonder single, a soft soul ballad with electric piano and an introductory verse sung by Jim Gilstrap and Lani Groves.
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