Remembering your first love can often bring about a slew of emotions, from longing to heartbreak. In this article, we’ve listed 20 songs about remembering your first love, all dedicated to helping those who are feeling a little nostalgic and want to think back on somewhat simpler times.
With these songs, you’ll be able to reminisce bittersweetly about young love. Whether you’re looking for comfort or just for a good song, this list will definitely help you from feeling alone.
1. “The First One” by Boys Like Girls
“The First One” by Boys Like Girls follows the singer as he reminisces about his first love and heartbreak. The band sings, “The first one is the worst one / When it comes to a broken heart / Your first love / Yeah, you’re so young.”
As the song progresses, we learn that the singer isn’t just reflecting on his first love. He also misses his ex — and has regrets about things not working out in the end.
2. “The First Time We Fall In Love” by The Kinks
The Kinks’ 1975 song “The First Time We Fall In Love” opens with the lyrics, “How well I remember my very first love affair / Those juvenile fantasies and innocent dreams we shared / But we’re too blind to realize that we are totally unprepared / For the first time we fall in love.”
As the song goes on, the band explains that you always remember your first love. Even if this relationship wasn’t great, and even if it ended badly, the band believes that people will always remember their first relationship — and their first heartbreak.
3. “My First Love Song” by Luke Bryan
“My First Love Song” by Luke Bryan, first released in 2007 on the album I’ll Stay Me, is one of the best country songs about remembering your first love! In this song, Bryan sings about how he, for the first time, knows what all those love songs are about. Now that he’s in love, the lyrics mean more to him than they did before.
As a result of this understanding, he sings, “This is my first love song / First time I felt the words / First time I sang along.”
4. “First Love” by Adele
If you’re looking for a sad song to cry to, it’s always great to turn to Adele. “First Love” follows Adele as she begins to realize she can no longer be with her first love. The relationship has come to an end — and she needs it to be fully over.
However, this doesn’t mean that she’s happy, as she’s clearly not. Even though she wants this relationship to end, she’s still heartbroken. As a result, she sings, “Excuse me, first love, but we’re through / I need to taste the kiss from someone new.”
5. “Young World” by Ricky Nelson
“Young World” by Ricky Nelson is all about experiencing first love and young love. Nelson sings, “It’s a young world / When you’re in love, you’re in a young world.”
The rest of this classic love song follows Nelson as he expresses how wonderful it is to be young and in love!
6. “Young Love” by Perry Como
Another classic love song! Perry Como’s “Young Love”, a song that has been covered by various artists over the decade, is a classic love song that celebrates one’s first love. Como also sings about the beauty of young love in this song, as well.
He sings the lyrics, “Young love, first love / Filled with true devotion / Young love, our love / We share, with deep, emotion.”
7. “Cavalier” by James Vincent McMorrow
“Cavalier” by James Vincent McMorrow discusses how your first love never really leaves you. Throughout this song, he describes his life and how he meets new women that he wants to be with. However, throughout his life and his new relationships, he continues to think back on his first love.
He sings repeatedly, “I remember my first love.”
8. “From the Bottom of My Broken Heart” by Britney Spears
Britney Spears released her song “From the Bottom of My Broken Heart” on her 1999 album … Baby One More Time. In this classic 90s pop song, Spears sings about her heartbreak over her failed relationship with her first love.
While the relationship wasn’t perfect, she wants this person to know that they were everything to her. She still misses her ex and dreams about reuniting with them. As a result, she sings in the chorus, “From the bottom of my broken heart / There’s just a thing or two I’d like you to know / You were my first love, you were my true love / From the first kisses to the very last rose.”
Therefore, Spears isn’t just saying that she misses her first love. She’s also saying that she now knows that her first love was also her true love!
9. “The Harold Song” by Kesha
Kesha’s 2010 song “The Harold Song” also reminisces about one’s first love. For the most part, Kesha sings about how she misses her ex and specifically talks about how young love is very difficult. She wants to get back together with her ex, but there are no signs that this may actually happen in the song.
She sings the lyrics, “They say that true love hurts, well, this could almost kill me / Young love murder, that is what this must be.”
10. “Sarah Minor” by Keaton Henson
“Sarah Minor” by Keaton Henson also looks back on young love. In this song, we learn about the singer’s relationship with all its positives and negatives. There are clearly issues within the relationship. However, the singer looks back fondly on this time.
They sing, “Love, young love, I hope you are well / At least we now both have a story to tell / Young love, I feel you know me better than most / In spite of real distance, we’ll always be close.”
11. “Ronnie” by Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons
Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons’ classic 1964 song “Ronnie” follows the story of a man who is in love with his girlfriend. However, he’s left dejected when he learns that she’s cheated on him. As he struggles with what to do, he ultimately decides to forgive her — as she’s his first love.
The band sings, “I’ll go on living and keep on forgiving / Because you were my first love.”
12. “The Hat” by Ingrid Michaelson
“The Hat” by Ingrid Michaelson, which appears on the 2006 album Girls and Boys, follows the singer as she reflects on her first love. Even though they both have moved on, she still thinks back to this relationship — and has little regrets about how things turned out.
However, she tries to say that this is fine. In a way, she will always be young and in love with her first love. Therefore, this is a great song about losing your first love! She sings to this person, “I should tell you that you were my first love.”
13. “Five” by Dierks Bentley
2014’s “Five” by Dierks Bentley tells the story of someone who, even if years have gone by, still thinks about their first love. Bentley says that he can’t stop himself from thinking back on his youth and his first love. Times used to be much easier — and much more fun — back then.
This then leads him to sing that he would go the distance, as he and his first love live hundreds of miles apart now, to reunite. He sings, “Something ’bout the taste of a first love, first touch / That don’t ever seem to fade.”
14. “Wherever You Are” by Selena
Selena’s 1994 song “Wherever You Are” also talks about first love! In this song, Selena sings about a past romance that never seems to leave. As a result, she’ll always think back on this romance and her first love.
She sings the lyrics, “Wherever you are / I’ll always be / Your first love.”
15. “Something Like That” by Tim McGraw
“Something Like That” by Tim McGraw, released on his 1999 album A Place in the Sun, finds the country singer reminiscing about a past love that he’ll never forget. In this classic 90s country song, McGraw first opens with a story about how he met this girl — his first love — when he was 17.
The song then flashes forward later when they’re older and they run into each other. Even though it’s been years, they both still remember each other.
To this, McGraw sings, “Like an old photograph / Time can make a feeling fade / But the memory of a first love / Never fades away.”
16. “Baby” by Justin Bieber
2010’s “Baby” by Justin Bieber, which also features Ludacris, is about breaking up with someone that you still are in love with. Even though this person broke up with Bieber, he sings that he’ll always be in love with them. At the beginning of the song, he sings, “My first love broke my heart for the first time.”
17. “All My Love to You” by Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson’s “All My Love to You”, which appears on the 1984 album Dream Street, details a romantic relationship that has more than a few issues from the get-go. Jackson sings about how she wants to be with this person. However, the person she’s in love with seems to be hesitant about fully getting into a relationship with her!
As a result, she begs this person to not drive her crazy. She sings, “’Cause I’m for sure, you’re my first love and I’m your lady.”
18. “You Are My First Love” by Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole’s “You Are My First Love” opens with the lyrics, “You are my first love / My first and last love / We’ll make this love last forever.” Throughout the rest of the song, he sings about how he’s sure that their love will last — even though they are young!
19. “Love Is the Thing” by The Hollies
“Love Is the Thing” by The Hollies is all about how love is something that we all seek out — and something that we all need. As the band discusses this, they also bring up first love. They sing, “Love takes you back / To the first love you had.”
20. “My Little Friend” by Elvis Presley
Finally, we have the last song on our list! “My Little Friend” by Elvis Presley, first released on the 1970 album Almost In Love, is also about remembering your first love! In this song, Presley sings about how he’d like to return to his first love.
At the beginning of the song, he sings, “I wish the time machine could take me back again / To the wonder of my first love, the old folks teased me ’bout / Referring to her only as my little friend.”