According to the I Can't Make You Love Me Songfacts, Reid got the idea for the song from a newspaper article about a guy who got drunk and shot up his girlfriend's car. When the judge sentenced him and asked him what he had learned, he said, "You can't make a woman love you if she don't."
In August 2000, Mojo magazine voted "I Can't Make You Love Me" #8 on its The 100 Greatest Songs Of All Time list.[1] The song is ranked #331 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Make You Love Me
Bonnie Raitt Lyrics
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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
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
In Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me," the song's narrator is pleading with her lover to be honest with her, to drop the pretense that there is something there when there isn't. She implores him to be genuine and not patronize her by pretending to love her when he clearly doesn't. The singer is reaching out for a deeper connection, not just for the physical intimacy of the moment.
The chorus reveals the painful truth of the situation: "I can't make you love me if you don't, you can't make your heart feel something it won't." The singer is powerless in this situation, as she can't make someone feel something they don't, no matter how much she wants it. But even though she can't control her lover's feelings, the singer still puts her vulnerability on display in the final verse, admitting that she will close her eyes and pretend that everything is okay until morning comes.
Overall, "I Can't Make You Love Me" is a heartbreaking song about the pangs of unrequited love and the inability to force someone else to reciprocate your feelings. It's a reminder that we can't control other people's emotions, no matter how much we might want to.
Line by Line Meaning
Turn down the lights
Reduce the brightness of the lights
Turn down the bed
Prepare the bed for us by making it softer and more comfortable
Turn down these voices inside my head
Silence the voices in my mind that are distracting me
Lay down with me
Lie down next to me
Tell me no lies
Be honest with me, don't deceive me
Just hold me close, don't patronize
Embrace me, but don't pretend to care if you don't
Don't patronize me
Don't act like you love me when you don't
'Cause I can't make you love me if you don't
I cannot force you to love me if you don't already
You can't make your heart feel something it won't
You cannot convince yourself to love someone if the feelings aren't there
Here in the dark, in these final hours
During this time of darkness, at the end of our relationship
I will lay down my heart and I'll feel the power
I will expose my feelings and emotions, even if it leaves me vulnerable
But you won't, no you won't
However, you will not reciprocate my feelings
'Cause I can't make you love me, if you don't
Once again, I cannot force you to love me
I'll close my eyes, then I won't see
I will try to avoid the pain by closing my eyes and pretending everything is okay
The love you don't feel when you're holding me
I can feel that you do not love me, even though you hold me
Morning will come and I'll do what's right
When the morning arrives, I will take the appropriate and necessary actions
Just give me till then to give up this fight
Allow me some time to let go of this struggle, before we part ways
And I will give up this fight
I will stop trying to make you love me
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Unison Rights S.L., AMPLIFIED ADMINISTRATION, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Allen Shamblin, Michael Reid
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Ookmongani
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
@sirusbones
Lyrically, this is one of the saddest songs ever written. Nothing hurts quite as much as unrequited love.
@daniellethomas2577
I cry listening to it no matter who refix it
@jmoney9790
All these comments breaks my heart
@joemidnight2404
Amen to that!
@klitzy
Many things do. You'll get over it.
@milagroslp9939
So sadly true 😔 after loving someone so much and then bye and see you as any average person. Love gone
@SandraTibble
When you want someone so bad, but you can't have them.
@Realchristomlinmusic__
Hello, how are you doing today? It’s nice to meet you here.
@tayc2408
Yep. You gotta let them go.
@carvinlambert6899
. Lilly . Right there. My heart aches so bad.