What Is Love
The Shangri-Las Lyrics


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You don't know what love is
'Til you've learned the meaning of the blues
Until you've loved a love you've had to lose,
You don't know what love is.

You don't know how lips hurt
Until you've kissed and had to pay the cost,
Until you've flipped your heart and you have lost,
You don't know what love is.

Do you know how a lost heart fears
At the thought of reminiscing,
And how lips that taste of tears
Lose their taste for kissing?
You don't know how hearts burn
For love that can, not live yet never dies.





Until you've faced each dawn with sleepless eyes,
You don't know what love is.

Overall Meaning

The Shangri-Las's song "What Is Love" is a poignant and reflective ballad about the true nature of love which, according to the lyrics, must be experienced in all its various forms- the pain and hurt, joy and sorrow- to be truly understood. The first verse declares that you cannot know love until you have experienced the crushing disappointment of losing someone you truly love. The blues here symbolize the melancholic feeling that comes when one is bereft of their love, and only then can one truly appreciate the depth of love.


The second verse continues in the same vein and points out that the pain and hurt of love manifest in physical ways too. The cost of loving someone and then losing them can feel like a physical wound, which means the hurt that love can cause is sometimes physical too. The third and the final verse contemplates the lost love and emphasizes the reminiscing and nostalgic feeling that comes with it. It highlights the irony that the same lips that were once kissed with joy can also taste of tears when one is heartbroken. And finally, it emphasizes the idea that love is an all-consuming passion that burns deep down in one's heart and can never truly die.


Overall, "What Is Love" is a beautiful composition that stresses that love is not just a fleeting emotion, but rather a complex and powerful force that shapes and defines us in ways we can never truly understand.


Line by Line Meaning

You don't know what love is
You cannot fully understand or appreciate the concept of love until certain experiences have shaped your perception of its depth and complexity.


'Til you've learned the meaning of the blues
You need to have gone through heartbreak and emotional pain in order to truly understand what love entails.


Until you've loved a love you've had to lose,
You must have experienced the gut-wrenching loss of someone you love to fully grasp the gravity of love and its impact on your life.


You don't know how lips hurt
You haven't experienced the pain of the consequences of a kiss.


Until you've kissed and had to pay the cost,
You haven't had to bear the burden of the aftermath of a kiss that caused either personal or relationship damage.


Until you've flipped your heart and you have lost,
You haven't risked vulnerability and had your heart broken in the process.


Do you know how a lost heart fears
Have you ever felt the crippling fear and anxiety associated with the possibility of losing a loved one?


At the thought of reminiscing,
When the thought of memories of a past relationship or experience that once brought happiness returns to mind.


And how lips that taste of tears
Have you ever kissed someone whose lips taste salty from crying?


Lose their taste for kissing?
Have you ever experienced the feeling of losing interest in physical affection after a traumatic experience?


You don't know how hearts burn
You haven't experienced the painful yearning and desire for someone you love who is out of reach.


For love that can, not live yet never dies.
For love that may be impossible to have, but still remains a driving force in your heart.


Until you've faced each dawn with sleepless eyes,
Until you've experienced the inability to sleep due to the immense emotional turmoil that love can bring.


You don't know what love is.
The true essence of love is multifaceted, complex, and cannot be fully comprehended unless one has gone through a range of experiences to give meaning to the word.




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DON RAYE, GENE DE PAUL

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

@koalabearsongs3797

Betty was an amazing lead singer in her own right....there is no one to compare to The Shangri-Las....they are vocally so much more complex and powerful than other female based groups...it's....simply.......amazing.

@claudaopilha

oh yeah. the ramones and the new york dolls were fans, and so am i.

@delsongalasinao706

Old song like this is gold in this very toxic competitive world of today with lots of negativity around.

@tonysantiago255

Thanks for this one and especially the comments. I just discovered what an amazing group these girls were, beyond Leader of the Pack. I knew this wasn't Mary on the lead vocal, but my CD doesn't say who sang this one. Betty had a more typical vocal quality of the girl singers on this type of teen pop song, but she holds her phrasing maybe longer and better than Mary here. She was awesome and just right for this song! All I can say is : "Aw, gee."

@clareons

Thank you and you're very welcome.

@normanbommarito6029

All of the girls were very good singers in there own right .

@josephmazzotta8813

Love is loving these ladies,❤

@alices.b867

Love the Shangri-las I'm very grateful!

@verdict4me

Cool music,brings back memories.

@TheSmashingDoc1

never in one million years i would have thought, theres a picture of her with a cigarette

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