The Power of Love Lyrics - Huey Lewis & The News

About “The Power of Love”

“The Power of Love” by Huey Lewis & The News is a quintessential pop-rock track featured in the 1985 film Back to the Future. Written for the movie, the song became the band's first number-one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and remains one of their most recognizable songs.
In Back to the Future, Marty McFly and his band "Pinheads" start playing a song in school's talent show, but one of the judges, played by Huey Lewis, cuts their performance. Love has been the object of much wonder and mystery throughout history, leading to despair and joy. Love can make the toughest, scariest guy (a hawk) become gentle and peaceful (a dove).

Hawks are often used as symbols of war, while doves are often used as symbols of peace. Both Boston and Huey Lewis believe that love is too powerful to be lumped together with other feelings; it's in a class of its own. They use metaphors like "tougher than diamonds, rich like cream" and "stronger and harder than a bad girl's dream."

Love is passionate and careless in its choosing, and it can change your life for the better if you're lucky. Huey Lewis takes the classic proverb, "Love makes the world go 'round," and rewrites it to match the beat and the rest of the lyrics. He likely takes about empathetic love, saying that not all behavior is justified or "fair" by love. The tricky part is staying committed through those sacrifices. With a little luck and effort, your love interest might love you back, and it's at this point that you "feel" the power of love.

Huey Lewis responds to his own question by saying "yes" in the song, replacing the hmm hmm lyric with "yes I can." The guitar solo is placed perfectly in the song because it also represents the striking discovery of reciprocated love.

• Album: The Heart of Rock & Roll – The Best of Huey Lewis and The News (1992)


• Release Date: July 3, 1985


• Producer: Huey Lewis & The News


• Writers: Chris Hayes, Johnny Colla, and Huey Lewis


• Label: Chrysalis Records

Annotations and Meaning.

[Verse 1]

The opening verse presents the idea of love's transformational power. It demonstrates how love may elicit conflicting emotions, such as causing one person cry while another sings. The lyrics use analogies such as "changing a hawk to a dove" to demonstrate love's potential to soften and transform people.

[Verse 2]

The second verse describes love as being sturdy and resilient, more valuable than diamonds, and richer than cream. It has the ability to change negative situations into positive ones, making a bad person nice and righting wrongs.

[Chorus]

The chorus underlines that love does not necessitate worldly prosperity or celebrity. It is a powerful, sometimes unexpected and harsh force that has the potential to save lives. The picture of not having a credit card to board this train promotes the notion that love is available to everyone, regardless of financial situation.

[Verse 3].

The third verse delves into the emotional spectrum of love, from despair to wrath to pure delight. It recognizes that love's strength is what makes the world go round, implying that it is a necessary, driving factor in life.

[Chorus 2] The second chorus reiterates the ideas of the first, emphasizing love's accessibility and significant impact on life. It underlines the concept that love is a powerful energy that can be both inspiring and difficult.

[Bridge]

The bridge acknowledges love's intricacy and justice, as well as its uncaring nature. However, if love takes root, it can be a transformative experience, often with a little help from above. The words imply a divine or fateful component of love's power.

[Outro]

The outro emphasizes the strength and persistence of love, stating that it is not dependent on money or fame. The constant emphasis on experiencing the power of love underscores the song's central topic of love's tremendous and transformational power.

"The Power of Love" is beloved not only for its catchy tune and lively rhythm, but also for its message about the transformational and universal power of love. Featured heavily in "Back to the Future," the song became a mid-1980s anthem and is now a treasured classic.