In a different economy, maybe we’d do what the commercials suggest, and buy our sweethearts expensive gifts for Valentine’s Day. Diamonds, vacations, dozens of roses — they all sound great. But is it necessary to spend a lot, just to let that special person know how you feel?

GreenBookofSongs.com® has another idea. Play your Valentine one of the following songs, selected from 254 in our category Love: Love & Money. They all express a common theme: Valentine’s Day is about love and devotion, tenderness and togetherness.

So hug your honey, and remember: It’s not about the gift. Happy Valentine’s Day!

• Alright Ledisi
• Can’t Buy Me Love Beatles
• Cool Anthony Hamilton featuring David Banner
• Give Me You Mary J. Blige
• It’s Good To Be Us Bucky Covington
• Livin’ On A Prayer Bon Jovi
• She’s Funny That Way Frank Sinatra
• Try A Little Tenderness Otis Redding

Celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday involves a focus on his goals and legacy rather than his death. Here are five songs from a variety of genres (Children’s, Reggae, Folk, Rock and Americana) that remind us of the dream he had for America and inspire us to continue on that path.

• Come By Here, Martin Luther King Kristen Lems
• Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King Evan Belize
• No Easy Walk To Freedom Peter, Paul & Mary
• Pride (In The Name Of Love) U2
• Up To The Mountain (MLK Song) Patty Griffin

If you’re looking for a way to kick-start the new year, here’s a playlist for you! These songs are sure to get you motivated toward your goals, or at least give you energy to think about them.

SONGS FOR A NEW DECADE: Motivation for a New Beginning

Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine In 5^th Dimension

Better Days Goo Goo Dolls

Let’s Get It Started Black Eyed Peas

Promise Of A New Day Paula Abdul

This Could Be The Start Of Something Big Tony Bennett

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from GreenBookofSongs.com®!

Auld Lang Syne Beach Boys

Brand New Year (My Revolution) SHeDAISY

Bringing In A Brand New Year B.B. King

I’ll Stay Home New Year’s Eve Jaynells

Let’s Start The New Year Right Bing Crosby

What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve? Bette Midler

It’s all about being with the ones you love! Here are a few songs from our List of the Week about being together for the holidays.

SONGS FOR CHRISTMAS:  Together for the Holidays

Candle In The Window Alabama; Alabama-Christmas (RCA)

Coming Home For Christmas Jim Brickman; Homecoming (Savoy Jazz)

Home On Christmas Day Cyndi Lauper; Merry Christmas…Have A Nice Life (BMG Spec. Prod.)

Merry Christmas, Here’s To Many More Relient K; Let It Snow Baby, Let It Reindeer (Capitol)

To Someone That I Love B.B. King; A Christmas Celebration Of Hope (MCA)

We all love the traditional Christmas songs. Can’t hear “Silver Bells” too many times, right? But admit it, sometimes holiday madness calls for a good laugh.

That’s why GreenBookofSongs.com® created the category Christmas: Humor & Satire, one of more than 20 categories that cover every aspect of Christmas.

For those times when the fa-la-la gets to be too much, here are 10 songs sure to put the merry back in you.

• Carol Of The Meows Guster
  Yes, it’s ridiculous. But come on, it’s funny.
• Christmas Is Almost Here Arrogant Worms
  If you haven’t even started preparing, give up and listen to this. You’re not as behind as they are!
• Decorations Bob Rivers
  The legendary spoofster puts the danger in decorations, and gives you an excuse to quit and sit down.
• Elf’s Lament Barenaked Ladies
  2,000 years in the same job? Elves have career aspirations, too!
• I Broke My Arm Christmas Shopping At The Mall Housewives On Prozac
  Black Friday gone wild, or, Best reasons to shop online.
• Jingle Bells The Singing Dogs
  Because this is an equal opportunity pet lovers’ list.
• Nuttin’ For Christmas Spike Jones
  Your little darlings won’t behave? Don’t let them hear this traditional humor hit - they’ll get new ideas.
• Stop At The Nearest Mall Hollytones
  Remember the days of irresponsible credit card spending? Here’s some holiday nostalgia for you!
• Suddenly It’s Christmas Loudon Wainwright III
  Wonder why your holiday spirit is frayed? It’s because Christmas isn’t just 12 days anymore.
• Twelve Days Of Christmas Bob & Doug McKenzie
  Beer. Trees. Beer in a tree. Just a normal Christmas.

For this Veterans Day, we honor our soldiers with these songs from six American wars that reflect the experience of veterans and their loved ones.

• I Just Came Back From A War Darryl Worley [Iraq War]
• I’m In Korea J.B. Lenoir [Korean War]
• Over There Arthur Fields [World War I]
• Sarge Rick Lance [Vietnam War]
• Somebody’s Darling Kathy Mattea [Civil War]
• Sullivan Caroline’s Spine [WW II]

These songs were selected from GreenBookofSongs.com® categories including “Holidays: Memorial and Veterans Days”, specific and general “War” categories, and “Patriotism” and “Countries:  America”.

For Hispanic Heritage Month, which begins annually on September 15, GreenBookofSongs.com ® has selected five songs about famous Hispanics in history. While there are numerous leaders to choose from — elected officials, scientists, social activists, actors and musicians – we focused on heroes whose stories translate well into song.

Pancho Villa Billy Walker

Villa may have been a bandit before becoming a revolutionary leader, but Walker’s song sees him through the eyes of the Mexican villagers whose cause he championed: “He put down gold and silver, and food for us to eat / Said, ‘I didn’t come to harm you,’ and our hearts fell at his feet.”

Viva Zapata! Andy Irvine

You might not expect a Celtic folk singer to write a song of praise for a Mexican revolutionary, but Zapata’s commitment to the poor transcends such divisions. Using Zapata’s famous saying, Irvine captures his heroism well: “Isn’t it better to die on your feet than live upon your knees? / 400 years of bondage, that’s enough.”

Manos, Huesos Y Sang / Hands, Bones And Blood (Waltz For Frida Kahlo) Tish Hinojosa

Kahlo expressed through her brilliant art the tragedy of her life, marked by physical pain and heartbreak. Hinojosa portrays both the beauty and sorrow in this haunting song: “Thousand words painted by love’s broken stroke…Women would dream by your name.”

Picasso And Me Gretchen Peters

Picasso’s life included not just groundbreaking art but also many romantic partners, so it is fitting that Peters tells his story from a lover’s point of view. She watches him struggle with the conventional art world, which can’t yet grasp his genius: “Who made this game, who made these rules?…They’ll never understand him, they don’t know what I know.”

Roberto Clemente Phil Coley

The first Latin American elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, Clemente was also a humanitarian. He died tragically in a plane crash while delivering relief supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. This story song asks us to recognize both aspects of Clemente’s heroism: “He threw out runners from the outfield while on his knees / Though his right arm was great, honor all of him, please.”

We’re excited about two new additions to the GreenBookofSongs.com® songs-by-subject search tools. In response to popular demand, we’ve now made it possible to sort search results by one or more popular genres and/or by “hit” status as well.

Users can now choose to see all songs about a particular subject, or select Pop, Rock, Country, R&B or Hip Hop songs. Subscribers may also choose to see only songs that were hits, based on widely used standards of national popularity. 

For now, these tools are in ”beta” because tagging of the database is not yet complete. This means that filtered results will reflect only a portion of what’s available by searching the full category.

Still, Green Book users will now be able to get lists of songs matching specific needs even more quickly. For example, are you looking for songs for the Fourth of July? In addition to 109 songs in our category Holidays: Fourth Of July, you can instantly find 82 Country songs about America in Countries: America, or 60 Rock songs in the category Freedom.

We are continually tagging more data to improve filter search results, and we plan to feature filtering by more of the 31 genres included in the GreenBookofSongs.com® database. Stay tuned as we add new features and new categories to make searching for songs by subject even easier!

It’s the nature of life. We’re meant to lose our dads, rather than the other way around. That makes any Father’s Day the right time to thank Dad for all he did. 

If you don’t know how to say it, GreenBookofSongs.com® has found ten songs that will say it for you. They’re about time spent together and good advice, about learning to be a good person from the example he set. They’re the ten greatest ways to tell him you care.

10. Best Day, The George Strait

A fishing trip, teaching us how to drive - it’s how dads love us. If you remember doing things with your dad, this is your song: “Been dreaming day and night about the fun we’ll have / Just me and you doin’ what I’ve always wanted to.”

9. Best Day, The Taylor Swift

Same Country genre as George Strait’s song, even the same title - but Swift brings a daughter’s perspective to growing up with Dad. “I didn’t know if you knew, so I’m takin’ this chance to say / That I had the best day with you today.”

8. Walkin’ In My Father’s Shoes Craig Morgan

The best tribute to Dad is wanting to be like him - and acknowledging that’s no easy task: “I’m walkin’ in my father’s shoes / He’s never let me down, that’s a lot to live up to.”

7. Roots Of My Raising Merle Haggard

Dads teach by the example of their kindness and good character. This song is as simple and powerful as the man it describes: “A quiet man whose gentle voice was seldom heard / Who could borrow money at the bank simply on his word.”

6. Let Me Be The Man My Daddy Was Chi-Lites

Thank your dad for his hard work, for his sacrifices, and for teaching you how to be a good man: “Please let me raise my children right / And be the man my daddy was.”

5. Leader Of The Band Dan Fogelberg

Each dad gives his child something of himself. This one shared himself through music, and Fogelberg repays him with a song: “My life has been a poor attempt to imitate the man / I’m just a living legacy to the leader of the band.”

4. Forty Again John Berry

What would you give to enjoy those hours together all over again? Berry wishes he could go back in time: “He would be young, and I would be ten / We would go fishing, throw an old ball around…Just for today, I wish he was forty again.”

3. Daddy’s Little Girl Karla Bonoff

Tell Dad you cherish each moment together, and that his presence will be with you always: “When I look in the face of the child, I see you in her eyes / And we’re all so much the same / We’ll carry on your name.”

2. Dance With My Father Luther Vandross

The sharing, the time spent together — it’s about knowing you were loved. Let your dad know you love him too. Play this song, and dance. “If I could get another chance, another walk, another dance with him / I’d play a song that would never, ever end.”

1. The Living Years Mike + The Mechanics

Maybe you and your dad fought, but that doesn’t mean you don’t love each other. Whatever your relationship has been, though, don’t let this Father’s Day go by: “Say it loud, say it clear…I just wish I could have told him in the living years.”