An estimated 98% of us experience earworms. Despite the annoying times that we can’t get a chorus or a hook of an overplayed pop song out of our heads, getting a really good earworm stuck can be one of the best things ever.

We here at Nerdist are dead-set on bringing you those types of songs, if only for the weekend. We’ll be scouring the internet for the best earworms we can shove into your meaty brains!

Alright, so this isn’t going to be as sappy as that one time I wrote about my parent’s wedding song, but today’s tunes are pretty sweet in their own right. Couldn’t really tell you why I chose these two because, for one, I’m not currently in love with anyone or anything at the moment (besides maybe pizza rolls?), and for two, these songs are a decade apart and aren’t even in the same genre. I suppose – if anything – I’m in love with the idea of these songs because they’re utterly beautiful in their honesty.

Let’s start off with the song I have not been able to get out of my brain for the last few weeks.

Lianne La Havas – What You Don’t Do

Lianne La Havas is just plain incredible and I can’t recommend her music enough, but if I had to choose a single song of hers, it’d be 2015’s “What You Don’t Do” for its unmitigated beauty. Turning the general idea or stereotype of what a love song should be on its head, this one professes the exact opposite of most mainstream or classic ones out there. It’s an exercise in the simple things in life in a stable and loving relationship. There’s no need for repeated “I love you’s”, constant showings of affection or grand gestures. The love between her and the lucky person she’s singing this to is unwavering in the fact that they both know they’re in love with each other and that, at the end of the day, is the only thing they need.

“I know what I got and I know where we’re going/You don’t need to show it, I already know it all/It’s what you don’t do, it’s what you don’t say/(It’s what you don’t do) I know you love me, I don’t need proof”

The honesty in those lyrics are something each and everyone of us should strive for. Love for a person without the need to show off to the world because it shouldn’t matter to anyone other than the two involved.

Now, it wouldn’t be an article written by me if I didn’t include a song more than 10 years old so…

Mae – Someone Else’s Arms

Pop Punk/Emo/however you define the band, Mae’s “Someone Else’s Arms” is a page out of a fairly realistic love story. Again, nothing too highfalutin (Totally taking that word back from prospectors and cartoon cowboys) of a message other than the songwriter’s desire to be the first thing someone sees when they wake up. One could argue that waking up in someone else’s arms leads to numb appendages, far too much collective body heat, and general discomfort in most situations, but the sentiment is completely sincere and rather beautiful. A fair amount of Mae’s other music can be a bit much all in one sitting unless you’re absolutely love-struck or heartbroken – strange that their music can work for both extremes – but the idea behind “Someone Else’s Arms” is pretty damn great.

So, there you have it. Two honest-to-goodness love songs with entirely earnest ideas behind them. No flashy gestures, no promises to go to the ends of the earth or walk an arbitrary number of miles for someone whilst possibly havering. There’s beauty in the categorical honesty of these two songs and now if you’ll excuse me – I’ve got a plate of pizza rolls waiting for me to sing them to it.

What are some examples of some earnest love songs? Let me know in the comments below!

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Image: Lianne La Havas / Wikimedia

Blake Rodgers writes for Nerdist from Chicago IL where he lives happily with his Guinness World Record for High Fives. You can be his pal by following him on Twitter (@TheBlakeRodgers)