“It Must Have Been Love” by Roxette
Although Roxette’s “It Must Have Been Love” uses some heavy-handed metaphors, its overall sentiment is really quite simple. The title is based on the singer reflecting on a romance which has now come to an end. In other words, “it much have been love” in the past, “but it’s over now”. Thus the addressee is actually her ex. And the song itself seems to serve two primary functions. One is her reflecting, in a very general sort of way, on what went wrong in the relationship. And second is she is more or less lamenting that it has in fact dissolved.
And her concluding sentiment is something along the lines of accepting the ultimate fate of this romance as nature running its course so to speak. So whereas she is obviously disappointed with how things have turned out, now she seems to be more in the process of making peace with this reality as opposed to grieving over it.
Facts about “It Must Have Been Love”
This song was released on 20 May 1990 as the third single from the soundtrack of the Julia Roberts’ movie “Pretty Woman”. The record label that put it out is EMI.
It was based on a track that Roxette had originally dropped in 1987 entitled “It Must Have Been Love (Christmas for the Broken Hearted)”. The difference between the two versions is that in the latter the group basically excluded all references to Christmas. However, with this in mind, the mention of “winter” that has remained in the lyrics may be more literal, at least as initially intended, than symbolic.
Roxette was a musical duo from Sweden. And “It Must Have Been Love” was one of their biggest hits, scoring a number 1 on the US-based Billboard Hot 100, Canada Top Singles and in almost 10 other countries, including Zimbabwe.
The track also peaked at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. And furthermore, for the most part, it made it into the top 10 of all the countries, which are over 20 in number, in which charted.
“It Must Have Been Love” has also certified Gold in the United States. In fact Billboard declared it the number two song of all of 1990 in the States. And in 2014, it received the “Million Air Award” from BMI, celebrating the fact that it had been played at least five-million times by US-based radio stations.
“It Must Have Been Love” also achieved similar accolades in other countries, such as being certified Platinum in Australia.
Moreover the song has remained popular and occasionally recharted throughout the years. Furthermore, it has been covered by prominent artists from all over the world.
This song was written by Per Gessle, one half of Roxette. And it is recited by the other half of duo, Marie Fredriksson. Marie passed away at the age of 61 on December 10, 2019.
The track was produced by one of the duo’s customary coworkers, Clarence Öfwerman.
