It might be cheesy but the the Dire Straits song Romeo and Juliette always gets me.

Particularly the line: "I love you like the stars above. I'll love you till I die.

Also - the whole song - and particularly the last verse of Brickbat by Billy Bragg -cut and pasted below.

I ought to leave enough hot water
For your morning bath, but I'd not thought
I hate to hear you talk that way
But I can't bring myself to say I'm sorry

The past is always knocking incessant
Trying to break through into the present
We have to work to keep it out
And I won't be the first to shout it's over

I used to want to plant bombs at the Last Night of the Proms (the last night of the annual "Promenade Concerts" is a nationalistic, flag-waving event)
But now you'll find me with the baby, in the bathroom,
With that big shell, listening for the sound of the sea

I steal a kiss from you in the supermarket
I walk you down the aisle, you fill my basket
And through it all, the stick I take
Is worth it for the love we make

I used to want to plant bombs at the Last Night of the Proms
But now you'll find me with the baby, in the bathroom,
With that big shell, listening for the sound of the sea,
The baby and me

I stayed in bed, alone, uncertain
Then I met you, you drew the curtains
The sun came up, the trees began to sing
And light shone in on everything
I love you

The sun came up, the trees began to sing
And light shone in on everything
I love you

I don't know which one of them wrote it but I've always felt that My Girl has the best lyrics of any song about a relationship I've ever heard. So simple and so completely spot on.

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/m/madness/my+girl_20086753.html

Morrissey - Hand in Glove:

Hand in glove
The sun shines out of our behinds
No, it's NOT like any other love
This one is different
Because it's us!

Hand in glove
We can go wherever we please
And everything depends upon
How near you stand to me

I know it's more than one line - pick any one.

Bowie - Absolute Beginners:

Ive nothing much to offer
Theres nothing much to take
Im an absolute beginner
And Im absolutely sane
As long as were together
The rest can go to hell
I absolutely love you
But were absolute beginners
With eyes completely open
But nervous all the same

Not bad I reckon.

Agreed about the Madness song My Girl - I'm not a big Madness fan but I love that song. Beautifully done.

What about Beatles love songs. I always reckoined that "I Will" was well written too with fantastic lyrics. The same goes for "And I love her".

"Love comes in spurts", quoth Richard Hell and the Voidoids.

But far more special are the words written by Mike Scott, however redolent of a certain small childs storybook:

"How long will I love you
As long as there are stars above you
And longer if I can

How long will I need you
As long as the seasons need to
Follow their plan

How long will I be with you
AS long as the sea is bound to
wash upon the sand

How long will I want you
As long as you want me to
And longer by far

How long will I hold you
As long as your father told you
As long as you are

How long will I give to you
As long as I live through you
However long you say

How long will I love you
As long as stars are above you
And longer if I may."

Fabulous stuff. Also from the under-rated Room to Roam is:

"A man is in love, how do I know?
He came and walked with me, and he told me so
In a song he sang, and then I knew
A man is in love with you

A man is in love, how did I hear?
I heard him talk too much whenever you're near
He whispered your name when his eyes were closed
A man is in love and he knows

A man is in love, how did I guess?
I figuered it out while he was watching you dress
He'd give you his all, if you'd but agree
A man is in love and he's me."

Marvellous.
Soppy? Maybe.

You're the colour of the sky
Reflected in each storefront window pane
You're the whispering and the sighing
Of my tyres in the rain
You're the hidden cost and the thing that's lost
In everything I do
Yeah and I'll never stop looking for you
In the sunlight and the shadows
And the faces on the avenue

Jackson Browne, 'Sky Blue and Black', 1993

Catch by The Cure should be mentioned too

Yes I know who you remind me of
A girl I think I used to know
Yes I'd see her when the day got colder
On those days when it felt like snow

You know I even think that she stared like you
She used to just stand there and stare
And roll her eyes right up to heaven
And make like I just wasn't there

And she used to fall down a lot
That girl was always falling
Again and again
And I used to sometimes try to catch her
But I never even caught her name

And sometimes we would spend the night
Just rolling about on a floor
And I remember
Even though it felt soft at the time
I always used to wake up sore

You know I even think that she smiled like you
She used to just stand there and smile
And her eyes would go all sort of far away
And stay like that for quite a while

And I remember she used to fall down a lot
That girl was always falling
Again and again
And I used to sometimes try to catch her
But I never even caught her name

Yes I sometimes even tried to catch her
But I never even caught her name

Two songs from the wonderful Alan Hull too:

"I hate to see you cry"

I hate to see you cry
Makes the sun desert the sky
Makes my dreams all run dry
Can't tell you why

Lying still and white
Your face illuminates the light
Your tears are crying out for light
Everything will be
Everything will be allright

I swear by the sun above
I'll give you every bit of my love
If you'll just let me see you smile
once in a while

'Cause I hate to see you cry
Makes the sun desert the sky
Makes my dreams all run dry
Can't tell you why

I hate to see you cry
Makes the sun desert the sky
Makes my dreams all run dry
Makes the sun desert the sky
Makes my dreams all run dry
And I cannot tell you why
I cannot, cannot, cannot tell you why

First day of my Life

This is the first day of my life
I swear I was born right in the doorway
I went out in the rain suddenly everything changed
Their spreading blankets on the beach

Yours is the first face that I saw
I think I was blind before I met you
Now I don't know where I am
I don't know where I've been
But I know where I want to go

And so I thought I'd let you know
That these things take forever
I'm especially slow
But I realize that I need you
And I wondered if I could come home

Remember the time you drove all night
Just to meet me in the morning
And I thought it was strange you said evertything changed
You felt as if you had just woke up
And you said "this is the first day of my life
I'm glad I didn't die before I met you
But now I don't care I could go anywhere with you
And I'd probably be happy"

So if you want to be with me
With these things there's no telling
We just have to wait and see
But I'd rather be working for a paycheck
Then waiting to win the lottery
Besides maybe this time is different
I mean I really think you like me

I also have a soft spot for the Mike Scott stuff mentioned earlier

In My Life

But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new

similar line to the one on the original post from Marillion's 'No One Can';

'I carry you here, and there's something of you, in everything that I love.'

Simple, and superb.

is the undisputed queen - in my world, at least - of the tiny domestic detail that somehow symbolises the whole of love as it is lived...

On her new album, "the crook of your shoulder / is where I belong" is just one of a dozen beautiful, beautiful lines about real, warm, human, bodily, affectionate, domestic love...

I may not always love you
But long as there are stars above you
You never need to doubt it
I'll make you so sure about it
And God only knows what I'd be without you

I would have given up - nothing else comes close to those lines.

Says it all really...

my old man wore three piece whistles
he was never home for long
drove a bus for London Transport
he knew where he belonged
number 18 down to Euston
double decker move along
double decker move along
my old man

later on he drove a Roller
chauffeuring for foreign men
dropped his aitches on occation
said "Cor Blimey!" now and then
did the crossword in the Standard
at the airport in the rain
at the airport in the rain
my old man

wouldn't never let his guv'nors
call him ‘Billy', he was proud
personal reasons make a difference
his last boss was allowed
perhaps he had to keep his distance
made a racket when he rowed
made a racker when he rowed
my old man
my old man

my old man was fairly handsome
he smoked to many cigs
lived in one room in Victoria
he was tidy in his digs
had to have an operation
when his ulcer got to big
when his ulcer got to big
my old man

seven years went out the window
we met as one to one
died before we'd done much talking
but realtions had begun
all the while we thought about each other
all the best mate from your son
all the best mate from your son
my old man
my old man