Is your CD library missing that special song to make a memorable evening come alive? Are you not sure what that song might be? Turn to the internet! A good site for searching songs is www.Rhapsody.com. Once at this site, you can search for your song by artist, key word, track, album or composer. Make a CD your Valentine can take home and listen to once the night has ended! For pennies, you will be giving your love a priceless gift that you can’t buy at the mall. Each time that CD plays, your Valentine will remember you and the memories you’ve created with those songs.

On Valentine’s Day, light a candle (I prefer vanilla scented) and turn down the lights. Take your Valentine in your arms and slow dance as you both connect with the music. I promise that years from now THIS is what your Valentine will remember! The chocolates, perfume, red lingerie and roses will be forgotten by summer. The song, and the timeless moment you make with that song, will be remembered for years to come.

Not yet convinced? Do you still think that gift certificate to the spa is the answer to your gift-giving dilemma this year? (That’s not at all a poor solution to your problem, however!) As wonderful as your Valentine might feel going to the spa, it would be more meaningful for her, and for you, if you were to create a spa for her! Pamper your Valentine with her favorite scents and some flickering candle lights. Take note: this would be a good time to play that new CD you just made!

Think back to some of your favorite songs of the past. What do you feel when you listen to those songs? I’d be willing to bet you have a favorite song or two that reminds you of someone special in your life. Maybe that song reminds you of someone you’re lucky to be in love with today! Maybe it reminds you of someone you were unlucky with in the past. Either way, you hold that song dear to your heart; time stands still as you take in every note and every word of the song. You begin to re-live that magical memory made from music whenever and where ever you are each time you hear the song.

Are you going to spend Valentine’s Day alone this year? If you listen to “Solitude,” by Billie Holiday (http://www.last.fm/music/Billie+Holiday/Solitude), you can’t help but feel sadness for the voice you hear belting out of your speakers. Does her song remind you of a long lost love? Maybe it reminds you of someone you love today, but can’t always be with for one reason or another. Perhaps your love is overseas, in the military, and you long for that special someone to come home. Is it someone you’re afraid to tell you love that you’ve loved for 20 years, 12 years? Whatever your particular case may be, it’s comforting to hear the words in this song. It helps you to somehow get through these tough moments. Your love will come back to you… some how, some way, some day. You may not even be expecting it when it happens, but you will have your love with you one day.

With the song, “Solitude,” it feels good to know that Billie Holiday could relate to those feelings of heartbreak, loneliness and frustration you may be feeling. You are not alone. The song helps you deal with the emotions you are feeling by connecting you to it through the words you hear that maybe you can’t quite express yourself. “Solitude,” acknowledges your love, as painful as it may be. It is a powerful song for so many Billy Holiday fans… and so many lovers. It’s the perfect song for that person that might be missing their Valentine this year.

Did someone write a song for you that holds a special place in your heart? This happened with my husband when a good friend and wonderful musician, Michael Magno (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=4815956), wrote the song “Lifted.” He wrote it after witnessing my husband fall in love with me. Our friend, Michael, saw my husband’s heart lifted out of despair and heartbreak when we fell in love so many years ago. Michael was so moved by my husband’s love for me and how it affected him that he wrote a song about it. Two years later, he sang that very song at our wedding. It’s been ten years now, since that day on the beach when Michael played and sang our song for us. I had no idea how deeply my husband felt about me when we were dating until I heard that song from Michael. Our love inspired someone else to write a song about it! It spoke words for my husband that he couldn’t speak for himself at the time.

Of course, not everyone knows a master song writer like Michael Magno. You may be forced to search for a song that’s already been recorded that you can relate to. You may need to search for something that your own words can not express. Pull out those CDs! Start searching on Rhapsody! The clock is ticking…

Now, ladies and gentlemen, I am not suggesting that you pull out an old song that already means something to the two of you, for play on Valentine’s Day. That would NOT be a new gift, now would it? Find a new song. It can be old. It can be whatever you want it to be; but make it a song that the two of you don’t have a connection with… yet. Make a new memory with a different song.

If your Valentine were to pull out some sexy song you had not heard before, like for instance, “I’m Wild about That Thing,” by Bessie Smith, I would hope you would remember that song for a good long while!

Even if you’ve already bought a beautiful store-bought gift for your Valentine, make it even more meaningful with music. You still have time! Eat those chocolates yourself and get busy putting that memory together for you and the one you love. Happy Valentine’s Day!

*Michael Magno can be heard on 2/16, 2/21 and 2/28 at Atkins Park in Cumming, GA.