If I Loved You -- because it's written in future tense, full of denial, and sung by two stubborn people who, in the course of the song, actually fall in love .... resistance gone. =) R&H .... masters.

I am more often moved by the - playing against it - category of love song: "People Will Say We're in Love", "If I Loved You", etc...however, without a doubt, the most riveting and romantic love song ever written (for me) is: "Somewhere" from WEST SIDE STORY simply because the song itself is pure and perfect like we always dream love to be but it doesn't pretend it's possible now...

I always get a little teary-eyed when I hear the ending of "Yours, Yours, Yours" from 1776. It's that duet harmony, coupled with those simple, simple words that mean so much more when sung by John and Abigail: Till then, till then... I am... As I ever was and ever shall be... Yours...yours...yours...yours...yours. And even though it's more heartbreaking than romantic, I truly love "You and I" from CHESS. So bittersweet. Have a swell Valentine's Day---

"Sit On My Face and Tell Me That You Love Me"

There are too many to count as my favorites; however, I'd say that Scene One from SOUTH PACIFIC (which includes "Dites-Moi," "Cock-eyed Optimist. " "Twin Soliloquies," and "Some Enchanted Evening") rates right at the top of my list.

My favorite Broadway love song is "I Wish I Were In Love Again" from Babes In Arms. The hilarious lyrics, including "The pulled-out fur/Of cat and cur,/The fine mismating of a him and her... I don't like quiet and I wish I were/In love again", can distract from the real solidity and weight of the music and the song as a whole, especially when it's performed super fast like Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney did in the 1948 Rodgers and Hart biopic Words And Music. So I recommend the slower Frank Sinatra version, which sounds wry and battle-scarred and optimistic even in the face of disaster, like love should be.

My favorite broadway love song, "How Could I Ever Know," from THE SECRET GARDEN. (I was fortunate enough to sing this in the National Tour every night when I played the role of Lily.) Why? The idea of being able to reach someone from beyond the grave and comfort them in a time of crisis, mixed in with the notion that great love never dies and has a tangible presence...mmm.

If I think about this too long - it's nearly impossible to answer simply. Too many lists, qualifications and memories. But - the immediate response: "In a Very Unusual Way" from NINE. I saw the original cast of NINE when I was in my (very) early 20's - but had no recording, only a memory. When I saw the revival of NINE - which to my mind - is the romantic musical for adults who've been through any kind of romance - I just cried through Laura Benanti's performance. The song and her performance so revived and enhanced my memory of the first, so matched how I feel about romance now, as an adult, that it still musically haunts and fills my heart. I'm listening to it now, as I type.

I can't speak to "the best ever," but I think the song "The Next Ten Minutes" from Jason Robert Brown's THE LAST FIVE YEARS is one of the most beautiful love songs written for musical theatre. There are sentimental reasons of course....

This one has a personal history for me. I actually sang it to my the first serious girlfriend I ever had. The most romantic love song that jumped into my head when I read this question is "Fallin'," by Marvin Hamlisch, from the musical THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG. Why? The song is a confession of love from someone who has a real fear of intimacy and vulnerability, but is finally ready to take a chance with someone and risk being hurt. To me, that is the essence of falling in love and allowing yourself to be in love with someone -- that feeling of someone bringing you such utter joy that you are willing to confront whatever fears you have about life and love to be with him or her.

Growing up with LES MIS, I have to say the most romantic Broadway love song ever is "On My Own." I know this is probably not an original response, but I love it! So tragic!!

I am probably partial to ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, but I have to say that "I Got Lost In His Arms" is one of my all-time favorite love songs. Creating the arrangement for Bernadette a few years ago lives as one of my sweetest Broadway memories. Irving Berlin had a simplicity that just cuts right to the heart of the matter.

How to Handle a Woman" from CAMELOT is my all time favorite. It's exactly how my sweetie treats me.

That is easy for me. "Near To You" from DAMN YANKEES! I was living in NYC hosting a talk show on Lifetime, when Jerry Lewis was doing the lead...and went in and caught the second act every night. Perhaps it was a combination of the staging and the beautiful harmony, but the words were so good as well. Put it all together...it spells romantic to me!

My favorite love song is MY FOOLISH HEART. It's just the most perfect of lyric and melody and every word rings true to the way falling in love happens.

On Monday I had my first rehearsal for THE MOST HAPPY FELLA at City Opera. At the read through we came to "Warm All Over", which I always knew was a beautiful song, but when Lisa Vroman sang it I thought that is one of the most romantic and sexy songs I've ever heard. So there you have it, Happy Valentines Day to you and whomever you spend it with!

I guess my all time favorite would have to be "My Funny Valentine". I just think it is a perfect song, and a realistic version of love, that is to say, its about someone totally not perfect, but she adores him anyway.

The most romantic Broadway song ever written has to be "They Can't Take That Away from Me." It captures that bittersweet beauty and transitive nature of love. You never know just how long it will last and how precious that time is. I loved the song when Fred Astaire sang it in SHALL WE DANCE," when Harry Groener sang it in CRAZY FOR YOU and when Fayard Nicholas, in his last screen performance, sang it in the last moments of my film "Broadway: The Golden Age." It is about so much more than even romance - it is about life. And the song never dates, for the Ira Gershwin lyrics are timeless.

Favorite #1. "Soon It's Gonna Rain" from THE FANTASTICKS The show is really Off-Broadway, so I'll include my other favorite. Favorite #2. "Sweet Time" from RAISIN. It's a love song about trying to continue to love...what made love possible in the first place, and how to keep going. It also has such a great bluesy-jazz urban sound to it.

"Do You Love Me?" from FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. There's a whole lifetime of attachment, struggle, care and sacrifice summed up in this tiny song, sung by two older people who've never given love a thought until this moment. "For twenty five years, I've lived with him, fought with him, starved with him. Twenty-five years, my bed is his. If that's not love, what is?" Sentimental? No way. Deep, true, funny and moving? Absolutely.

Hands down the best Broadway love song ever written is "If I Loved You" from CAROUSEL, not only because of the amazingly poignant melody and those heartbreaking harmonies, but also because of the simplicity and honesty of the lyric. Romantic denial as poetry. The song is also framed by in one of the best-written book scenes ever written for a musical. I had the privilege of hearing Sally Murphy and Michael Hayden perform the song and scene at a Lincoln Center Theater gala last year and was once again blown away by its enduring power and beauty. Happy Valentine's Day to all!

In my opinion the Most Romantic Broadway Love Song ever is "Loving You" from Stephen Sondheim's PASSION. Plain and simple, "I will live and I would die for you." What more can you say to one who has captured your heart?

"You Are My Dream" from DREAMGIRLS because I remember thinking..."one day, someone will say that to me"...and he did.

My favorite romantic song is Richard Rodgers and Larry Hart's "Spring Is Here." Hart understood romance, which is to say he knew it doesn't last and for many lonely souls doesn't exist at all. "Spring is Here" contains the most poignant last line I know: "Spring is here, I hear!"

In high school, I would listen to "Some Girls" from ONCE ON THIS ISLAND and just cry the tears of 10,000 dramatic teenage girls. "Don't you get it, Ti Moune? He loves you, but he can't love you! The cruel realities of social class will tear your love asunder!!" It was pretty deep. Truth be told, it still gets me.

To me, what makes a love song poignant and romantic is when it's sung by a real person to or about a real person. And real people are imperfect. And mature love is a lot about loving someone's imperfections -- or loving despite their imperfections. There are two songs that fit this description perfectly, and they never fail to move me. The first, fittingly enough, is "My Funny Valentine". (Pal Joey, Rodgers & Hart.) "Your looks are laughable/Unphotographable/Yet you're my favorite work of art". The other is "What Makes Me Love Him?". (The Apple Tree, Bock & Harnick.) "What makes me love him?/It's not his singing/I've heard his singing/It spoils the milk/And yet, it's gotten to the point where I prefer that kind of milk". It's set to a brilliantly simple melody, which makes it all the more romantic and poignant. I don't mind admitting that it makes me cry every time I hear it.

I love "UNFORGETTABLE" by Nat King Cole because not only is it sophisticated musically and lyrically, but my sweet husband Tom, who is not a performer, often out of the blue, sweeps me in his arms, waltzes me around humming that song gentle into my ear. Talk about romantic-I swoon every time.

I'm very partial to "Out of my Dreams", from OKLAHOMA, even though people are usually watching a ballet while it's being sung. The melody is transporting and the lyric is about a fantasy love affair, which is the most romantic kind. In fact, the only kind, lately.

In attempting to choose what I felt was the most romantic Broadway love song EVER (a very tall order), I discovered one constant -- Rodgers and Hammerstein. Songs like "We Kiss In A Shadow," "I Have Dreamed," "If I Loved You," "When The Children Are Asleep," "Younger Than Springtime," "An Ordinary Couple" and "People Will Say We're In Love" all immediately came to mind. The combination of Hammerstein's deceptively simple, but masterfully crafted lyrics and Rodgers' ability to match the lyric with a perfectly gorgeous melody is nothing short of masterful.

"Send in the Clowns"