Valentine

A week into February, hearts and Hallmark specials begin harkening Valentine's Day, but the musical landscape doesn't budge. It seems like there would be a slew of songs about the holiday, but there isn't. The piano composer Jim Brickman set out to rectify that, composing this song with with Jack Kugell. "I thought it was odd that for a day or for a word that is such a euphemism for love that there wasn't a song that celebrated it, considering that most songs are love songs," Brickman said in a Songfacts interview. "So, it seemed odd to me that the only one was a sad song: 'My Funny Valentine.' The word 'valentine' is a euphemism for love or a replacement word for love, so I wrote it like, 'You are my love,' only, 'You are my valentine.' I like to write the way people speak, instead of with too much poetry. What do people say? how do they communicate? 'Will you be my valentine?' 'You're my valentine.' So, that's what you write in the song: 'You're all I need, you're my valentine.'"

Martina McBride had plenty of success on the Country chart by the time she released her fourth album, Evolution, but she had not yet cracked the Hot 100. The album's first single, "A Broken Wing," was her first tally on that chart, reaching #61. "Valentine" followed, going to #50 and also reaching #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Oddly, it reached peak chart position on November 22, 1997, a few days before Thanksgiving. Timing prevented it from being released around the holiday it was written for.

Jim Brickman also released this song in 1997, including it on his album Picture This. It was one of the first songs he issued with vocals.