Pop songs that moved us over the decades

"Time is running out for us all," Freddy Mercury sings in "Time" (1986), a previously unreleased version of which came out in 2019. Accompanied by solo piano, producer Dave Clark found the unpublished gem in the archives 30 years after the record was made. But for Mercury, the march of time caught up with him: he died in 1991.

Following Shirley Bassey’s James Bond theme classic "Goldfinger" (1964) and Tina Turner’s "Golden Eye" (1995), 2012's "Skyfall" is another legendary Bond song that won singer Adele an Oscar. The dramatic ballad was written for the eponymous film starring Daniel Craig as Agent 007, with Adele singing of a person who, in the face of a great threat, falls from the sky but ultimately triumphs.

The ultimate sentimental torch song of the '90s, Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" captures the tumult of an ill-fated but passionate love aboard the Titanic. It was of course the theme song for James Cameron’s film "Titanic," based on the 1912 sinking of the ship upon which the lead characters Rose and Jack defy societal norms to pursue love till death did them apart.

The music video to the iconic single "Time After Time" begins with a scene in a camper van where Cindy Lauper is watching the heart-wrenching final scene of Richard Boleslawski’s 1936 film, "The Garden of Allah." Lauper recites the lines as the lovers bid each other farewell, echoing the sentiment of her own song in which a woman must leave her lover, but will be there for him "time after time."

Under stage name Yusuf Islam, Cat Stevens sings of a different kind of relationship in "Father and Son." The song is about a boy who wants to participate in the Russian Revolution against his father’s wishes. Stevens' ballad speaks to the universal struggles of father-son relationships, with Johnny Cash and Rosie Nix Adams covering the song under the title, "Father and Daughter."

Dedicated to John Lennon’s son, Julian, Paul McCartney wrote this for the then 5 year-old dealing with his parents' divorce after Lennon began a relationship with Yoko Ono. "Remember to let her into your heart," sang McCartney in 1968. "Then you can start to make it better." Originally titled "Hey Jules," the name was changed to "Jude" for confidentiality. It spent weeks at number one.

One of the first great pop ballads, "Love Me Tender" had a long history. It first emerged out of the American Civil War, the tune featuring in the 1866 patriotic song, "Aura Lee." Elvis Presley then added his own lyrics to the melody in the theme for the Civil War romantic drama, "Love Me Tender," the film in which Presley plays Clint Reno, the youngest of four sons who suffers a tragic end.