Mac Miller’s love songs form a core part of his discography and his contribution to the world of music.
Although Mac is renowned for songs about drugs and parties, his later work delves deep into self reflection on love and relationships. By the end of his career, Mac Miller’s writing on the subject of love and self-love was profound.
This list of the best Mac Miller love songs runs through his top tracks from key albums including The Divine Feminine all the way through to Circles.
1. Surf
‘Surf’ is one of Mac Miller’s most optimistic love songs. Underpinned by its gentle indie surf vibe, the track has an innocent and uplifting feel.
On the whole, Mac Miller’s love songs contain complex layers, as they sort through interpersonal issues. By comparison, ‘Surf’ is much more light-hearted love song.Â
In this track, Mac doesn’t feel the need to go into the problems and difficulties of relationships, focusing instead on enjoyment and escapism. The opening line makes this clear: ‘said where are you goin’? Can I come too? The whole world is open, a playground for me and you.’
Arguably, the track presents a more mature of relationships, which is typical of the Circles album the track comes from.
These lines capture the sentiment of the song: ‘I dream of this moment, will it come true? / the whole world, they know it, just waiting for me and you / and she, just like I, got her head in the clouds / don’t need to be lower, before it’s all over, I promise we’ll figure it out.’
2. Love Lost
A song from Mac’s early discography, ‘Love Lost’ is a track about unrequited love.
A lesser-known joint from Mac’s 2011 mixtape I Love Life, Thank You, the musical vibe of ‘Love Lost’ is overall upbeat and sprightly. Lyrically, the song has a feeling of simple naivety that clearly displays the insecurity and vulnerability that often come with unrequited love.
These lyrics capture the vibe of the track: ‘Where’d you go? What’d you do? How the hell you make me fall in love with you? And then you leave, now you’re gone All I got is this damn song.’
An early Mac Miller love song where the artist wears his heart on his sleeve.
3. Wedding
A track from Mac’s acclaimed 2014 Faces album, ‘Wedding’ is a song about mutual cheating and relationship difficulties.
The lyrics display a chaotic relationship in which both Mac and his partner are continually cheating. The track’s name derives from the lyric, ‘love turns to war so quickly / I envisioned us married and fifty.’
However, the rest of the lyrics reveal that despite being in love with each other, both parties are repeatedly unfaithful to each other.
The piano and slow tempo give the track a lackadaisical feeling of hopelessness, as the line ‘I’m a mess but can you clean me up’ suggests Mac refusing to take responsibility for his actions.Â
4. Soulmate
Out of all these Mac Miller love songs, ‘Soulmate’ is perhaps the most romantic and idealistic.
The slow tempo and evocative synth lines create a sensual slow jam feel, and the lyrics are full of passion and longing. The track is one of the defining track’s of The Divine Feminine – Mac’s album that is all about his relationship with women.
Lines like the following capture the feelings of awe, wonder, and desire that make this song outstanding within Mac’s discography: ‘My eyes closed, your body all I see / I think you’re too divine for my human mind / when I’m with you, what do you do? Bring me to life.’
5. Small Worlds
‘Small Worlds’ is one of the best Mac Miller songs of all time. The song references intimate relationship at several points, but ultimately it is a song about loving yourself.
In the song, Mac reflects upon his shortcomings – possibly in reference to relationships – at the same time as maintaining empathy for himself, summarised by the refrain, ‘I don’t wanna keep you waiting / I hope I never keep you waiting.’
Lyrics like the following suggest Mac is confiding in a close partner: ‘I’ve been thinking too much but / keep it on the hush, no one need to know, just us / that’s really all it takes / we don’t need nothing but today.’
The overall vibe of the song is about living in the moment and giving yourself space to get things wrong and forgive yourself. In that sense, it’s a love song directed at the self.
6. Dang! feat. Anderson. Paak
‘Dang!’ is a great Mac Miller track with an infectious funk-soul groove. It’s Mac’s only collaboration with the legendary Anderson. Paak.
The lyrics pick up a theme common to Mac Miller’s love songs – infidelity. The refrain of the song ‘I can’t keep on losing you’ refers to a relationship that has ended over and over again due to infidelity – or as the lyrics euphemistically put it, ‘complications.’
No doubt, this is a song about love and relationships, and it has a great summery vibe. It is certainly not, however, a romantic or sentimental love song!
7. Woods
‘Woods’ is one of Mac Miller’s most beautiful love songs. The song has a searching and deeply melancholic feel, and the ambiguous lyrics present real poeticism.
The song appears to be about struggling and striving to make a relationship work. The stirring refrain, ‘do I, do I, do I love? Can I, can I, can I get enough?’ suggests a longing to be able to both give and receive love.
Like Mac Miller’s other love song ‘Surf,’ ‘Woods’ taps into the desire for a partner to provide a form of escape, captured in the line ‘And you need to let me know / when you’re leaving, where you go / can I come?’
‘Woods’ is definitely one the best Mac Miller love songs of all time.
8. Stay
Characteristic of Mac’s The Divine Feminine album ‘Stay’ is a simple slow jam tune about love, sex and desire.
The soul-jazz chord sequence in combination with the saucy trumpet ad libs make it perfectly clear what the song is about.
The pleading refrain ‘will, you, stay, just a little while, babe?’ positively drips with desire and longing. This list would be incomplete without it, because ‘Stay’’ is without a doubt one of Mac Miller’s most explicit love song.
9. Cinderella feat. Ty Dollar $ign
‘Cinderella’ is a track that epitomises Mac’s album The Divine Feminine. Sexually explicit, the track is about anticipation. The lyrics play heavily on tropes of purity and profanity, heaven and hell, and right and wrong.
The vibe is summarised by the following lyrics: ‘I been waitin’ all night for this moment / I been waitin’ all year for this moment / I been picturing you takin’ off your clothes for me / I been literally curvin’ all these hoes for you / Daddy told you, better bring your ass home / Cinderella better get your ass home.’
The track is by no means the most sophisticated Mac Miller love song, but it remains one of his best-known from The Divine Feminine album, and something of a fan favourite.
10. Youforia
The only track on this list from Mac’s 2013 album Watching Movies With The Sound Off, ‘Youforia’ is a song about losing yourself in someone else. The track has an intense, atmospheric vibe that really makes it stand out on the record.
The title of the song is a play on the word ‘euphoria,’ with the lyrics making it clear that the euphoric feeling comes from the woman in the song. The sentiment is clear in the line, ’and when you look in my eyes the pain goes away, euphoria.’ Like many of the tracks on Watching Movies, the track is really about escapism.
Watching Movies With The Sound Off was lauded by critics as the first Mac Miller album that showed real artistic maturity. The atmospheric and sensual love song ‘Youforia’ proves the point. Â
11. ROS
This list would not be complete without ‘ROS.’ The track may be surprisingly conventional, but it is still one of the best Mac Miller love songs. The jazz piano opening totally sets the scene for a track that feels unique within Mac’s discography.
The only track on this list from Mac’s GO:OD AM (2015) album, ‘ROS’ has a strong R&B feel. In contrast to many of the tracks on The Divine Feminine, which, despite the artist’s stated goal, often come across as objectifying and even misogynistic, ‘ROS’ is sensitive and delicate.
At times the song seems to be about a current relationship, but other lines make it clear that the song is reflecting on a relationship that is now finished. Nonetheless, Mac reflects positively on it in lines like ‘our love was record breaking.’
The refrain ‘so gimme all your love, and I will be yours, through rain and through shine’ captures the bittersweet tone of this charming Mac Miller love song.
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