Elvis Tops Love Song' Poll

Elvis Presley's Can't Help Falling In Love is the favourite love song. The lyrics to Elvis Presley's song Can't Help Falling In Love best sum up the feelings of lovers, a survey has revealed. The devotional words to the song, which featured in Presley's 1961 film Blue Hawaii, describe the mood of love better than any other, according to respondents.

Another film theme, Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You, which featured in The Bodyguard, came second in the list of lyrics for infatuated lovers.

For those not so fortunate, Everybody Hurts by REM is the most comforting song in moments of depression, the research found. Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water was ranked as almost as popular with those feeling low.

Celebration by Kool and the Gang is the ultimate song for a party mood, according to respondents, while driving is apparently best soundtracked by Bat Out Of Hell by Meat Loaf.

Life imitates art when it comes to weddings, according to the survey, with Love Is All Around by Wet Wet Wet, which featured in the Hugh Grant film Four Weddings And A Funeral, ranked the top song for nuptials.

Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli's Time To Say Goodbye is the song that most consoles those who have suffered a bereavement, according to the survey. Meanwhile those needing a burst of motivation most frequently turn to Don't Stop Me Now by Queen.

The research, which was carried out by the National Year of Reading campaign, saw 4,000 people between 18 and 65 surveyed on the importance of song lyrics to their lives. It found that 9 in 10 said that knowing the words of a song helped them to gain a better appreciation of it.

More than half said lyrics could change their moods and recall memories. But half said they find lyrics harder to find because of the decline in sales of traditional music media such as CDs and LPs, which often had the songwords printed on their sleeves.

Honor Wilson Fletcher, the director of the National Year of Reading, said: "What surprised us in this survey was how it goes across all the generations. It didn't matter if you were 18 or 65, the emotional importance of lyrics was completely consistent."