VALENTINE’S DAY PLAYLIST: Your top Springsteen love songs and love stories revealed

A year ago on the old blog we revealed the results of our Springsteen Love Song Poll, as chosen by Blogness on the Edge of Town readers. To mark the romantic occasion this year, here's an encore appearance.

It seems that love songs, much like beauty, are in the eye of the beholder. The top 10 Bruce Springsteen love songs chosen by Blogness on the Edge of Town readers are pretty much all ones that it would be tough to argue with ... but get out of the top 10 and all bets are off.

A few surprises from our Springsteen love song poll, which garnered 544 responses:

• Eleven people voted for “The River,” that classic love story of a dream that didn’t come true and was a lie, or possibly something worse;

• Eight people voted for “Hungry Heart,” about the guy who deserted his wife and kids and took the family car with him to boot;

• Nine people voted for “The Wish,” which is about Springsteen’s mother (?!);

• Four people voted for “One Step Up,” about a failing marriage and a broken furnace;

• Two people even voted for “Stolen Car,” about an even worse marriage, although the status of the furnace is left unresolved.

There were also plenty of songs that I would have thought might do better, like “Candy’s Room,” “Leap of Faith” and “Prove It All Night,” which got a mere two votes each. But like I said, the top finishers -- see them listed below and check out the full list on this spreadsheet -- all definitely earn their place among Springsteen’s most romantic work. (There's also a Spotify playlist, natch.)

1. Tougher Than The Rest (68 votes)

2. If I Should Fall Behind (60)

3. Drive All Night (56)

4. Secret Garden (19)

5. Valentine's Day (18)

6. Back In Your Arms (17)

7. Thunder Road (17)

8. Kingdom of Days (16)

9. Happy (15)

10. I Wanna Marry You (14)

Now for the least...

As for his LEAST romantic tracks, here are the five those who chose to answer this question voted for the most -- and interestingly, they’re each unromantic in their own way.

1. Reno (36 votes)

2. Born in the USA (33 votes)

3. Murder Incorporated (24 votes)

4. Ramrod (21 votes)

5. Queen of the Supermarket (12 votes)