In the movie Casablanca, the hero sacrifices his own happiness for the good of the girl.
How popular was this in love songs? Is it less popular today than before?
I recall the group Bread had a hit with a (grammatically-challenged) lyric that went:
It don't matter to meA sentiment that seems just a tinge off from Humphrey Bogart. The Bread singer is giving the girl the choice while I seem to recall Bogart making that choice for her. In the '60s, Gary Lewis and the Playboys put out a song that was generous to a fault, although (I assume) the definition of "fling" has radically changed:
If you take up with
Someone who's better than me
'Cause your happiness is all I want
Walk along the lake with someone newPlaying with fire if'n you ask me, but then that probably shows a lack of self-sacrifice on my part. He wants his girl to have fun without him.
Have yourself a summer fling or two
But remember I'm in love with you and
Save your heart for me
When you're all alone, far away from home
Someone's gonna flirt with you-ou
I won't think it's wrong if you play along
Just don't fall for someone new
I don't think they make love songs like that anymore though I could be wrong, not having heard a new love song in the past decade or so. But if I'm right perhaps the turning point was Whitney Houston's "Learning To Love Yourself...Is the Greatest Love of All" song, which, if taken seriously, means the suitor has a serious conflict of interest on his hands. The suitor's needs are placed at least as high as the needs of his intended. This was expressed by Cheap Trick in a song in which the singer abandons all pretence of self-sacrifice:
I want you to wantWe've come a long way baby.
I need you to need me
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