Pat Benatar was one of the biggest music stars of the 1980s, and a role model for many female vocalists after her. Today her sound sounds pop, but at the time, it was heavier than what was usually heard from a woman singing. She has broken barriers and won four Grammys, in addition to having several platinum albums.

Their debut album, 1979’s In the Heat of the Night, got their foot in the door. Heartbreaker and We Live for Love were instant classics, both written by Neil Giraldo, guitarist, and producer of Pat’s backing band. We Live For Love has a special weight for the couple.

The single was released in February 1980 and was Pat Benatar‘s first song to enter the Top 10 of the Canadian and US charts. It marked a change in the vocal style of the vocalist, more acute, and many people even confused her with Deborah Harry, from the band Blondie, which was mega at the time. We Live For Love entered the album at the last minute and marked the beginning of Pat’s romance with Neil Giraldo. That’s because, as she says in her biography, the guitarist later confessed to writing the song in secret for her, which she questions because they weren’t involved yet.

The song broke out and is to this day one of the most requested by the duo. The two were married in 1982 and are still together today. It’s been 39 years, apart from other years of musical partnership.

For that reason, We Live For Love is so special to both of them. Here goes the lyrics.

Your love’s contagious
One kiss is dangerous
But I have more to risk
Than you loseI feel passion growin’
I know that love is only
Just one inch away
Strikin’ us
We live for love
We live for loveWhen we get tired
And watch the summer fade away
Will you think of romance?
What will we do?
Is there a place where we can go
Where time stands still
For those who know?
‘Til eternity we’ll fulfill our desires
We live for love
I never planned to win the race
But you convinced me face to face
There was never a chance
Of losin’ at all
We live for love