You’re humming it in the car. Suddenly, you stop. Wait. Did she just say "it have been love" or "it must have been love"? It’s one of those weird glitches in the Matrix of pop music history. If you’ve spent any time scouring the web for it have been love lyrics, you’ve likely stumbled into a rabbit hole of grammar debates, Swedish accents, and 1980s movie soundtracks.
Pop music is messy. Sometimes the most iconic lines in history aren't even grammatically correct, or we just hear them wrong because the singer has a specific lilt. With Roxette, the legendary Swedish duo of Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle, the "it have been love" vs. "it must have been love" debate is more than just a typo. It’s a testament to how a song can evolve from a regional Christmas track into a global juggernaut that defined a decade of romance.
Honestly, it’s kinda funny how we get so hung up on a single syllable. But that syllable changes the entire vibe of the song.
The Christmas Origin Story Nobody Remembers
Most people associate this song with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. You see the red dress, you hear the piano, and you think of Pretty Woman. But the truth is, the it have been love lyrics actually started out as a holiday song.
In 1987, Roxette released "It Must Have Been Love (Christmas for the Broken Hearted)." It was a hit in Sweden, but their label in Germany didn't think it was right for a wider release. It was basically a "lost" track for a while. It had all the hallmarks of a classic—the lonely winter imagery, the "wrapped in white" metaphors—but it wasn't the global anthem we know today.
When the producers of Pretty Woman came knocking, they wanted a hit. Per Gessle didn't have time to write something brand new, so he went back to the vault. He stripped out the Christmas references. He kept the core. He kept that crushing sense of "it's over now."
Why we search for "it have been love"
You might be searching for these specific lyrics because of how Marie Fredriksson phrased the words. Marie had this incredible, powerhouse voice, but like many non-native English speakers, her vowels were rounder, more European. In the bridge of the song, when the drums kick in and the emotion peaks, "It must have been love" can sound remarkably like "It have been love."
It’s a phonetics thing.
- The "must" gets swallowed by the breath.
- The "h" in "have" disappears.
- You’re left with a sound that’s halfway between a sigh and a statement.
Breaking Down the Actual Lyrics and Their Meaning
The song is a masterpiece of "the day after" energy. You know that feeling when a breakup finally stops being a sharp pain and starts being a dull, heavy weight? That’s what Gessle was tapping into.
"Lay a whisper on my pillow..."
That opening line is pure poetry. It’s quiet. It’s intimate. But then we get to the chorus, where the actual it have been love lyrics (or rather, the correct "it must have been love") take center stage.
The phrase "It must have been love, but it's over now" is a realization. It’s not a guess. It’s an acknowledgment that something real existed, but the fire has completely burned out. Using "must have been" implies a look back from a distance. You're standing outside the relationship looking in, trying to make sense of the debris.
The Grammatical "It Have Been" vs. "It Must Have Been"
Let’s get nerdy for a second. "It have been" is technically incorrect in standard English; you'd need "It has been." However, in the world of SEO and user searches, people often type exactly what they think they hear.
If you look at the sheet music published by EMI Music Publishing, the lyrics are clearly "It must have been love." But pop culture doesn't live in sheet music. It lives in the ears of the listener. If a million people hear "it have been," then for all intents and purposes, that's the version that exists in the collective consciousness.
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Music historians often point out that Swedish artists in the 80s—think ABBA before them—often prioritized the sound of a word over the strict rules of the King's English. If "it have been" felt smoother to sing than the percussive "must," a singer might lean into the softer sound.
The Pretty Woman Effect
It’s impossible to talk about these lyrics without talking about the 1990 film Pretty Woman. The song wasn't even written for the movie, yet it fits the "fairytale that can't last" theme so perfectly that it became the film's heartbeat.
Director Garry Marshall famously used the song during the scene where Vivian (Julia Roberts) is leaving the hotel in a limo. It’s a moment of profound loneliness. The song reaches its crescendo just as she’s looking out the window, realizing that the dream is over.
- The song spent two weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
- It became Roxette's most successful single.
- The "no-Christmas" version is the one that sold 9 million copies.
There’s a specific nuance in the movie version. It’s slightly remixed. The bass is punchier. The vocals are more isolated. This isolation makes the lyrics stand out more, which is probably why so many of us started dissecting exactly what Marie was saying.
Common Misconceptions About the Lyrics
People get things wrong all the time. "Excuse me while I kiss this guy" instead of "the sky." "Starbucks lovers" instead of "long list of ex-lovers."
With it have been love lyrics, the confusion often stems from the different versions of the song.
- Version A: The 1987 Christmas version. It mentions "a hard Christmas day."
- Version B: The 1990 movie version. It changes "Christmas day" to "winter's day."
- Version C: The live versions. Marie would often change the inflection, making the words sound different every night.
If you’re looking at a lyrics site and see "it have been," you’re likely looking at a user-submitted transcript. These are notorious for being phonetically based rather than factually based.
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The Emotional Weight of "It's Over Now"
Why does this song still work? Why are we still searching for these lyrics in 2026?
Because it captures a universal truth. Most breakup songs are about the moment of the split. They’re about the shouting or the crying. This song is about the silence. "It's where the water flows, it's where the wind blows." It’s about the natural progression of time moving on without you.
Marie’s delivery of the word "now" at the end of the chorus is a masterclass in vocal control. She doesn't scream it. She lets it fall. It’s final.
When you look at the it have been love lyrics, you see a story of someone trying to convince themselves that what they felt was real. "It must have been love" is an argument with yourself. You're looking for proof that you didn't just imagine the connection.
How to Correctly Use These Lyrics in Your Own Life
If you’re a musician looking to cover the song, or if you’re just someone who wants to get it right at karaoke, here’s the deal:
Stick to "It must have been love."
The "must" provides the rhythmic anchor that the song needs. Without it, the line feels a bit floaty. However, if you want to pay homage to Marie Fredriksson’s specific style, you can soften that "t" at the end of "must." Make it airy. Make it feel like a memory that’s slipping through your fingers.
Actionable Steps for Music Lovers
If you want to dive deeper into the Roxette catalog or ensure you’ve got the right version of this track, here’s what to do.
First, check out the Join the Joyride! 30th Anniversary edition. It has some incredible remastered versions where the lyrics are crystal clear. You can really hear the "must" in those high-definition files.
Second, watch the official music video. It was directed by Doug Freel and filmed at a studio in Los Angeles. If you watch Marie's lips closely during the chorus, you can see the articulation. It clears up the "it have been" confusion pretty quickly.
Third, if you’re writing your own lyrics, take a page from Gessle’s book. Notice how he uses simple, elemental words. Water. Wind. Pillow. Snow. You don't need fancy vocabulary to describe a broken heart. You just need words that everyone can feel.
Honestly, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter if you say "it have been" or "it must have been" in the shower. The song is about the feeling. It’s about that hollow ache in your chest when you realize that someone who was your whole world is now just a person you used to know.
Roxette gave us a gift with this one. They gave us a way to articulate the end. Whether you're listening to the 1987 holiday version or the 1990 blockbuster hit, the sentiment remains the same. It was love. It was real. And now, it's just a song we can't stop singing.
To truly appreciate the song, listen to the "MTV Unplugged" version from 1993. It’s stripped down, raw, and Marie’s vocal performance is haunting. You’ll hear every syllable, every breath, and you'll finally put the debate about the it have been love lyrics to rest once and for all. It’s a masterclass in pop songwriting and performance that hasn't aged a day. Go listen to it on a high-quality pair of headphones; the nuance in the vocal tracks will give you a whole new perspective on a song you thought you knew by heart.