A GENTLE RECKONING WITH LOVE, WHEN IT FINALLY LANDS
“Then It’s Love” by Don Williams, from his 1986 album New Moves, is at once a warm confession and a quiet revelation — an exploration of love that arrives slowly, softly, and with surprising depth.
When released in October 1986 as the third single from New Moves, the song climbed to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, cementing its place among Don Williams’s enduring hits. The album itself was released earlier that year under Capitol Records, produced by Williams alongside Garth Fundis.
In Williams’s hands, “Then It’s Love” is more than a typical country ballad. Written by Dennis Linde, the song opens with gentle, almost philosophical musings on how people define love — “Some people say that love is a rose… But other folks say that it’s like the sun.” That lyrical duality reveals love not as a fixed, one-size-fits-all experience, but as something shaped by memory, metaphor, and generations.
Musically, the arrangement is deceptively light. There’s a subtle swagger to it — touches of doo-wop in the backing vocals, slight tempo shifts, and a laid-back rhythm that feels conversational rather than dramatic. These musical flourishes underscore Linde’s signature style, blending sincerity with his trademark occasional offbeat turns.
Linde’s songwriting frames love as a patient force. The narrator recalls a father’s wisdom, noting that love can’t be neatly categorized. But then, in a turning moment, the song becomes deeply personal: it’s not just what love could be — it’s what he realizes it is, when it finally takes hold in his own life. Williams’s voice, calm yet emotionally resonant, carries this revelation with the kind of quiet gravity that defined much of his work.
What makes “Then It’s Love” particularly compelling within Don Williams’s catalog is its balance. He was often called the “Gentle Giant” of country music for his steady, unhurried delivery — and here, that style serves the song beautifully. Rather than grand declarations or sweeping confessions, the song offers a soft, honest epiphany.
Culturally, this track arrived at a moment when country music was embracing more introspective, mature themes, and Williams was a master at that. On New Moves, “Then It’s Love” stands alongside other singles like “Heartbeat in the Darkness” and “Señorita,” forming a portrait of a mature artist comfortable with subtlety. It may not have been his most theatrical hit, but it became one of his most meaningful — a song that doesn’t shout its message, but whispers it with earnest clarity.
In the end, “Then It’s Love” is a meditation on love’s timing, its shape, and its unexpected arrival. Through Linde’s thoughtful lyrics and Williams’s gentle delivery, it becomes a quiet testament: love isn’t defined by clichés. It’s something tender, sometimes elusive — and when it finally arrives, you know it.