Two great love songs in rock 'n' roll history are "Layla" and "Something." Not just chick music, the songs are revered by men living off the fruits of their 401K and boys drumming on the steering wheel as they sneak the car out, learner's permit in the glove compartment. The songs will endure, the verses secured alongside ballads drafted by Tennyson and Browning.

Behind the art there is always a muse. Though she may not be as splashy as a hit song, fronted by singers who some compare to God, she leaves her man spellbound, fueling a virtuoso. The woman I am referring to is Pattie Boyd, the '60s waif who bedazzled and married both George Harrison and Eric Clapton-the inspiration behind their greatest songs. Boyd is commonly considered in her cute-as-a-button British charm. She was the girl on the tour bus spinning around with a tambourine, laughter trailing her like the last echoing note drawn from a guitar. However, the words from those songs are clues to her persona, testimonials that she is not purely ornamental the way a psychedelic decal draws stained glass light into a perky VW bug.

But what transforms a man into the kind of sappy companion who sparks ridicule among his friends? It is not the woman who has the guile of an ambitious common girl, ensnaring a prince during those heady medieval times. It is the woman who has found a man who truly loves her.

In this month honoring romance, we have a tendency toward over-the-top displays of affection. Give us our favorite out-of-season flowers and dinners with a hovering sommelier who anticipates the results of the first sip. Offer us proposals via airplane skywriting. Valentine's Day is the perfect excuse to add fragrance to your home, be given a foot massage and eat chocolate bought from a boutique that rubs shoulders with Gucci and Dior. I think the true romantics come in the form of a couple I see each morning at an outdoor cafe near my home. They are momentarily shielded from one another by the drape of a newspaper, sharing tidbits when they read something they know their beloved will find particularly interesting. The man peeks over the paper to smile at his Layla.

P.S. For great Valentine's Day reading, pick up Wonderful Tonight by Pattie Boyd with Penny Junor.