“You think I’m pretty/ without any makeup on/ you think I’m funny/ when I tell the punchline wrong.” These lyrics set up a song about pure, young love. “Teenage Dream” by Katy Perry is the perfect combination of love-filled and sexy, and its themes of love, acceptance and intimacy are vital to any true love song. I would even go so far as to say that it is the most iconic, most beautiful and most passionate love song written in our generation.

“Teenage Dream” is all about spending time with the person you love; it’s about the youthful spirit of living as a teenager. The song weaves a story of a perfect day followed by a night of passion. The way it frames sex is not vulgar or crude like “Peacock,” for example, but it’s an act of love above all else. Katy and her lover, with an emphasis on the “love” in “lover,” find acceptance with each other, and their love is unconditional. From the song you get the sense of a deep connection.

When, after their intimate day together, Katy Perry finally decides to go all the way with her lover, they do so together and with full hearts. “No regrets, just love.” While the choice isn’t one taken lightly, as in a teenage relationship sex is an incredibly big step to take, they decide to “take a chance and don’t ever look back.”

The passion in this song isn’t about a one night stand or a temporary fling: This song is about true love. Perry has long-term plans with her lover. When she sings, “now every February, you’ll be my Valentine,” she shows that she has no intentions of giving up on this relationship.

Katy Perry’s use of melody and prose builds up a both fun and emotional song. You can tell from her use of story within it that the song was drawn from her personal experiences. “Teenage Dream” is incredibly sincere and builds a world full of young love and adventure. In the song, when Perry sings “my heart stops/ when you look at me/ just one touch/ now, baby, I believe,” she is singing about being overcome with love, a strong love that manifests itself into every fiber of her body.

The song is a beautiful combination of romance and seductiveness. It is about true love and young love. Perry takes risks and finds herself closer than ever to her lover. With all these aspects, “Teenage Dream” becomes the—yes, the—love song of our generation. In 2010, Perry released this masterpiece of a love song, and since then, in my opinion, no other artist has managed to take “Teenage Dream’s” spot as the most iconic and passionate love song of our time.