[80s Graduation Songs] Nostalgic Classics & Hits That Have Become Standards
When it comes to graduation songs, choral pieces used to be the standard, but from around the 1970s, pop-style graduation songs began to appear, and by the 1980s, many hit songs related to graduation were being released.
In this article, we’ll introduce standout graduation songs that were released and became popular in the 1980s.
For those who were students during that era, these tracks will feel nostalgic; for those currently in school, they’ll feel fresh and deeply moving.
Enjoy the colorful world of 1980s graduation songs!
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[80s Graduation Songs] Nostalgic Classics & Now-Standard Hits (21–30)
See you.o nyanko kurabu
A poppy, upbeat farewell song by Onyanko Club.
This track was created as a commemorative graduation single for Miharu Nakajima, who was a member of Onyanko Club and was set to graduate from the group.
While tears are often part of graduation ceremonies, this song sets them aside and embraces a cheerful “See you!” kind of goodbye.
It reflects the idea that even after graduation, you’re still friends, and it carries hopes for a bright future ahead.
It’s recommended for those who want to face graduation without tears and with a bright, cheerful “See ya!”
Graduationsawada shouko
“Sotsugyo” (Graduation), a song by singer-songwriter Shoko Sawada that expresses the bittersweet feeling of moving on after graduation.
Released in 1983, it became Sawada’s most successful single.
Her vocals are calm and understated, not overtly conveying the loneliness of graduation, but if you listen closely to the lyrics, you can feel the inner conflict about graduating and the heartfelt wish for that day not to come.
It sounds as if she’s putting on a brave face, yet you can sense that she’s actually very lonely and frustrated by something she can’t change.
For those who face their graduation ceremony while hiding the same kind of sadness, this song will likely resonate especially deeply.
[80s Graduation Songs] Nostalgic Classics & Now-Standard Hits (31–40)
GraduationHikaru GENJI
The B-side of Hikaru GENJI’s second single “Garasu no Jūdai,” released in 1987.
This song is about graduation, and it has actually been sung at schools as a graduation song.
It’s also frequently covered at Johnny’s Jr.
concerts and the like.
It embraces the loneliness and anxiety felt at graduation ceremonies and gives you a push to leap into a new world.
Although it’s a hit from the ’80s, I think it’s a song that would still leave a lasting impression if sung at a modern graduation ceremony.
Spring sceneryMinamino Yoko
A nostalgic song from Yoko Minamino—“Nan-no”—the Cinderella who emerged from the Miss Magazine Grand Prix.
Back then, she and fellow Miss Magazine alum Yuki Saito split the popularity right down the middle.
Both of them appeared in Sukeban Deka, didn’t they? Were you Team Yuki-chan or Team Nan-no? As for this song, Haru Gesiki (Spring Scenery), it may not have the flashiness of the hits Rakuen no Door or Kaze no Madrigal, but it’s a truly wonderful track that lays bare the bittersweet feelings of a girl just as she is.
The lyric “Even when we move up a grade, even when we graduate, I’m still one year older than you” is exquisitely heart-fluttering! I wish this song would get much more attention as a graduation tune.
Spring La! La! La!Ishino Mako
This is a signature song by Mako Ishino, released on January 1, 1980—the very first day of the 1980s.
Its unique lyrics deconstruct the kanji for “spring” and reimagine it as “the day of three people,” evoking the sense of excitement that spring brings.
It’s a hidden gem among Showa-era idol songs, the kind you find yourself wanting to listen to during graduation season, when new encounters and farewells arrive at the same time.
Goodbye, Student StreetNishimura Tomomi
This is a later-period hit song by Tomomi Nishimura, the original soft-and-gentle idol who won the Grand Prix by a landslide in the first Miss Momoco Club contest hosted by the magazine Momoco.
The lyrics—“I didn’t have the courage to tell you I love you, but that’s part of who I am”—follow the classic path of Showa-era idols, suffused with the bittersweet pain of graduating and going separate ways.
The sound that won’t let go of the listener’s ears still feels comforting even today.
By the way, back then she was known as one of the ‘Peach Trio’ alongside Nami Shimada and Miyuki Sugiura—what nostalgia!
A Lonely Graduation CeremonyMita Hiroko
This is the fourth single released by Hiroko Mita, who debuted as a singer in 1982, during the graduation season of the following year, 1983.
True to her status as a popular idol with a uniquely serious aura, the lyrics carry a weighty theme: rather than graduating from “school,” the singer is graduating from “you.” By the way, this is a different song from Yui Asaka’s “Hitoribocchi no Sotsugyoushiki” (A Lonely Graduation Ceremony).