[Autumn Love Songs] A selection of love songs that portray a bittersweet longing
As summer ends, autumn has a way of making us feel a little sentimental.
The slowly dropping temperatures, the season’s distinctive air, and the beautiful foliage…
In times like these, love songs really hit home, don’t they?
In this article, we’ll introduce plenty of love songs perfect for autumn!
By the way, don’t you feel like a lot of autumn love songs are about heartbreak?
A summer romance ends, and its lingering afterglow remains… Maybe autumn is just that kind of season.
But the end of one romance also means the beginning of a new one!
Listen to autumn love songs and enjoy a wonderful autumn romance.
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[Autumn Love Songs] A selection of love songs that portray bittersweet feelings of love (21–30)
Gray and Blue (+Masaki Suda)Yonezu Kenshi
Known as a masterpiece that portrays a heartrending love, this song sparked buzz with the collaboration between Kenshi Yonezu and Masaki Suda, and drew attention as an advance single from the album BOOTLEG.
Its lyrics depict memories of school days and youth, imbued with a longing for something that remains unchanged over time.
The background—said to be inspired by the film Kids Return—is fascinating as well.
The music video surpassed 1 million views within 24 hours of its release and has now exceeded 200 million views.
It’s a song that sinks into the heart—one you’ll want to listen to on an autumn evening, sitting on a park bench.
fragrant oliveorenji supainikurabu
In 2020, the song “Kinmokusei” made it onto Spotify’s Viral Charts and drew a lot of attention.
When it comes to autumn flowers, osmanthus immediately comes to mind.
In this song, it’s portrayed as the flower that represents someone you love.
The lyrics capture the fluttering feelings of a man who’s encountered a fated love, but in the end you sense a lingering sadness—almost as if he lost that love because he couldn’t quite grow up.
It’s a sweet yet bittersweet track that feels like recalling a summer romance when seeing the autumn-blooming osmanthus.
Perfect for a lonely autumn night—give it a listen.
Answer of the Autumn WindFlower
Autumn Wind’s Answer is the eighth single by the girls’ vocal unit Flower, released in 2014.
As the title suggests, with the word “Answer,” this song is an answer track to Sandaime J SOUL BROTHERS’ C.O.S.M.O.S.
~Akizakura~ released the same year.
While Sandaime’s song is also a poignant love song, this one, too, pours out bittersweet feelings from a female perspective.
With lyrics that evoke autumn scenery and a portrayal of a sorrowful romance, it’s a number that heightens the melancholy of the season.
Moonlight FlowerJanne Da Arc
This rocking track from the hard rock band Janne Da Arc.
That aching sense of no return is brilliantly transformed into a unique, crystalline form of their style of rock.
The performance level is top-notch too, so even hardcore rock fans should find it satisfying!
MetronomeYonezu Kenshi
Among Kenshi Yonezu’s love songs, “Metronome” is especially popular.
The track is included on his third album, Bremen, released in 2015.
You’ve probably used a metronome in music class—it’s a tool for keeping tempo, but over time it starts to slip just a little.
This song uses that subtle drift as a metaphor for romance.
No matter how much you love someone, tiny things can make you feel out of sync; that mismatch turns into discomfort and eventually distance between two people.
The lyrics capture a feeling many of us have experienced, and they really hit home.
SeptemberTakeuchi Mariya
From the title alone, it already feels like autumn—Mariya Takeuchi’s third single “September,” released in 1979.
It’s an autumn heartbreak song about how, as the seasons change, so do the feelings of the person you love.
Rather than the typical mellow mood often associated with autumn songs, it actually feels somewhat bright; yet as the song progresses, a piercing sense of longing and sadness wells up.
It gives the impression of portraying and wrapping up heartbreak in a beautiful way—perhaps thanks to Mariya Takeuchi’s vocals.
It’s a breakup song that hits incredibly hard.
crescent moonayaka
One of Ayaka’s signature songs, this track was the one that sparked her rise in popularity.
It sings of the heartache of a long-distance relationship—something many listeners can relate to.
The lyrics feel so real, as if drawn from a true experience, that they capture listeners’ hearts and won’t let go.
The melody further amplifies the sense of longing.
While everyone probably has different love songs that come to mind for each season, this one’s poignant sadness makes it a perfect fit for autumn.