A collection of friendship ballads: songs that portray bonds that resonate with the heart.
Even when we say “friendship songs,” there are so many tracks packed with different stories—some look back on memories of striving and growing together, while others sing about everyday gratitude.
The musical styles also vary widely, from upbeat numbers to gentle ballads.
In this article, we’ll focus specifically on ballad-style friendship songs and introduce some recommended tracks from among the many friendship songs out there.
Take a look at the lyrics as you listen to each song, and be sure to find a new favorite.
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- [Korea] A ballad-style friendship song. A roundup of classic K-pop masterpieces
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A collection of friendship ballads: songs that portray bonds that resonate in the heart (71–80)
We’ve alwaysikimonogakari
A warm melody that gently wraps around the bond with a cherished friend seeps into the heart.
It’s a cheering song that gives you the courage to walk forward with your companions, while staying close to the fear of moving ahead.
Because we have friends who support one another, we can take a new step—this song conveys the preciousness of such friendship.
Released by Ikimono-gakari in January 2012 as the campaign CM song for U-CAN, the piece was also included on the album NEWTRAL and moved the hearts of many.
Its warm vocals and positive message will surely give a gentle push when you want to express gratitude to a dear friend or cheer on someone taking on a new challenge.
Because we’re friends.Ochiai Wataru
Ochiai Wataru’s graduation song “Tomodachi Yakarane” (“Because We’re Friends”) lets you look back on the precious times you shared with friends throughout school life.
It vividly portrays days with treasured friends—talking about crushes, laughing at jokes only friends would get, pulling little pranks together, and having fun after school.
Precisely because you’re such close friends, parting is painful and can feel overwhelmingly lonely.
Even so, like in this song, look forward to the day you’ll meet again, promise an unbroken friendship, and set off with a smile on your new paths!
FriendFujii Fumiya & Noritake to Hiromi
This is a friendship song created in collaboration by singer-songwriter Fumiya Fujii and talents Noritake Kinashi and Hiromi.
The track was produced as the theme song for the travel program “Noritake, Fumiya, and Hiromi’s Camping-Car Training Camp: A Journey of Encounters, Connections, and Happiness,” and was released digitally in 2015.
Since the three were already friends, the lyrics are filled with unadorned, straightforward words.
No matter how old you get, that kind of closeness is something to admire, isn’t it?
weNishino Kana
A famous song by Kana Nishino that depicts friendship between women.
Chosen as the theme song for the film “Girl,” it topped RecoChoku’s Weekly Chaku-Uta Rankings.
Set to a gentle melody, it sings of hope for the future of two people—my best friend and me.
The more you listen, the more the warm lyrics fill your heart, allowing you to rediscover those important, indescribable feelings through music.
Play this song at milestones or celebrations, and you’ll be able to share a moving moment together.
A graduation song, a song of friends.19
A friendship song perfect for graduation season is “Graduation Song, Friends’ Song” by 19.
It’s included on the same single as 19’s signature track “Ano Kami Hikōki Kumori Zora Watte.” Leaving school, where you can see your friends every day, is very lonely, and many people probably wish they didn’t have to graduate.
But we can’t go against the passage of time, and everyone eventually graduates.
The sadness of parting from friends, the anxiety of living without your companions from now on—this song embraces all of that and still gives you the strength to face forward toward the future.
Try listening to it together with friends who are also feeling uneasy.
That way, while reaffirming the unchanging strength of your bond, you can encourage each other: “Let’s both do our best from here on out!”
Song of a FriendBUMP OF CHICKEN
This is a song by BUMP OF CHICKEN that was used as the theme song for the 2011 film Doraemon: Nobita and the New Steel Troops—Winged Angels.
The song recalls a friend who has been separated, with lines like “Don’t forget” and “I want to see you again.” Its sound and lyrics are heartbreaking, but having a friend you remember like this is wonderful, isn’t it? It feels like they were a once-in-a-lifetime friend.
Even if you’re together all the time as students, you drift apart as adults.
Still, surely everyone has a friend who lives on in their heart.
FRIENDSGOING STEADY
It’s a very light, bouncy, and cheerful track.
The memories with friends up to now are depicted in great detail, and the strong wish to meet again even at the moment of parting conveys the depth of the bond and the strength of the feelings for the time they shared.