Farewell Song: A Song About Changing Schools, A Song to Give to Friends
Transferring schools is a big event, isn’t it?
If you’re the one transferring, it means leaving the place you’ve spent so much time in.
And if it’s a friend who’s leaving, it can feel like a hole opens up in your heart… Just imagining it is bittersweet.
In this article, I’ve put together songs on the theme of “transferring schools.”
Most of them are farewell songs, but some pieces feel like they can save you from sadness.
It may be a tearful goodbye now, but someday you’ll feel through music that the experience was something good for your life… That’s the kind of playlist this is.
- A farewell song for a dear friend—an uplifting graduation song that conveys heartfelt gratitude.
- Recommended friendship songs for children. Songs about friends you’ll want to listen to with your pals.
- Friendship songs recommended for elementary school students. Bonding songs you’ll want to listen to with your friends.
- Farewell Song: A goodbye song. A tearful parting song.
- [A moving friendship song] For dear friends and best friends. Songs of friendship that make you feel the bond.
- A gratitude song for friends. A thank-you song dedicated to someone special.
- Farewell Songs: Karaoke tunes to sing at a farewell party. Goodbye songs.
- Six types of farewell songs: goodbye songs for each scene
- [Tearjerker] Songs that make your heart tremble with tears & moving tracks with lyrics that touch the soul
- [For High School Students] A Collection of Touching Friendship Songs
- Friendship Songs: Rediscover Your Bonds! A Carefully Curated Selection of Moving Masterpieces That Will Bring You to Tears
- A funny song that livens up a farewell party
- Songs to use in the memory movie. Let’s look back on our memories before graduation!
[Farewell Songs] Songs about Thinking of Transferring Schools, Songs to Give to Friends (21–30)
Kitearashi
A grand message song by Arashi that you’ll want to give to friends setting off on a new chapter.
Like a kite catching the wind and soaring high, it portrays the resolve to move forward despite uncertainty.
There’s a warmth in this song that gently watches over that figure and gives a soft push from behind.
The single “Kite,” released in 2020, was written and composed by Kenshi Yonezu as the “NHK 2020 Song.” It was also aired on NHK’s “Minna no Uta,” making it beloved across generations.
Parting with friends is lonely, but the sentiment embedded in this work—“we’re connected no matter where we are”—will surely reach their hearts.
If everyone sings it together at a farewell party, it becomes the perfect cheer, powerfully supporting the future of the one setting out.
Theory of the Mindful HeartRADWIMPS
This is the seventh single by RADWIMPS, released in 2006.
Loved by many fans for its profound lyrics and very accessible rock sound, it portrays someone dear who smiles by your side even when you’re weighed down by negative feelings—their presence is deeply cherished.
Thanks to them, you’re able to get back on your feet; that uplifting message really hits home.
It’s the kind of song that makes you want to keep treasuring the friends and companions who care about you, even if you transfer to a new school.
Promise of SunflowersHata Motohiro
A singer-songwriter with a voice of “steel and glass” that resonates in the heart, Motohiro Hata delivers a moving ballad.
Its lyrics, which depict the warmth of those who stay by your side and the unchanging bonds that endure even when you’re apart, gently accompany the season of farewells.
Released as a single in August 2014, this song was created as the theme for the film STAND BY ME Doraemon.
Its messages, which overlap with the film’s story, struck a chord with many people, and by 2015 it had become such a massive hit that it dominated the karaoke charts.
No matter if the paths we walk diverge in the future, our hearts will always remain connected—this is a song that inspires that kind of hope.
Sing it arm-in-arm with friends at graduations or farewell parties as they set off on new journeys, and it will surely become a memory that lasts a lifetime!
Friend ~Time to Depart~yuzu
Yuzu is a duo of male artists.
Since their debut in 1998, they have released songs that have brought color to many works and events.
“Tomodachi ~Tabidachi no Toki~” was selected as the required piece for the junior high school division of the NHK National School Music Competition.
The harmonies between Yuujin Kitagawa and Koji Iwasawa in the chorus are deeply moving.
The gentle, enveloping tone of the song brings a sense of peace.
Even when we’re apart, as long as our hearts are connected, we can step forward.
It’s a song that gives you courage.
Best FriendKiroro
Kiroro’s timeless classic “Best Friend” is the perfect song to give at a farewell party to express gratitude to a dear friend.
It’s a warm ballad in which vocalist Chiharu Tamashiro conveys her feelings for her ever-supportive partner, Ayano Kinjo.
Released in June 2001 as their 10th single, it’s a well-known masterpiece that also served as the theme song for the NHK morning drama series Churasan.
Later, in 2016, it was chosen as the Japanese ending theme for the film The Good Dinosaur, earning love across generations.
This song, which helps you overcome the sadness of parting and reaffirm an unchanging bond, is sure to add a moving touch to any send-off scene.
Always with youshino
Singer-songwriter Shino, who shares piano-and-vocal performances centered on themes of love.
Her song “Itsudemo Kimi to,” released on YouTube, features lyrics written as a message to a best friend, and has gained attention through word of mouth—especially among junior and senior high school girls—leading to a decision for digital distribution.
Overflowing with gratitude and appreciation for friends, the lyrics feel like a message to send to someone moving away due to transferring schools or graduation.
With a translucent voice and a piano sound rich in depth that resonates with the heart, this ballad is one you’ll want to listen to while thinking of someone special.
My friend—now and forever…Ketsumeishi
Ketsumeishi are the pioneers who pushed rap and reggae-influenced music into Japan’s pop field.
In this track, they express the importance of friendship with a technical flow and bittersweet lyrics.
The brisk, fast-paced production is easy to listen to, and their sense and skill in elevating rap—a technique rooted in Black music—into bona fide J-pop exudes top-tier confidence.
In the best way, it’s a rap song by Japanese people for Japanese people, and you could call it pop music suitable for all ages.
