Tear-jerking summer classics: recommended popular songs
When you think of summer songs, many people might imagine upbeat, catchy tracks that everyone can sing and dance to together.
However, there are times in summer when you feel like listening to tearjerkers—like bittersweet love ballads or breakup songs.
So in this article, we’ll introduce a wide selection of moving, cry-worthy songs with a summer theme, spanning different eras and genres!
We’ve picked not only heartbreak songs, but also tracks that express a variety of emotions and situations.
Be sure to read the lyrics and listen closely!
- Ballads to Listen to in Summer | Exquisite Summer Songs That Embrace Bittersweet Longing
- [Heart-throbbing] Cute summer classics. The charm of adorable summer songs [2026]
- [The Last Fireworks] An Emotive Song to Listen to at Summer’s End [2026]
- [Summer Classics] When it comes to summer, it’s got to be this song! A roundup from timeless staples to the latest hit tracks.
- Youthful songs to listen to in summer. Classic summer hits and recommended popular tracks.
- Summer songs with great lyrics. Tracks that make your summer memories even more wonderful.
- Songs you want to listen to at the end of summer: Late-summer classics to look back on the season
- 1990s J-Pop to listen to in summer: classic and hit summer songs
- [For when you want to cry or feel sad] Tear-jerking masterpieces that make you cry when you listen
- [So touching it makes you cry] A heartbreakingly wistful and sad song that tightens your chest
- [Oldies] Summer Songs Recommended for People in Their 50s [2026]
- [Tearjerker] Songs that make your heart tremble with tears & moving tracks with lyrics that touch the soul
- [Summer Love Songs] Hot and Heart-wrenching! Carefully Selected Summer Tunes of Love That Set Your Heart Ablaze
Tear-jerking summer classics: recommended popular songs (21–30)
To my dear youInoue Sonoko
It’s a song suffused with Sonoko Inoue’s voice, which awakens that sweet-and-sour feeling that tightens your chest in a fleeting moment on a summer evening.
From everyday fragments like scenes of commuting to school and long late-night phone calls, the track beautifully captures a straightforward yet heartrending first love.
The pure wish to “always be by your side” and the delicate murmur of “I don’t want to lose you” will likely resonate with listeners’ own youthful memories.
Released in July 2015 as the lead track on her major-label debut mini-album “#17,” it reached No.
66 on the Oricon Weekly Chart.
You may have heard it as a Sumitomo Life insurance commercial song.
It’s a gem I’d recommend when you want to sink into a sentimental mood or lean into a pure love song.
fireworks (launched into the sky)DAOKO × Yonezu Kenshi
This is a collaboration song by DAOKO and Kenshi Yonezu.
It drew attention when it was chosen as the theme song for the film “Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom?” Centered around the piano, the sound has a gentle atmosphere, while the accented guitar tones echo with a touch of loneliness.
When it moves into the chorus, the arrangement blooms brilliantly—its vigor and fleeting quality evoke the instant sparkle of fireworks.
The lyrics, which feel like a tender reflection on summer memories, are also striking, finely expressing the many emotions felt within those recollections.
The wish from back then for happy times to last, and the pain and poignancy of knowing they still slipped away, resonate deeply in this song.
Promise of SunflowersHata Motohiro
On summer evenings, when you’re suddenly overcome with a tinge of melancholy, many people turn to Motohiro Hata’s warm ballads.
His voice—often described as “made of steel and glass”—gently soaks into the heart as it conveys messages about deep bonds with loved ones and how hearts remain connected even when apart.
Released in August 2014, this song is also known as the theme for the film STAND BY ME Doraemon and has been widely cherished, earning a million-download certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan.
It is also included on the album “Ao no Kōkei” (Scenes of Blue).
When you look back on your joyful summer memories and feel a touch of loneliness, try listening while savoring the lyrics.
It’s sure to warm your heart.
The Summer Without YouDEEN
As summer draws to a close, do you ever find yourself overcome by a quiet melancholy? This classic ballad by DEEN gently stays by your side in those moments.
It brings back memories of those sweet summer days that can never return, and even as you carry an ache you can’t shake, you offer a small prayer in a corner of your heart… You can almost see the protagonist before your eyes.
Released in August 1997 as their 12th single, this song served as the ending theme for the anime Detective Conan.
When you want to quietly reflect on a love that has passed or sort out your feelings, listening to it will surely soften that sense of loneliness, if only a little.
Crying Summermihimaru GT with SOFFet
This is a bittersweet love song for the end of summer, brought to you by mihimaru GT with SOFFet.
As you gaze alone at the seaside scenery, memories of happier days overlap… Many of us have probably felt the ache of an unforgettable love like that.
Released as a single in July 2008, it reached No.
7 on the Oricon charts, marking SOFFet’s first entry into the Top 10.
It’s also included on albums such as “mihimalogy.” If there’s a summer romance you just can’t help remembering, give this song a listen.
tear(s)Marushii
A heartbreaking breakup ballad by Marcy, beloved for their relatable, down-to-earth music.
The structure tells all the radiant memories of a seaside park in the past tense, conveying the bittersweet ache of heartbreak—the way you can’t help but remember, even knowing you can’t go back.
You might recognize that feeling, as if your body still carries the warmth of the other person.
It’s a song that gently stays by the side of anyone who can’t forget a summer romance that has come to an end.
Cold fireworksKami ga nokoshita yume o kuu.
This song is a heartbreaking breakup ballad that overlays the dazzling burst of fireworks with a love coming to an end.
Though they stand side by side, their hearts no longer connect.
That frustrating relationship is portrayed against the backdrop of a late summer night.
The emotional vocals convey the painfully raw feeling of wanting to cling to memories while knowing there’s no going back.
It resonates deeply with anyone carrying an unforgettable love.