Tear-jerking summer classics: recommended popular songs

The End of Summerofukōsu

Off Course / End of Summer

When it comes to songs that make you feel the passage of time, this classic by Off Course comes to mind.

The lyrics, which sing of longing for summer and winter, beautifully capture the fluctuations of the human heart.

Included on the album “FAIRWAY,” the song was released in October 1978.

The album title, taken from a golf term, is said to reflect the idea of progressing along music’s fairway.

This song, which sings of lost love and the melancholy of seasons gone by, will surely resonate with those carrying the bittersweet feelings that come at summer’s end.

It’s best enjoyed on a cool summer night.

Why not surrender yourself to Kazumasa Oda’s vocals and spend some time in gentle repose?

Harmony at the End of SummerInoue Yosui & Anzen Chitai

Yosui Inoue & Anzenchitai - Harmony at the End of Summer

Beloved by many as a gem of a mid-tempo ballad, this song weaves a poignant scene with exquisite harmonies from singers of different styles.

The lyrics evoke the melancholy of late summer, and the emotionally rich vocals sink into the heart.

Released in September 1986, it reached No.

6 on the Oricon chart.

After its first performance at Jingu Stadium, it has been covered by numerous artists.

Recommended for those nursing the pain of a broken heart or wishing to bask in summer memories.

Listen as the late-summer night breeze blows, and it will become a song that truly resonates.

Lamp starharuka nakamura + suis from Yorushika

[MV] Akari-boshi (Lamp Star) / haruka nakamura + suis from Yorushika

You’re drawn into its delicate, lyrical sound.

It’s a collaboration between composer haruka nakamura and suis, the vocalist of Yorushika.

The song was written as the theme for the film “Kono Natsu no Hoshi o Miru,” set to be released in July 2025.

suis’s crystalline voice gently accompanies the quiet, beautiful piano melodies woven by haruka nakamura, creating an immersive feeling as if you were inside a planetarium.

The story—tinged with the ache of an irretrievable past and the discovery of a small light of hope in the darkness—perfectly matches the film’s worldview.

Listen, and you’ll find yourself forgetting the daily bustle and quietly looking up at the night sky.

Marigoldaimyon

Aimyon – Marigold [OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO]

It’s a masterpiece that fully showcases Aimyon’s exceptional songwriting, vividly conjuring a scene where wistfulness and warmth coexist—like a summer evening at dusk.

Featuring a memorable acoustic guitar tone, the song beautifully captures the brilliance of love along with the faint anxiety it carries and a nostalgia for time slipping away.

Released in August 2018 as her fifth single, it went on to become the first track by a domestic artist to surpass 100 million streams in 2019.

It’s the kind of song that sinks deep into your heart when you want to bathe in that indescribable melancholy at summer’s end or quietly reflect on your relationship with someone important.

Only for you, clear skiesYorushika

Yorushika – Just Clear Skies for You (MUSIC VIDEO)

It’s a track whose fresh yet somehow wistful melody hits you in the chest, like a flashback to summer days gone by.

Created by the unit Yorushika—composer n-buna and vocalist suis—the song portrays the brilliance of youth and the bittersweet sense of loss that comes with growing up, using literary lyrics that feel as if you’re reading a short story.

The protagonist’s pent-up feelings left unsaid and the fading memories they confront are rendered with delicate nuance through suis’s clear, pure vocals.

This piece is included on Yorushika’s May 2018 mini-album “No Encore for the Lonely Loser,” and its uniquely animated music video, directed by Waboku, further accentuates the song’s world.

On streaming platforms, it surpassed 300 million plays in October 2023, showing just how deeply it resonates with many listeners.

In December 2019, it was also used as background music for the opening visuals of a live show by the comedy duo “Tarinai Futari.” Listen to it on a slightly lonely late-summer evening, or when you find yourself reminiscing and feeling sentimental, and its poignant charm may sink even deeper into your heart.

NatsuneYuuri

Natsune

It’s a delicate melody that seems to express, in music, that somewhat wistful tone you hear as summer draws to a close—simply wonderful.

Yuri’s emotionally rich voice beautifully conveys the lingering attachment to a fading season and the aching wish to spend just a little more time with someone dear.

This work is a rock ballad that sinks deeply into the listener’s heart.

Released in September 2021, it memorably colored the ending of episode 1 of the Hulu original drama “Dry Flower – July’s Room -,” which shares the worldview of one of Yuri’s signature songs.

Its popularity is evident from its peak at No.

23 on the Billboard JAPAN Hot 100.

This gem is also included on the acclaimed album “Ichi.” It’s a masterpiece you’ll want to hear on a quiet night after summer’s clamor has passed, when you feel a sudden loneliness, or when you wish to etch an irreplaceable, beautiful moment into your heart.

A midsummer passing showerUtada Hikaru

Hikaru Utada – Midsummer Shower

A fantastical, emotionally stirring song powerfully sung by Hikaru Utada.

It’s a ballad centered on piano and strings, with a somewhat dark atmosphere that leaves a strong impression.

Starting almost like a simple piano-and-voice performance, it grows grander as the strings come in, conveying a sense of emotions swelling and expanding.

Said to be a song that puts into words the feelings of losing someone precious, it resonates with a striking instability, as if raw, unprocessed emotions are being laid bare.

The instability in both the sound and the lyrics comes through directly, making it a piece that deeply shakes the listener’s heart.

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

kappamaki

Report a problem