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!
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Tear-jerking summer masterpieces: recommended popular songs (51–60)
Ghost in the FlowersYorushika
This is a song that portrays bittersweet summer memories, woven from a delicate singing voice and melody.
Yorushika’s gentle music spins a narrative with the touch of a short story.
Scenes like summer shade, frozen treats, and the sound of the wind resonate in the heart, stirring a faint sense of melancholy.
Released in April 2020, this song was also chosen as the theme for the animated film “A Whisker Away,” and is included on the album “Plagiarism.” The piece carefully depicts shifting memories and emotions against a backdrop of summer landscapes, making it a track you’ll want to hear at the turn of the seasons from spring to summer.
With its warm vocals that quietly stay close to your heart, why not take a moment to look back on your cherished memories?
Unchanging ThingsOku Hanako
If you’re an anime fan, you might already know it.
This is a ballad featured as an insert song in Mamoru Hosoda’s blockbuster film The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.
It’s by Hanako Oku, a singer-songwriter from Chiba Prefecture, and was included as the B-side on her single Garnet.
The lyrics, which pour out feelings for a loved one, are achingly poignant.
It’s perfect when you want to sink into a nostalgic summer mood.
If you’re in love right now, it will surely make you think, “Let’s have a romance with no regrets.”
NatsuneGLAY
A song that gently wraps up the bittersweetness of summer.
GLAY’s summer ballad paints delicate emotions as it looks back on a past love against the backdrop of blue skies and starry nights.
TERU’s clear, pure vocals beautifully capture both nostalgic memories and present loneliness.
Included on a single released in September 2006, this track touched many hearts as a piece that evokes the fleeting nature of summer’s end.
The delicate interplay of strings and piano stirs memories of an unforgettable romance.
It’s a song you’ll want to listen to alone on a summer night, keeping you company as you think of someone dear.
The Summer When You Were ThereMr.Children
Mr.Children is one of Japan’s most iconic rock bands.
When it comes to their summer songs, HANABI and Seesaw Game are well known.
But we mustn’t forget their memorable debut single, Kimi ga Ita Natsu.
Before its release, the planned title was Natsu ga Owaru, and as the name suggests, it’s a song about the end of summer and love.
Although Mr.Children wasn’t widely known at the time, they already possessed the same charm they have today!
Tear-jerking summer classics: recommended popular songs (61–70)
Summer IllusionOmoinotake
This is a song by Omoinotake that expresses the bittersweet emotions of summer.
It was also chosen as the theme song for the drama “love⇄distance.” Centered on the gentle tone of the piano, the vocals resonate strikingly, conveying a strong sense of anguish.
The sound carries a floating quality with R&B elements, evoking an atmosphere as if you’re in an unreal dream.
The lyrics depict looking back on the summer memories shared by two people, and the resulting tightness in the chest.
Even if the memories come with pain, the resolve to carry them forward and keep going makes this a track that truly stirs the emotions.
H.A.N.A.B.I ~The Summer When You Were There~ZONE
A bittersweet summer memory song by ZONE, one of Japan’s leading girl bands.
The more carefully you read the lyrics, the more they seep into a broken heart, letting you empathize and be moved.
The melody, which evokes fireworks blooming in the summer night sky, matches beautifully with their clear, translucent vocals.
Released in July 2003, the song was a major hit, debuting at No.
3 on the Oricon chart.
Although it had no tie-ins, this track—also included on the album “N”—is loved by many fans as one of ZONE’s signature songs.
Listening to it when you’re in the mood to look back on a love that ended with the close of summer will leave you with a wrenching feeling in your chest.
cotton candyback number
This is a song by the three-piece rock band back number that feels like it paints memories of a summer festival.
Its gentle, unhurried sound invites a quiet look back at the past, and the addition of piano tones seems to emphasize the underlying poignancy.
The lyrics portray someone gauging the chance to confess their feelings to a special person they invited to the festival, and the sweet-and-sour atmosphere comes through throughout.
The detailed depictions—how feelings grow as time passes, and how that growth brings anxiety—are particularly striking.
Its clear, relatable storyline makes it easy to empathize with, resulting in a song that truly stirs the heart.