Tear-jerking youth songs: recommended classics and popular tracks
What comes to mind when you hear the word “youth”? For some, it’s the club activities or studies you poured your heart into; for others, the friends you spent joyful days with, or a straightforward, mutual romance—the images differ from person to person.
In this article, we’ll introduce many songs themed around different scenes of youth.
Among them, we’ve especially picked tracks that can overflow the feelings you’ve kept in your heart and move you to tears.
Be sure to listen while reading the lyrics!
- [Guaranteed to resonate!] Youth songs that strike a chord with teens. Recommended coming-of-age tracks.
- [For adults too] Youth songs that let you look back on your memories
- A collection of songs you’ll want to listen to when retiring from your school club [Youth]
- Club Activity Youth Songs: Motivational Anthems and Timeless Tracks of Memories with Teammates
- A classic, bittersweet youth song. Recommended popular tracks.
- A youth song with great lyrics. A lovely message that stays with your heart.
- [A moving friendship song] For dear friends and best friends. Songs of friendship that make you feel the bond.
- [Clubs, Friendship, Romance] Youth songs middle schoolers should listen to
- Packed with everything from friendship to romance! Youth anthems recommended for Gen Z
- A poignant masterpiece that sings of adolescence. Popular songs you’ll want to hear during your teenage years.
- [Tearjerker] Songs that make your heart tremble with tears & moving tracks with lyrics that touch the soul
- Popular Youth Songs Ranking [2026]
- Tear-jerking songs recommended for high school students: classic and popular Japanese hits
Tear-jerking youth songs: Recommended masterpieces and popular tracks (51–60)
Words of FarewellGReeeeN
As a moving song filled with memories of youth, this track by GReeeeN resonates deeply with listeners.
The gentle tones of the piano and the four-part harmonies evoke scenes of farewells, such as graduation or retiring from a school club.
The lyrics are imbued with memories of friends and feelings of gratitude, and as you listen, your heart grows warm.
Released in September 2019, it was also used as the theme song for the film “Run! T School Basketball Club.” It’s a recommended track for those who want to look back on their adolescence or are facing a farewell with cherished friends.
Connect!Misaka Saki
Even if we walk separate paths, the bonds with our teammates will never fade.
Saki Misaka’s powerful vocals resonate in our hearts as we look back on our youthful days.
This song is also known as the support anthem for the 98th All Japan High School Soccer Tournament and was released in October 2021.
It’s a perfect track for those who devoted themselves to club activities and for current students alike.
The lyrics, filled with gratitude for the teammates who shared both joys and hardships, may even bring you to tears.
It’s a warm, encouraging song that stays close to the hearts of club members at the moment of their retirement.
lilacMrs. GREEN APPLE
A song by Mrs.
GREEN APPLE that portrays the anxieties and inner conflicts of youth while powerfully singing about the courage and determination to keep moving forward.
Amid passing days, a strong resolve to cherish even the wounds and pains that span a lifetime resonates alongside a light, buoyant melody.
Many listeners relate to the stance of trying to accept one’s imperfect self, even while harboring aversion to love and hope.
The track was chosen as the opening theme for the TV Tokyo anime “Oblivion Battery” starting in April 2024, and it won the Grand Prize at the 66th Japan Record Awards.
It’s music that truly symbolizes our era, offering comfort to those lost in life and searching for their authentic selves.
The True Nature of TearsSUPER BEAVER
The melody and lyrics, which poignantly sing of the inner feelings we all carry, resonate deeply in the heart.
Though it grapples with loneliness and conflict, it also holds a wish, deep down, to be noticed by someone—a moving song where tenderness and bittersweetness intertwine.
SUPER BEAVER’s powerful rock sound and deeply emotive vocals vividly color the story.
Written as the theme song for NHK General’s drama “Vanilla na Mainichi,” airing from January 2025, this piece suggests a new frontier following the album “Ongaku.” In times when your heart feels unsteady or when you’re on the verge of losing your sense of self, it will become a treasured song that stays close to you.
Tear-jerking youth songs: Recommended masterpieces and popular tracks (61–70)
walkKōda Kumi
A hugely popular coming-of-age number by Kumi Koda, an artist acclaimed for her powerful vocals that resonate with many listeners and her breathtaking live performances.
It’s a masterpiece ballad imbued with the message to walk the path you believe in—one that might just move you to tears.
Scooping up blueatarayo
This song was written as the theme for the variety show “Zeroichi.” It’s a work by the four-piece band Atarayo, released digitally in May 2022.
The refreshing band sound sets off vocalist Hitomi’s straightforward singing, and it’s truly heart-cleansing.
The lyrics portray youth, friendship, and the parting that will come someday.
Listening will make you want to cherish the time you can spend with your friends right now.
Please take your time and savor it.
I like you.Shimizu Shota
A hugely popular love song by Shota Shimizu—an artist whose overwhelming musical sensibility and distinctive sonic world have earned high acclaim overseas.
It’s a ballad that directly conveys the importance of a partner, a youthful number that brings listeners to tears.