Songs you want to listen to at the end of summer: Late-summer classics to look back on the season
Doesn’t the end of summer make you feel strangely sentimental? It’s the season when the dazzling sunlight softens bit by bit and dusk comes earlier.
You feel like lingering over summer memories or spending unhurried time with someone special, don’t you? And at the farewell of summer, the music you want to hear is somehow wistful and nostalgic.
In this article, we’ll introduce lovely songs that are perfect for the end of summer—gems that seep into the heart as the seasons change.
Songs to listen to at the end of summer: Late-summer classics to look back on the season (1–10)
All of the YouthFujifaburikku
Although it was released in 2007, this song was featured in a LINE Mobile commercial in 2018 and was also performed when they made their first appearance on Music Station in 2019.
Speaking of late summer, fireworks festivals come to mind.
Many people probably find that watching fireworks brings back unforgettable memories.
This song is about thinking of someone you miss while looking up at the fireworks.
Even knowing you’ll never meet again, you can’t help but hold on to a small hope—that feeling is so heartbreaking.
It’s a timeless classic that represents summer.
Blue SummerTRACK15
A perfect number for those fleeting, sentimental moments at the end of a dazzling season.
Released in June 2024 by the Osaka-based rock band TRACK15, this guitar-driven track captures the frustration of a hesitant love.
As vocalist Ren, who wrote the lyrics, says, he penned it “as if it were a soft drink commercial song,” blending a refreshing sound with a heart-tightening poignancy.
Give it a listen when you want to look back on bittersweet summer romance as the season fades.
Harmony at Summer’s EndInoue Yosui & Anzen Chitai
If you’re looking for a song that evokes a bittersweet feeling, like watching the summer sunset fade away, I recommend “Natsu no Owari no Harmony” (Harmony at Summer’s End).
It’s a duet by Yosui Inoue and Koji Tamaki of Anzen Chitai, a classic that lets you savor their exquisite harmonies.
It was first performed at a joint concert by Anzen Chitai and Yosui Inoue at Jingu Stadium in 1986, and released the same year as Anzen Chitai’s 12th single.
It’s a love song about a wistful romance, making it perfect for listening at summer’s end!
Goodbye, Summer DaysYamashita Tatsuro
“Goodbye Summer Days” by Tatsuro Yamashita, used as a theme song in a Dai-ichi Life commercial, tells the story of unforgettable memories with a beloved person.
Many who listened to this song in their youth may find that it brings back memories of their former lovers.
The shimmering recollections of summer, woven through Yamashita’s beautiful, dreamlike voice, are filled with a gently drifting sweetness and longing.
It’s a wonderfully soothing track that makes your heart time-travel back to a love you once felt so earnestly.
All of the Youthsuis from Yorushika
It’s a song that brings back the fleeting, poignant feeling of the last fireworks of summer fading into the night sky.
The singer is suis, known as the vocalist of Yorushika.
This is a cover of Fujifabric’s classic 2007 track, produced by music producer Seiji Kameda.
Released in June 2024, it also drew attention as the theme song for the Netflix film “The Last Year of My Life, and the Story of Meeting You with Six Months Left.” Nostalgia for passing seasons and days that won’t return is delicately rendered through suis’s voice, which blends clarity with a boyish quality, and it really hits home.
It’s a piece you’ll want to sink into on nights spent reminiscing about summer or when you find yourself pensive at the turn of the seasons.