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.
Nagisasupittsu
When the summer heat subsides and a hint of autumn rides on the breeze, it makes you feel a bit sentimental, doesn’t it? Gentle and resonant against that late-summer melancholy is a number by Spitz.
Contrary to its sparkling, refreshing sound, it depicts a profoundly layered world where reality and fantasy intertwine.
The ache of clutching warped memories and yearning for someone you can only meet in a mirage overlaps with the loneliness of the passing season, sinking deep into your heart.
Released in September 1996, this song is also included on the album “Indigo Chiheisen.” It became well-loved as the CM song for Ezaki Glico’s “Pocky Love Story.” It’s a track you’ll want to savor alone, lost in your summer memories.
Shadows of SummerMrs. GREEN APPLE
Mrs.
GREEN APPLE, known for popular songs like “Lilac” and “Dancehall,” released a perfect end-of-summer track in August 2025.
It’s their first summer-themed song in about seven years since “Ao to Natsu.” The lyrics capture an indescribable, sentimental feeling that comes with the changing seasons.
There’s a bittersweetness in the way the protagonist blames their pounding heart and hesitation on the summer heat and the lengthening shadows.
Give it a listen as you savor the passing days of summer.
melt summersatō moka
This is a track by Moka Sato, characterized by a mellow sound woven from shimmering synths and gentle guitars.
Released in August 2018, it was later included on the album “Merry go round.” It’s a song that quietly stays by your side during that indescribable loneliness that arrives at summer’s end.
The lyrics depict a fleeting summer romance that feels like it might melt away and disappear.
Perfect music for savoring beautiful memories while mourning the passing of summer.
silver vineSato Chiaki
Chiaki Sato—known as the former vocalist of Kinoko Teikoku and a multitalented solo artist—released Matatabi in July 2024, the theme song for the film Bake Neko Anzu-chan.
Set to warm, country- and folk-tinged guitar tones, the song gently sings of summer days gone by.
Images like festival sounds and lukewarm ramune soda are sure to stir listeners’ unforgettable memories of summer.
It’s a gem of a track to revisit cherished memories with, especially as the days begin to grow shorter.
cotton candyback number
Set against the backdrop of a summer festival, this track portrays the frustrating ache of unspoken love.
You can’t help but relate to the protagonist, who, while gazing at their crush’s profile, can think of nothing but how to find the courage to hold hands.
Released as a single in July 2012, it was chosen as the opening theme for TBS’s “COUNT DOWN TV.” It’s a song that accompanies those sentimental feelings of lingering over a fleeting summer and basking in the memories of a delicate romance.