A famous song about setbacks. A song that stays by your side when times are tough or you feel like giving up.
While living, there are happy moments, but there are surely many times when we feel crushed, too.
I researched songs about the theme of setbacks—ones that can give you encouragement.
Rather than songs that just say “Keep it bright and push through!”, I mainly picked tracks that stay close to those frustrating feelings during a setback and the tough times.
So when nothing seems to be going right, please give them a listen.
May setbacks become the seeds of success.
I’m sure music will give you plenty of strength!
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Classic songs about setbacks. Songs that stay by your side when times are tough or you feel like giving up (21–30)
StoryAI
A timeless ballad that says, “Because you were there, I was saved—now it’s my turn to help you,” and one we hope will be sung for generations to come.
It’s a signature song by AI, an R&B singer born in America and raised in Kagoshima, released as her 12th single in 2005.
In 2014, it drew attention when it was chosen as the Japanese ending theme for the film Big Hero 6.
With a rich, resonant voice and lyrics that speak to everyone’s heart, it’s a masterpiece that touches the soul like no other.
moment; instant; a split secondGReeeeN
Everyone strives as hard as they can to be recognized by others.
This song aligns with the perspective of such people; even when you feel sad because you aren’t acknowledged, it makes you believe that one day you’ll shine, and it inspires you to keep sprinting desperately until that day arrives.
LOSERYonezu Kenshi
A track that gives you the courage and resolve to move forward, even when you feel like giving up, thinking you’re a born loser anyway.
The song has a bit of a back-alley vibe, and perhaps it’s precisely because it doesn’t feel like it’s walking the mainstream path that the lyrics sink so deeply into your heart.
The road ahead is still long, and even if the life you’ve lived so far is caked in mud and hardly a clean path, it fills you with the strength to say, “What’s there to lose?” and keep going.
In the Morning of DeterminationAqua Timez
The more wholeheartedly you devote yourself to something, the greater the shock when you fail.
You want to give up but can’t—these lyrics portray the struggle of someone going through that pain.
It’s a song you’ll want to listen to when you feel like crying alone.
An Anthem to Encourage the Talented and TroubledBUMP OF CHICKEN
A track I want people to hear when, even if they have something they’re good at, they can’t make use of it or can’t find their own worth.
When you hit a setback, it’s easy to think “I’m no good,” to feel like your future and others’ expectations aren’t worth much, and once you start thinking that way, you can feel really cornered.
This song is packed with lyrics that people in that situation can deeply relate to, and it gives you the strength to move forward anyway.
FlowerKinKi Kids
It’s a song that makes you feel acknowledged—like, “In a world where fun and hardship pile up and life swings wildly, you’re working this hard.” It also inspires the thought, “Let’s give it our all now so that one day we can make a big flower bloom!”
It’s fine.Urufuruzu
I think the more someone strives toward something, the more they can feel down about their own inadequacy when things don’t go well.
At times like that, the phrase “Ee nen” in this song makes me feel, “I’m not wrong as I am right now.”