[Great Lyrics!!] Recommended Tear-Jerking Graduation Songs with Heartfelt, Moving Words [2026]
A collection of songs that color graduation ceremonies.
Among them, there’s something special about tracks whose every word of the lyrics resonates deeply in your heart.
Graduation songs that put into words the days spent with friends and the feelings toward the path ahead can bring you to tears every time you listen.
In this article, we’ve carefully selected graduation songs filled with phrases that strike a chord.
From timeless classics sung for generations to newer tracks that are quickly becoming beloved, we’ve picked a wide range.
The lyrics brimming with gratitude for loved ones and hope for the future are sure to move you.
Find the one song that will brighten your new beginning.
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[Great Lyrics!!] Recommended Tear-Jerking Graduation Songs with Heartfelt Words [2026] (111–120)
GraduationKobukuro
Kobukuro has many moving, heartfelt songs.
They have fans across generations—many even parent-and-child duos—and you can understand that broad appeal as soon as you listen.
From the title alone, this track is a straightforward graduation song.
The lyrics are firmly centered on graduation, and it’s a piece that will surely bring tears as you look back on three years of student life.
What once felt ordinary reveals itself, in hindsight, to be irreplaceable—something you realize when you graduate and even more so as you become an adult.
It’s a deeply moving song that I hope adults will listen to as well, one that brings back those feelings.
[Great Lyrics!!] Recommended Tear-Jerking Graduation Songs with Words That Resonate in Your Heart [2026] (121–130)
Sayonara ColorSUPER BUTTER DOG
Graduation season is a time of parting, but SUPER BUTTER DOG’s “Sayonara COLOR” reminds us that some things begin from goodbyes.
SUPER BUTTER DOG was a funk band that featured Takashi Nagazumi, also known as Hanaregumi, and Takafumi Ikeda, also known as Rekishi.
It’s an anthem cheering on those who struggle to stay true to themselves, making it a perfect song for students graduating and setting out into the rough seas of the world.
Nagazumi’s sultry vocals and the lyrics’ strong sense of resolve make it a masterpiece that resonates deeply when you listen.
Cherry blossom seasonATSUSHI
This song, released solo by ATSUSHI, who was active as a vocalist for EXILE, is a graduation song themed around cherry blossoms.
Its simple arrangement centered on piano and strings brings out the full appeal of his greatest strength—his sweet and gentle voice.
The reflections on past memories evoke nostalgia, and the message that “many things will happen from here on, but let’s all meet again” is sure to warm your heart.
Its charm lies in the warm lyrics that convey the bonds between friends.
ONEB’z
A B’z number filled with words that really hit home in parting scenes—especially at graduations—promising we’ll meet again even if we drift apart.
It was used as the theme song for the film Detective Conan: The Last Wizard of the Century.
The track is included as the B-side to the single “Giri Giri Chop,” which was also used as a TV opening theme for Detective Conan.
The friends we meet during our school days are truly one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable people.
This song makes you feel that even as we say goodbye and head toward our respective futures, those bonds will never be broken.
When it shinesHitsuji Bungaku
Hitsujibungaku is a rock band that captures listeners’ hearts with story-driven songs.
Their 2022 release “Hikaru Toki” is a track that sings about relationships with loved ones in the face of graduation and parting.
The expansive, dreamlike guitar tones pair perfectly with Moeka Shiozuka’s vocals.
While it has a soft, airy atmosphere, it still delivers a rich, weighty band sound.
No matter what happens, the act of continuing to call a loved one’s name conveys kindness and compassion.
Be sure to pay attention to the lyrics as well—they’re filled with poetic charm, themed around nature.
Sakura: To You Who Couldn’t GraduateHanzaki Yoshiko
A song by Hokkaido-born singer-songwriter Yoshiko Hanzaki.
It’s a number sung in her poignant high-tone voice, expressing feelings for a late friend who should have graduated together.
It’s a different kind of graduation song—one that brings tears as it evokes the presence of someone who slipped out of reach before the words you wanted to say could be spoken.
Petals, heralding the beginningsakura shimeji
The folk duo Sakura Shimeji’s “Hanabira, Hajimari o Tsugete” is a graduation song that uses cherry blossoms—also featured in their group name—as its motif.
It’s filled with the mixed feelings of “I don’t want the petals to fall yet, I don’t want to say goodbye,” and a gentle message that softly encourages, “Even so, we have to look forward and move on.” Each beautiful word resonates in the heart, staying close to the loneliness that wells up, and in the end, it just might give you a push to take that first step toward a new journey.
