Farewell Song: A goodbye song. A tearful parting song.
In life, we encounter many farewells at various milestones—graduation, transfers, retirement, pursuing our dreams, and even heartbreak.
Even when we know that parting is a step toward a new path, leaving our current environment can still bring feelings of loneliness and pain.
Conversely, sending someone off on their new journey can be just as difficult.
In this article, we introduce songs that center on different farewell scenarios in life—friendships, romance, graduation, and more.
We’ve carefully selected masterpieces that give you the courage to overcome the anxiety of a new path and the pain of parting, transforming them into new strength.
We’ll present wonderful tracks that will make you feel that farewells, too, have meaning.
- [Songs of Bereavement] Songs about losing someone dear. Tracks to listen to while thinking of a loved one.
- [Song for a Departure] A send-off song for you. A classic masterpiece among departure songs.
- Farewell Songs: Tracks that sing various kinds of “goodbyes”
- [Tearjerker] Songs that make your heart tremble with tears & moving tracks with lyrics that touch the soul
- Farewell Songs: Karaoke tunes to sing at a farewell party. Goodbye songs.
- [Gratitude, Encouragement, Memories] Tear-Jerking Graduation Songs You Can’t Listen to Without Crying [2026]
- [Songs About Loving Yet Parting] Love songs for those who want to overcome heartbreak
- A Tearful Farewell Song: A Love Song About Parting with Someone You Love
- Songs to Play at My Own Funeral: Timeless Gems to Make Farewells Uniquely My Own
- [A moving friendship song] For dear friends and best friends. Songs of friendship that make you feel the bond.
- A song about losing a friend: bereavement, betrayal, and separation.
- Only masterpieces that color the season of meetings and farewells! Spring songs recommended for Gen Z.
- [So touching it makes you cry] A heartbreakingly wistful and sad song that tightens your chest
Etude of Farewell: Songs of Goodbye. Tearful farewell songs (121–130)
Summer Love Lifeaiko
Depicting the sweet, heartrending end of a romance, this song carries the feelings aiko had at age 19.
The piano melody, which evokes the cool breeze at summer’s end, is striking, and its heartfelt lyrics and tune move listeners deeply.
Released as a digital single in March 2023, it was also featured in a Calbee potato chips commercial.
Whether facing a breakup or a turning point in life, this song will offer you fresh courage and warmth.
It’s a recommended track for anyone who wants to look back on summer memories while keeping their eyes forward and moving ahead.
For that dayKitahara Mirei
The ballad by Mirei Kitahara, known as an enka singer, portrays the aching feelings of love one experiences during quiet, solitary nights.
While sensing an impending farewell to a loved one, the lyrics convey a determination to live strongly until that day, resonating deeply with the listener.
Released in February 2024, the song channels a complex array of emotions through Kitahara’s rich expressive power, reaching into the hearts of those who hear it.
For anyone standing at a turning point in life or wishing to unburden hidden feelings, this is a song that offers courage.
I hope you’ll take the time to listen closely.
sea breezeUra Koyuki
Ura Koyuki, who also performs as the vocalist and guitarist of Sundae May Club, released the 2023 track “Shiokaze” (Sea Breeze).
The lyrics are heartbreaking, with a tone that seems to push away the pain and loneliness of a breakup by saying “I’m done,” as if suppressing those feelings.
As the song progresses, hints of self-effacement emerge—admitting she might have been at fault—while she chooses to end the relationship to protect herself from being crushed by a flood of emotions.
“Why… I don’t want to break up, I’m sorry…” It’s a song that candidly portrays the tumult of emotions that accompany a parting.
Love? (As if.)Hitsuji Bungaku
Let me introduce “Koi Nante,” a song that portrays a couple’s breakup.
It’s a track included on the rock band Hitsujibungaku’s album Zawameki.
As you listen closely, you’ll notice the lyrics interweave the feelings of both the man and the woman.
The impression you get will likely change depending on which perspective you empathize with.
The key change in the latter half and the whispery vocals also compellingly express a sense of poignancy in sound.
Try listening while imagining what words might follow the phrase in the title.
Farewell Songs: Goodbye Ballads. Tearful Parting Songs (131–140)
GoodbyeKIDS
KIDS is a four-piece guitar rock band from Nara Prefecture.
Although the band has already disbanded, every song they left behind is a heartfelt masterpiece.
Among them, the song I want to introduce as one that sings of parting is Sayonara.
The lyrics are written from a male perspective, depicting his breakup with his former girlfriend.
It seems they cared for each other but couldn’t make it work and ultimately separated; while he wishes for her happiness, he still can’t fully let go.
What makes this song so compelling is the masterful portrayal of the man’s psychology—be sure to listen closely while reading the lyrics.
Tu-tu-luSixTONES
SixTONES’ “Tu-tu-lu” depicts the sorrow of heartbreak when you don’t know where to put those painful feelings.
It was included in 2023 as a B-side to the single “Kokkara.” The lyrics portray how good memories can paradoxically make your heart ache, while the lingering traces of a former lover everywhere keep tossing you about.
The languidly sung melody beautifully captures that unbearable suffering.
Give it a listen when your chest tightens with what-ifs over a love that won’t return.
First loveTele
Tele is the solo project of Kitaro Taniguchi, often hailed as a trickster of the Reiwa era.
The track “First Love,” released for streaming on November 29, 2023, crafts a distinctive world through an ensemble that defies expectations.
Its lyrics, evoking the end of a blind love, conjure an image of emotions and thoughts that refuse to cohere.
For anyone who has experienced heartbreak, this number will inevitably resonate, capturing the pain of parting.
