Tear-jerking classic graduation songs! Recommended tracks for graduation movie BGM
At graduation, it’s common to give a graduation video: from graduates to the teachers who supported them, from teachers to their students, or from current students to the graduating class.
A slideshow that looks back on memories or a message video dedicated to those who helped you is perfect for expressing gratitude.
But one thing many people struggle with when making such videos is choosing the BGM.
So, here are some songs that are perfect for the upcoming graduation season! Pick one track that conveys your feelings.
- Songs to use in the memory movie. Let’s look back on our memories before graduation!
- [Farewell] A selection of moving, tear-jerking Japanese songs recommended for graduation ceremonies
- [Touching] Entrance/Exit Songs for Graduation Ceremonies: Classics & the Latest BGM
- [Gratitude, Encouragement, Memories] Tear-Jerking Graduation Songs You Can’t Listen to Without Crying [2026]
- A collection of songs you’ll want to listen to when retiring from your school club [Youth]
- [For Graduates] Graduation Songs and Cheer Anthems to Convey Gratitude and Support
- [Great Lyrics!!] Recommended Tear-Jerking Graduation Songs with Heartfelt, Moving Words [2026]
- Songs we want to sing at the graduation ceremony! A special feature on moving, heart-touching preschool graduation songs
- A graduation song that's trending and popular on TikTok. A perfect track for memory videos.
- Thank you, Teacher: A Song of Gratitude for Teachers and Mentors — An Emotional Farewell Song for the Journey Ahead
- [Moving] Heartfelt Japanese Songs Recommended for Graduation Season [2026]
- Stand out at the graduation party! A collection of ideas for unforgettable surprise videos
- [2026] Graduate with a Smile! Recommended Uplifting Graduation Songs
Cry your eyes out with classic graduation songs! Recommended tracks for graduation movie BGM (141–150)
Sakura MelodyMakihara Noriyuki
Amid a scene of cherry blossoms fluttering in the wind, this masterpiece gently brings back precious memories.
It’s a self-cover by Noriyuki Makihara of a song he originally wrote for Miliyah Kato and Shota Shimizu, included on his March 2022 album “Bespoke.” With a calm yet powerful voice, he tenderly portrays the feelings of two people who have chosen separate paths.
The imagery of recalling the days they spent together as petals fall is especially striking.
It’s a song that stays close to those embarking on a new chapter, delivering nostalgia and warmth—and it may be a perfect choice for a graduation movie soundtrack.
Precious thingsSakushi Sakkyoku Yamazaki Tomoko
During your youthful school days, you’ll likely spend time with many friends, and among them, there will be some you can call lifelong friends.
These lyrics are charming in the way they overflow with gratitude for the bond shaped by the irreplaceable moments you spent together.
Goodbye Memoriessupercell
Even if graduation causes us to go our separate ways, it doesn’t mean our memories will disappear.
That’s the message contained in the song “Sayonara Memories.” It’s a track released by the music circle supercell.
Its lyrics express gratitude through images of cherry blossoms and spring, and listening to it is sure to leave you feeling refreshed.
The melody is a simple piano-centered arrangement, so it’s a good candidate to try performing yourself.
If there’s someone you want to thank, consider choosing this song.
Crying with classic graduation songs! Recommended tracks for graduation movie BGM (151–160)
The season of farewellSHISHAMO
This song features a girl as the protagonist, harboring bittersweet feelings for an upperclassman she has a crush on.
“Sayonara no Kisetsu,” released in 2015 by the all-girl band SHISHAMO.
It’s a track we’d recommend not only to graduating students, but also to the underclassmen seeing them off.
The senior she’s always admired and chased after is going to graduate.
She knew it was coming, yet she couldn’t confess her feelings—nor can she give up.
The song is filled with an achingly helpless longing.
It’s a perfect pick for when you want to convey your feelings, carried by SHISHAMO’s bittersweet band sound that evokes youthful days.
oneselfTani Yuuki
The translucent singing voice resonates deep in the heart.
Tani Yuuki’s song is a perfect fit for the graduation season.
Released digitally in March 2022, it was featured in a web-exclusive UQ mobile commercial.
The lyrics, which sing of a journey to find one’s true self, leave a strong impression.
The gentle piano tones and powerful vocals beautifully capture both the anxiety and the hope that come with a new environment.
Listening to this track will give you the courage to believe in yourself.
It’s a highly recommended song for anyone taking a new step forward—and it’s perfect as background music for graduation videos, too.
SaraiKayama Yūzō & Tanimura Shinji
This song, well known from NTV’s 24-Hour Television, is always sung in a big chorus at the ending and moves many people.
As you listen and picture your own hometown or someone dear to you, your heart trembles.
Everyone has a special place, and it’s a song that can touch those who are about to set off on a new journey as well.
my graduationSPEED
This is a song about a woman who has to break up with the boyfriend she’d been dating as they graduate.
It’s painful and lonely, but it captures well the complex feelings of a woman who, while resolving to move forward with the memories of meeting him and the time they spent together etched in her heart, also thinks that if they had never met, she wouldn’t have to feel this way.