[For High School Students] Melancholy Songs That Stay Close to Your Feelings [Tough Times]
School isn’t all fun and games, is it?
It’s sad, but some people might even say, “Most of it isn’t fun at all!”
Still, no matter how tough it gets, those memories and feelings will become the strength that supports you.
In this piece, we’ll introduce some “dark” songs that will stay close to your tired heart.
There are plenty to choose from, so if you go through the songs listed, you’re sure to find something you can relate to.
Let’s borrow the power of music and get through the present together.
- [Yami Song] Fight darkness with darkness!? Deep tracks that stay close to your pain
- [Songs to Listen to When You Want to Die] I want to disappear... A song to support you who feel that way
- [Dark Songs] A carefully curated selection of deeply dark tracks and heartbreaking songs that accompany you in tough times
- Songs to listen to when you’re feeling down! Tracks that boost your self-confidence
- [Recommended for Teens] Songs to Listen to When Your Heart Is Tired / Songs You Want to Hear
- Emo songs recommended for junior high school students: A roundup of classic and popular Japanese tracks!
- Uplifting songs recommended for high school students
- [Relatable Lyrics] Emo songs to listen to when you're stuck after a breakup or relationship troubles
- [Melancholy] For when you want to sink all the way. Masterpieces that depict various kinds of gloom.
- [For those doing their best] A comforting song to listen to when you're tired of life
- Songs that hit home when you're feeling blue: masterpieces of Japanese music
- [Tearjerker] Songs that make your heart tremble with tears & moving tracks with lyrics that touch the soul
- Yami songs recommended for college students: melancholic tracks to listen to when you're feeling down
[For High School Students] Emo Songs That Stay Close to Your Feelings [Tough Times] (1–10)
For me to be myselfOzaki Yutaka
This is a song included on Yutaka Ozaki’s first album.
It wasn’t released as a single, but it’s very popular.
Beyond the strong message conveyed by the lyrics and the title, the intense dynamics of his singing—and the song’s development itself—really pierce the heart.
A Bouquet for YouUtada Hikaru
A single released in 2016 as part of Hikaru Utada’s comeback project after pausing her music career.
It’s a song dedicated to her mother, the singer Keiko Fuji, who died suddenly by suicide, and it’s truly impossible to listen to without tears.
Even when there’s so much you want to say, there’s a loneliness in not being able to say it all—something everyone may experience.
And yet, when you close your eyes, a smiling face appears.
This song tells us that that alone is enough—an expansive hymn of love to a mother.
powder snowRemioromen
Remioromen is a well-known three-piece rock band.
This song was released in November 2005 and became a massive hit after being featured as an insert song in the Fuji TV drama “1 Litre of Tears,” selling over 850,000 copies in total.
It was also performed when the band made their first appearance at the 60th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen in 2009.
The gentle, fragile sound of the keyboard and the distorted guitar tones tighten the heart.
In the season when powdery snow falls, I want to listen to this song, hoping my feelings reach that special someone.
[For High School Students] Depression Songs That Stay Close to Your Feelings [Tough] (11–20)
carnationShiina Ringo
This is Shiina Ringo’s 11th single.
It was also used as the theme song for a morning drama of the same title.
It begins with a dreamlike intro, and the vocals continue as if reading a story aloud.
It’s a piece with a gentle atmosphere that conjures images like a starry sky and, with its relaxed rhythm, quietly gives you courage.
moonlightOnitsuka Chihiro
Chihiro Onitsuka is a female singer-songwriter who made her debut at age 19 with her first single, “Shine,” released on August 9, 2000.
It’s a medium-tempo ballad that longs for liberation from oppression and was used as the theme song for the TV Asahi drama Trick.
The track is characterized by a sentimental sound woven from acoustic guitar, violin, and piano, along with Onitsuka’s clear, translucent vocals.
It starts straight from the chorus, transitions into the A and B sections, then returns to the chorus.
Perhaps due to the wide-ranging melody and grand accompaniment that together create a profound world, you lose your sense of time as you listen.
Spring GoesAimer
Aimer is a female singer who made her major debut in 2011 with “Rokutousei no Yoru / Kanashimi wa Aurora ni / TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR.” This song was used as the theme song for the fantasy anime “Fate/stay night [Heaven’s Feel] III.
spring song.” Its sound, which resonates with the heartstrings, leaves a strong impression, giving the feeling of being guided into another dimension.
It’s a beautiful track brimming with a mystical, fantastical atmosphere!
Tree of WadatsumiHajime Chitose
This is the debut single by Chitose Hajime, a singer from Amami Ōshima in Kagoshima Prefecture.
According to composer-lyricist Gen Ueda, it was created with the image of “a woman who loves someone so deeply that she turns into a flower,” and the poignantly heartrending lyrics leave a strong impression.
Enveloped by a tranquil, solemn atmosphere surrounding two people who, for certain reasons, could not be together, Chitose Hajime—renowned for her overwhelming vocal power rooted in the folk songs of Amami Ōshima—delivers the song with her distinctive vocal flourishes, culminating in a piece that conveys both strength and an almost divine radiance.