[For Middle Schoolers] Recommended Classic Songs to Sing at Graduation Ceremonies
Have you already decided on the song to sing at the junior high school graduation ceremony?
When you graduate from junior high, it’s common for classmates to go their separate ways.
While reaching this milestone brings joy, many students also feel the sadness of parting from friends they spent every day with, as well as anxiety about entering a new environment.
In this article, we’ll introduce a selection of graduation songs that resonate with those pre-graduation feelings, including timeless staples and popular tracks.
Use it as a reference to help choose music that will brighten your graduation ceremony!
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[For Junior High School Students] Recommended Classic Songs to Sing at Graduation Ceremonies (11–20)
If I had been living aloneSUPER BEAVER
This is the perfect song for anyone attending their graduation with the feeling that they are who they are today because of the people by their side.
Released as a single by SUPER BEAVER in June 2020, it was chosen as the theme song for the film “Fly Me to the Saitama: Water’s Flight” starring Ayami Nakajo.
The lyrics express gratitude for encounters with important people, as well as the joy and frustration that couldn’t have been experienced alone.
Riding on a powerful rock sound, the song conveys the value of staying true to your beliefs and the message that the driving force behind that resolve lies in your connections with others.
If you sing it while picturing the faces of those who supported you—classmates, teachers, family—it will surely move you.
It’s a number we highly recommend to anyone who wants the courage to step forward onto a new path.
Heralding springyama
Despite its bright title, this song stands out for lyrics that portray loneliness and inner conflict.
Released in April 2020 as yama’s first original track under that name, it grew popular mainly on YouTube and TikTok.
It peaked at No.
7 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, and its total streaming plays have surpassed 300 million.
The song depicts the protagonist chasing their dreams in a cramped room late at night, the fragility of connections on social media, and the pain of performing a perfect self—capturing the genuine feelings of today’s youth.
While it portrays the complex emotions where endings and beginnings intersect, its appeal lies in the resolve to accept them and move forward.
It carries a message that will resonate especially with those at the milestone of graduation, facing farewells to friends and anxieties about new environments.
The crystalline vocals and catchy melody will add color to the day you set out on your journey.
We againSG
A graduation song filled with memories and warmth that’s drawing attention is the work of SG.
Looking back on the carefree days, its gentle melody wraps around the feelings of parting and what comes after, warming the heart.
The lyrics, full of strength to move forward and hope for reunion, soothe many people as a piece that stands beside them at important milestones in life.
Since November 2024, it has also been featured in Calorie Mate’s exam-season support commercial, adding a new charm through a wind ensemble arrangement.
This piece was produced with the cooperation of the Hanazono Tokuei High School Wind Ensemble, and the music created together with the students delivers a moving resonance that crosses generations.
It is a fitting song to gently push you forward at graduations, farewell gatherings, and moments of parting with someone important.
Sakura RabbitKawasaki Takaya
Have you ever carried feelings you couldn’t express before graduation? In this song, Takaya Kawasaki portrays a protagonist who reaches graduation without ever saying “I like you” to the person they’ve admired for three years.
Comparing their timid self to a rabbit, the song’s world intertwines that image with the bittersweetness of cherry blossom season, striking straight at the heart.
Released in January 2021, it was also included on the June 2023 album Nukumori.
Kawasaki himself experienced an unrequited crush on a senior two years above him in high school, and later married her.
Reflecting that real-life experience, this work is compelling for its authentic emotional depiction.
It’s a song we especially recommend to anyone approaching graduation while keeping their feelings for someone secret.
Even if you can’t put it into words, it gently assures you that those feelings are never in vain.
To You — A Message for Your Departure
Anata e: A Message for Your Departure, a song presented by elementary school teacher Masako Tsutsui to her graduating students and widely known as a classic graduation song, carries a message for students who are closing the chapter of school life—filled with both joy and hardship—and standing at the threshold of a new beginning.
Its powerful yet beautiful piano melody is a hallmark, perfectly matching vocals that make use of the wide range of mixed male and female voices.
Singing clearly and with a strong, resonant voice will deliver a more compelling performance.
Beyond the tearsNakamura Hachidai
This song celebrates hope for the future and a forward-looking spirit.
Its lyrics capture the sense of anticipation for a brighter tomorrow and the radiant glow that comes from pure youth.
Released in November 1969 as Sing Out’s debut single, it became a major hit, selling 210,000 copies.
It was also frequently performed on NHK General TV’s music program “Stage 101,” leaving a deep impression on many people.
Cherished as a song for graduation ceremonies and choral performances, this piece is one I especially hope junior high school students about to take a new step will listen to.
Its powerful message of overcoming difficulties and moving forward will surely resonate in your heart!
[For Middle Schoolers] Recommended Classic Songs to Sing at Graduation (21–30)
Letter ~Dear You at Fifteen~Anjura Aki
Since it’s a song themed around being 15, it’s perfect for ninth graders.
It’s one of singer-songwriter Angela Aki’s signature tracks, released in 2008 as her eighth single.
Beyond her vocals, the beautiful piano tones are truly cleansing.
The lyrics depict writing a letter about one’s current worries to one’s future self—and the future self writing back.
It’s a masterpiece that middle schoolers, who are on the verge of becoming adults and moving toward the future, should definitely listen to.
