[Songs for May] Tracks that suit fresh greenery and driving & Mother's Day songs

Maybe Navymakaroni enpitsu

Macaroni Enpitsu Venue-Limited Single [Maybe Navy / enough] Trailer

This is a song by Macaroni Empitsu, a rock band known for its diverse musicality, thanks to its members who graduated from music college.

It was released in August 2016 as a venue-only single and was later included on the mini-album “s.i.n” in February of the following year.

A playful arrangement that incorporates the sound of the sitar and foreign languages rides atop a catchy melody.

The lyrics layer everyday scenes with the language of flowers, and many listeners will likely relate to the wavering feelings of love.

By the way, the iris that appears in the song is a flower that’s at its best around May.

It’s a track you’ll want to play with the windows down during a drive in the fresh, breezy greenery of the season.

With this piece as your BGM, even casual conversation might flow more easily.

May Wind part IIyoshida takurou

May Wind part II

This is the kind of track you’ll want to listen to in that season when you feel like heading out for a drive with a refreshing breeze on your face.

Featured on Takuro Yoshida’s concept mini-album “Radio no Yume,” released in November 2024, this piece is actually a song he originally co-wrote with Kazuhiko Kato in 1993, which he newly re-composed himself and recorded.

The band sound crafted by Satoshi Takebe is wonderfully comfortable, and it conveys a palpable sense of adult innocence and wistfulness.

Its worldview—where past quarrels fade away like a heat haze—will undoubtedly resonate deeply with listeners who have lived through many chapters of life.

How about taking a ride through fresh greenery while letting your mind wander to nostalgic memories? It’s a warm, highly recommended song that feels like a gift for everyone who loves radio.

carnationJanne Da Arc

carnation

On Mother’s Day, which falls on the second Sunday of May, you can’t help but want to express the gratitude that you’re usually too shy to say out loud.

The song that stirs up those warm feelings is this track included on the visual kei rock band Janne Da Arc’s album ARCADIA.

Released in July 2004, it’s a piece that graces the latter part of the album and can be considered one of the band’s hidden gems.

In contrast to the intensity you’d expect from a rock band, it’s a ballad whose gently plucked guitar tones and unadorned lyrics of love for one’s mother resonate deeply.

It delicately portrays the greatness of a parent that you only come to appreciate as an adult, as well as the childlike awkwardness that makes it hard to be honest, and just listening to it brings a slow, comforting warmth to the heart.

This May, why not listen to this song as if you were offering flowers to someone dear?

LONG WEEKENDthe shes gone

the shes gone「LONG WEEKEND」Music Video

This song by the rock band the shes gone is captivating for its sweet, gentle vocals and word choices that blend seamlessly into everyday life.

Released in November 2024, it was later included on the mini-album “AGAIN,” released in March 2025.

Imagined as an end-credits sequence for a film, this track is the band’s sweetest and most stylish to date.

Its brisk rhythm and pop approach that weaves in English lyrics will put a spring in the listener’s step.

The lyrics trace the fluttering excitement of love swaying through daily life, overflowing with a feel-good euphoria that makes you want to skip along.

It’s a perfect number for a May drive under dazzling fresh greenery or a laid-back day at a café.

Listen as you feel a pleasant breeze, and the everyday scenery might start to look just a little more special.

Symphony of MayHorigome Yasuyuki

Yasuyuki Horigome / May Symphony Music Video

When you think of a season made for driving, the fresh green of early summer comes to mind—and this is the perfect song for when you want to feel that May breeze.

It’s included on singer-songwriter Yasuyuki Horigome’s album “FRUITFUL,” released in April 2021, and it was also chosen as the ending theme for Nippon TV’s information program “Baguette.” Its world evoking an early-summer forest and dappled sunlight, along with the layers of chorus, feels wonderfully refreshing, as if simply listening sets your heart free.

Gentle yet powerful, this piece helps you forget the stifling routine of everyday life.

On a sunny day off, put this track on, roll down the windows, and dash through the fresh greenery.

It’s the perfect driving song that will make you want to sing along with the wind.

Paparampan PushIshikawa Seiya

[MV] Seiya Ishikawa – Paparanpan Push

It’s a song overflowing with positive energy that turns even everyday drowsiness and sluggishness into laughter.

It’s the second single released in March 2026 by Seiya Ishikawa, who’s also active as part of the comedy duo Shimofuri Myojo.

The title comes from a quirky wordplay he came up with in elementary school, and it features a rhythm that makes you want to hum along after just one listen.

The coupling track includes an acoustic version of his previous song “Okan no LINE,” offering a warm glimpse of family love.

It’s a recommended track as driving BGM to blow away the May blues, or as a prompt to express gratitude on Mother’s Day.

Mother’s Poem ~White Carnation~Kenjiro

[MV] Kenjiro/Mother's Poem (Uta) ~White Carnation~ (full ver.)

When it comes to May events, Mother’s Day naturally comes to mind.

In this song performed by Kenjiro, the lyrics—overflowing with gratitude for his late mother and regrets he could never fully express—are delicately depicted alongside the everyday scene of a flower shop in front of a station.

Kenjiro’s own experience of losing his mother shortly after his debut in 2009 overlaps with the song, and each unadorned word resonates deeply.

Released as a single in August 2020, the piece has been cherished and carried forward so much that an acoustic version was included on the following year’s single, “Fog Horn Lullaby,” in 2021.

If you usually feel too shy to put your feelings for your mother into words, why not let this song speak for you? And of course, make the gift a carnation.