Songs that help you work hard. Cheer songs for working people.

Hymn to LaborMomoiro Kurōbā Zetto

[Momoclo MV] Labor Anthem / Momoiro Clover Z (MOMOIRO CLOVER Z / Roudou Sanka)

“What am I working for, anyway…?” When you’ve been working for a long time, you can’t help but think that sometimes, right? In this song, “Rōdō Sanka” (Hymn to Labor), it feels like it’s saying we work so that we can shine, and to help someone and see their smile.

It’s a truly wonderful song that looks beyond the act of working itself, so if you’re feeling unmotivated at your job, please give it a listen! The song was released in 2011 as the sixth single by Momoiro Clover Z.

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sasashina

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For the dreamPUFFY

Puffy – For the Dream

PUFFY often appeared on music shows wearing worn-in jeans and white-based T-shirts, and I can’t help thinking that very sense of laid-back ease is exactly what people working hard right now need.

Their 10th single, “Yume no Tame ni” (“For a Dream”), is just the kind of song that gives listeners a gentle boost.

It’s produced by Masanori Sasano, known for working with bands like Spitz and UNICORN, and he’s been involved with other PUFFY tracks as well.

The easygoing, cheer-you-on lyrics—“Even when things are tough, all you can do is keep trying.

For a dream”—are, of course, by Tamio Okuda.

It’s a song I want you to listen to when you’re in the mood to be enveloped in that blissful sense of relaxation.

revolutionMOROHA

MOROHA – Revolution / THE FIRST TAKE

MOROHA is a two-man rap group that captivates fans with intensely message-driven lyrics that seem aimed not only at listeners but at themselves as well.

Their track “Kakumei” (“Revolution”), included on their second album MOROHA II, was selected as the ending theme for the TV drama Miyamoto Kara Kimi e (From Miyamoto to You).

Its message—that it’s precisely because we face hardship that we can truly feel alive—can be the spark that helps you stay positive when work is tough.

It’s a stirring number you’ll want to hear when you’ve lost sight of what you were seeking.

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Hoshino Takashi

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memoriesŌtsuki Maki

memories / Maki Otsuki (One Piece ED) @ Fino.

Maki Otsuki’s “memories” gives me the strength to try again when work gets tough.

Released in 1999 as her debut single, the song was used as the ending theme for the anime One Piece.

It portrays someone who has worked hard to make their dreams come true, only to find that reality often doesn’t go as planned—and in those moments, they recall the time when they were purely chasing their dreams.

It’s a song that makes you feel like it’s okay to pause when things are hard, look back a little on how far you’ve come, and then start walking forward again.

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SAKI

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Rising SunEXILE

EXILE / Rising Sun -short version-

The song “Rising Sun” is EXILE’s 37th single, released in 2011.

It’s also well known as a charity song for the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

The title “Rising Sun” represents the sun that rises.

People often say things like, “It’s tough now, but the sun will rise again,” as a way to encourage someone.

Many working people have circumstances that force them to keep going even when it’s hard, and reasons they can’t show weakness.

This is a cheering song I hope you’ll listen to in those times.

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utatane

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2 a.m. and a highballnakigoto

2 a.m. and a highball

On the way home after a shift, the 2 a.m.

air mingles with the languor of a highball.

It’s a song about a night like that—one almost everyone has lived—by the female rock duo Nakigoto.

Written by Emiri Minakami with the aim of creating a “song that saves,” it beautifully captures the delicate moment when, in the depths of dejection, an offhand word from someone close suddenly lifts you up.

First released on the September 2019 mini-album How to Make the Night, it was later re-included on the full-length album NAKIGOTO,.

If you listen on a night when work has drained you and you’re on the verge of losing sight of your own worth, won’t you find yourself in the protagonist, and feel—somehow—that you can get through tomorrow?

Hourly Wage Up-Up SongYuuyami ni izanai shi shikkoku no tenshi-tachi

Jet-Black Angels Lured by the Twilight: 'Wage Raise Raise Song' Music Video [dip Baitoru tie-in song]

This is a song by Yuuyami ni Izayoi Shi Shikkoku no Tenshi-tachi, originally created as a campaign song for the job listing service “Baitoru.” It feels like those casual chats with coworkers—like, “If my hourly wage goes up, I could buy that!”—have been turned straight into music, and the humor-filled worldview is irresistible.

Channeling the honest hopes shared by everyone who works into a loud but somehow pop-tinged sound, this track grabs listeners by the heart.

First included on the mini-album “Shichiseikatsu” released in July 2022, it was later re-recorded for the best-of album “10th Anniversary: Yuuyami ni Izayoi Shi Shikkoku no Tenshi-tachi,” making it one of their signature songs.

Listen to it on your way home after a tiring shift, and you might just feel the energy to take on tomorrow!