List of graduation songs
This is a list of songs that are typically played during graduation ceremonies.
Popular traditional graduation songs by country or region
- Europe: "Gaudeamus Igitur",[1] "Farandole from L'Arlésienne Suite No. 2"
- Latin America: "Triumphal March from Aida"[2]
- Japan: "Hotaru no hikari" (Uses the same tune as "Auld Lang Syne),[3] "Aogeba tōtoshi",[4] "Tabidachi no Hi ni"[5]
- The Philippines: "Triumphal March from Aida",[6][7] "Pomp and Circumstance Marches", and "Farandole from L'Arlésienne Suite No. 2"
- Taiwan: "Auld Lang Syne"[8]
- US and Canada: "Pomp and Circumstance Marches",[9] "Land of Hope and Glory"[10]
- Sweden: "Den blomstertid nu kommer", "I denna ljuva sommartid", "Studentsången"
- Russia: "March from The Nutcracker"
- Arab World: “Wehayat Albi” by Abdel Halim Hafez
Modern (20th century or later) graduation songs
- Graduation (Friends Forever), a song by Vitamin C[11]
- Time of Your Life (Good Riddance) by Green Day
- 10nen Sakura, a song by the Japanese idol group AKB48 released in 2009.
- "Next In Line" by Afterimage
- Through the Years, a 1981 song by Kenny Rogers
- Goodbye to You by Michelle Branch, released in 2002
- "The Whispering Wind" (earlier billed as "Whistling Wind"), "The Last Rose", and "All Those Years Ago" by Michael Flatley, released in 1998, 2005, and 2011
- Santorini by Yanni
- ”When We Were Friends” a song by Adam Fecht and Elizabeth Swearingen released in 2018 has received over 500,000 hits on YouTube.[12]
- Unwritten, a song by Natasha Bedingfield.[13][14]
- Я смотрю на них by Tarakany!
- Giovinezza (graduation song), 1909 Italian student hymn
- "Ingatlah Hari Ini" (Remember This Day), by Indonesian Pop Group Project Pop
- "At the Cross Where Phoenix Flowers Bloom" (Chinese: 凤凰花开的路口; pinyin: Fènghuáng huā kāi de lùkǒu), originally sung by Terry Lin[15]
References
- ↑ Dunaevsky, Valery (2015-10-28). A Daughter of the "Enemy of the People". Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 9781503574908.
- ↑ "Marcha y Grados de Bachiller - eltiempo.com". 7 November 1997.
- ↑ "Hotaru no Hikari - Everything2.com". www.everything2.com.
- ↑ Kyodo News, "Popular school song traced to 19th-century U.S. book," Japan Times, 26 January 2011, p. 2.
- ↑ "Japan Trivia: Teacher, principal in Saitama Pref. quickly penned hit graduation song". Mainichi Shimbun. 28 February 2024. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
- ↑ "The Most Popular School Graduation March Song/Music In The Philippines". Archipelago Files. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
- ↑ Bermosa, Nobert. "The Definition of Common Graduation Terminologies and Other Related Matters". Knoji. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
- ↑ 粵曲詞中詞初集(增訂版) (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 獨立作家－心一堂. 2015-04-01. ISBN 9789888316571.
- ↑ Leskin, Thomas (4 June 2011). "History behind the graduation anthem". The Republican Herald. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
- ↑ Fagan, Joshua (May 17, 2024). "How a British military march became the distinctive sound of American graduations". The Conversation. Retrieved June 18, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Thomas, Sean (2010-06-10). Boo Boo Stewart. Penguin. ISBN 9781101442128.
- ↑ "Graduation Song". adamblueproductions.com. 2018-01-01. Retrieved 2018-01-01.
- ↑ "20 Best Graduation Songs of the Last 20 Years". Rolling Stone. 18 May 2020.
- ↑ "These Sentimental Graduation Songs Will Set the Tone for the Big Day". 6 April 2021.
- ↑ "人民日报客户端：厦大学子毕业MV，从标题到结尾，每一秒都是故事-厦门大学新闻网". news.xmu.edu.cn. Retrieved 2026-05-12.