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50 Graduation Songs That’ll Set the Tone for the Big Day

As Beyoncé sings, let’s “raise a glass to the college grads.”

By Shelby Copeland and Grant Rindner

Apr 7, 2022

graduates throwing mortarboards

Nay Ni Ratn Mak Can Thuk / EyeEmGetty Images

Graduates can officially mark the end of all their hard work and determination through study when the day to put on the cap and gown finally comes. There really is no better way to celebrate the occasion than by having the perfect playlist of tunes to soundtrack the memorable day.

This essential roundup of graduation songs for their party (virtual or otherwise) will help make the day feel special. Tracks like Vitamin C's "Graduation" mark the end of one chapter, whereas Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten" is ripe with inspirational quotes, making it the perfect tune to add to a slideshow.

That mix of excitement, apprehension, and bittersweet nostalgia for what came before has been explored in nearly every musical genre. Kanye West captured that poignancy on "Good Morning" (and even titled a full album Graduation), while country acts like LeAnn Rimes have celebrated the need for peers (and classmates) to help get you through on records like "Good Friends and a Glass of Wine." Benny Blanco and Juice WRLD even made a 2019 pop update on Vitamin C's classic, which is sure to be a favorite for Gen Z as they move through high school and beyond.

Even getting outside of explicitly graduation-themed music, artists like Paul McCartney and Britney Spears have recorded sentimental songs that tackle topics like the hope for brighter days ahead or the difficulty of life's transitional phases that would fit well into a graduation-themed playlist.

From sad and wistful to upbeat tunes , these songs will remind them that exciting adventures are still ahead. And if they don't, then surely whatever useful gift you pick out will.

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"Graduation (Friends Forever)," by Vitamin C

Release year: 2000

Inspiring graduation lyrics: "Keep thinking times will never change. Keep on thinking things will always be the same, but when we leave this year we won't be coming back. No more hanging out cause we're on a different track."

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"I Was Here," by Beyoncé

Release year: 2011

Inspiring graduation lyrics: "I wanna leave my footprints on the sands of time. Know there was something that meant something that I left behind. When I leave this world, I'll leave no regrets. Leave something to remember, so they won't forget."

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"Time After Time," by Cyndi Lauper

Release year: 1984

Inspiring graduation lyrics: "Flashback, warm nights almost left behind. Suitcases of memories, time after..."

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"Goodbye," by Spice Girls

Release year: 1998

Inspiring graduation lyrics: "Just a little girl, big imagination. Never letting no one take it away. Went into the world, what a revelation."

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"A Moment Like This," by Kelly Clarkson

Release year: 2002

Inspiring graduation lyrics: "Oh, I can't believe it's happening to me. Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this."

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"End of the Road," by Boyz II Men

Release year: 1992

Inspiring graduation lyrics: "Although we've come to the end of the road, still I can't let go."

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"I Will Remember You," by Sarah McLachlan

Release year: 1995

Inspiring graduation lyrics: "I will remember you. Will you remember me? Don't let your life pass you by, weep not for the memories."

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"See You Again," by Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth

Release year: 2015

Inspiring graduation lyrics: "Everything I went through you were standing there by my side. And now you goin' be with me for the last ride."

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"Unwritten," by Natasha Bedingfield

Release year: 2004

Inspiring graduation lyrics: "I am unwritten, can't read my mind. I'm undefined. I'm just beginning, the pen's in my hand. Ending unplanned."

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"Firework," by Katy Perry

Release year: 2010

Inspiring graduation lyrics: "You don't have to feel like a waste of space. You're original, cannot be replaced. If you only knew what the future holds, after a hurricane comes a rainbow. Maybe a reason why all the doors are closed. So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road."

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"Run the World (Girls)," by Beyoncé

Release year: 2011

Inspiring graduation lyrics: "I'm repping for the girls who taking over the world. Help me raise a glass for the college grads."

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"Live Like We're Dying," by Kris Allen

Release year: 2009

Inspiring graduation lyrics: "Yeah, we gotta start looking at the hands of the time we've been given. If this is all we got, then we gotta start thinking. If every second counts on a clock that's ticking, gotta live like we're dying."

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"Moment 4 Life," by Nicki Minaj

Release year: 2010

Inspiring graduation lyrics: "This is my moment, I waited all my life. I can just tell it's time. Drifting away, I’m one with the sunsets. I have become alive."

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"We Are Young," by Fun. ft. Janelle Monáe

Release year: 2011

Inspiring graduation lyrics: "We are young, so let's set the world on fire. We can burn brighter than the sun."

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"Whenever You Remember," by Carrie Underwood

Release year: 2005

Inspiring graduation lyrics: "Whenever you remember time's gone by, remember how we held our heads so high. When all this world was there for us, and we believed that we could touch the sky. Whenever you remember, I'll be there. Remember how we reached that dream together."

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"The Climb," by Miley Cyrus

Release year: 2009

Inspiring graduation lyrics: "There's always gonna be another mountain. I'm always gonna wanna make it move. Always gonna be an uphill battle. Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose. Ain’t about how fast I get there. Ain’t about what's waiting on the other side. It's the climb."

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"Schoolin' Life," by Beyoncé

Release year: 2011

Inspiring graduation lyrics: "You know it costs to be the boss. One day you'll run the town. For now make your life what you decide."

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"No Such Thing," by John Mayer

Release year: 2001

Inspiring graduation lyrics: "Well, I never lived the dreams of the prom kings and the drama queens. I'd like to think the best of me is still hiding up my sleeve. They love to tell you stay inside the lines, but something's better on the other side."

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"Started from the Bottom," by Drake

Release year: 2013

Inspiring graduation lyrics: "Started from the bottom, now we're here."

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"Wide Open Spaces," by Dixie Chicks

Release year: 1998

Inspiring graduation lyrics: "Who doesn't know what I'm talking about? Who's never left home? Who's never struck out to find a dream and a life of their own? A place in the clouds, a foundation of stone."

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"I Hope You Dance," by Lee Ann Womack

Release year: 2000

Inspiring graduation lyrics: "I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance. Never settle for the path of least resistance. Living might mean taking chances, but they're worth taking."

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"I Can," by Nas

Release year: 2003

Inspiring graduation lyrics: "I know I can be what I wanna be. If I work hard at it, I'll be where I wanna be."

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"I Lived," by OneRepublic

Release year: 2014

Inspiring graduation lyrics: "Hope when you take that jump you don't fear the fall. Hope when the water rises you built a wall."

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"Going Away to College," by Blink 182

Release year: 1999

Inspiring graduation lyrics: "I haven't been this scared in a long time, and I'm so unprepared."

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"Young Forever," by Jay-Z ft. Mr. Hudson

Release year: 2009

Inspiring graduation lyrics: "Just a picture-perfect day that lasts a whole lifetime, and it never ends cause all we have to do is hit rewind."

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“Life is a Highway,” by Tom Cochrane

Release year: 1991

Inspiring graduation lyrics: "We won't hesitate break down the garden gate. There's not much time left today. Life is a highway! I want to ride it all night long. If you're going my way, I want to drive it all night long."

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“I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman,” by Britney Spears

Release year: 2002

Inspiring graduation lyrics: "I'm not a girl, not yet a woman. All I need is time. A moment that is mine while I'm in between"

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“Lean on Me,” by Bill Withers

Release year: 1972

Inspiring graduation lyrics: “Lean on me, when you’re not strong. And I’ll be your friend. I’ll help you carry on. For it won’t be long ‘til I’m gonna need somebody to lean on.”

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“I Gotta Feeling,” by Black Eyed Peas

Release year: 2009

Inspiring graduation lyrics: “I got a feeling that tonight’s gonna be a good night. That tonight’s gonna be a good night. That tonight’s gonna be a good, good night.”

the wonder years, 'the upsides'

The Wonder Years, 'The Upsides'

"My Last Semester," by The Wonder Years

Release Year: 2010

Inspiring graduation lyrics: "And I don't make sense to anyone but my best friends / And I don't fit in anywhere but the back of the van."

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