School’s out and summer’s in for second and third level students across Northern Ireland.
For final year students, this marks the end of their academic journey. A wave of newly-graduated teens and young adults will be closing one chapter and looking ahead to the next once they’ve completed their final exams.
Read more:Club bangers every millennial will remember from the 2000s
Graduation is a bittersweet life stage for most school and university students. Even those ready to toss their books and study notes into the fire are sad they’ll no longer get to spend hours of every weekday with their best mates.
The mixed bag of emotions that come with leaving school or uni often can’t be explained through words alone. That’s why the graduation song was born.
In recent decades, many final year groups have found themselves adopting a song that captures the bittersweet reality of growing up. This has served as a sort of theme tune they’ll always share – even when their school days are a distant memory.
(Image: Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group/Getty Images)
Even those who graduated from a school that didn’t formally recognise the concept can be brought back in time with a song released in or popular throughout their final year.
For the time of year that’s in it, we decided to look back at the most popular graduation songs of recent decades.
From cheesy pop friendship anthems, existential alternative, hopeful synths, solemn farewells and inspirational lyrics, these are the songs that embody the memories, anxieties and dreams graduates have shared through the years.
Take a listen and let us know in the comments which song takes you back to your final school days.
Lulu – ‘To Sir With Love’ (1967)
Wang Chung – ‘Dance Hall Days’ (1983)
Cyndi Lauper – ‘Time After Time’ (1983)
Alphaville – ‘Forever Young’ (1984)
Simple Minds – ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ (1985)
Dionne Warwick – ‘That’s What Friends Are For’ (1985)
The Sundays – ‘Here’s Where the Story Ends’ (1990)
Rusted Root – ‘Send Me On My Way’ (1990)
Boyz II Men – ‘It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday’ (1991)
The Cranberries – ‘Dreams’ (1993)
Green Day – ‘Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)’ (1997)
Semisonic – ‘Closing Time’ (1998)
Spice Girls – ‘Goodbye’ (1998)
Vitamin C – ‘Graduation (Friends Forever)’ (1999)
Jimmy Eat World – ‘The Middle’ (2001)
Kelly Clarkson – ‘Breakaway’ (2004)
Natasha Bedingfield – ‘Unwritten’ (2004)
Ronan Keating – ‘I Hope You Dance’ (2004)
Nickleback – ‘Photograph’ (2005)
Miley Cyrus – ‘The Climb’ (2009)
Jay-Z ft. Mr Hudson – ‘Young Forever’ (2009)
Dr. Dog – ‘Where’d All the Time Go’ (2010)
Taylor Swift – ‘Long Live’ (2010)
Fun ft. Janelle Monáe – ‘We Are Young’ (2012)
Katy Perry – ‘Roar’ (2013)
OneRepublic – ‘I Lived’ (2014)
One Direction – ‘History’ (2015)
Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth – ‘See You Again’ (2015)
Love nostalgia? Sign up here for our free newsletter to get the best of nostalgia delivered right to your inbox.
