50 Songs About Growing Up, Getting Older and Kids Who Grow Too Fast

What is the best song about growing up?

For a nostalgic look back, "7 Years" by Lukas Graham walks through a whole life in one song, and "The Circle Game" by Joni Mitchell has been the gentle classic on the subject for over fifty years. From a parent's side, "Slipping Through My Fingers" by ABBA and "Never Grow Up" by Taylor Swift are the songs people reach for when it hits them how fast kids grow.

Classic songs about growing up

1. "The Circle Game", Joni Mitchell: the seasons of a life, from boy to man.
2. "In My Room", The Beach Boys: the teenage refuge we all had.
3. "My Generation", The Who: a defiant anthem of youth.
4. "It Was a Very Good Year", Frank Sinatra: a life told one age at a time.
5. "Puff, the Magic Dragon", Peter, Paul and Mary: about leaving childhood behind.
6. "Both Sides Now", Joni Mitchell: how life looks different with age.
7. "In My Life", The Beatles: the people and places that made you.
8. "Vienna", Billy Joel: a reminder not to rush through your twenties.
9. "Landslide", Fleetwood Mac: about getting older and being afraid of change.
10. "Forever Young", Alphaville: a synth-pop wish that time would stand still.

Rock songs about youth and looking back

11. "Summer of '69", Bryan Adams: the best days of a teenage summer.
12. "Glory Days", Bruce Springsteen: old high school stories retold.
13. "Jack & Diane", John Mellencamp: two kids in a small town, and life going on.
14. "Night Moves", Bob Seger: looking back on teenage summers.
15. "When You're Young", The Jam: the restlessness of being young.
16. "Alright", Supergrass: carefree and loud.
17. "The Middle", Jimmy Eat World: for every teenager who does not fit in yet.
18. "Dammit", Blink-182: a pop-punk song about growing up.
19. "In This Diary", The Ataris: nostalgia for high school and the friends you had.
20. "Photograph", Nickelback: old pictures, old haunts and old friends.

Modern songs about growing up

21. "7 Years", Lukas Graham: a life told by age, from 7 to 60.
22. "Ribs", Lorde: about being afraid of getting older.
23. "Stressed Out", Twenty One Pilots: the pressure of adulthood and missing being a kid.
24. "Growing Up", Macklemore and Ryan Lewis featuring Ed Sheeran: a father's letter to his daughter.
25. "Castle on the Hill", Ed Sheeran: driving home to where it all started.
26. "Fifteen", Taylor Swift: what she wishes she had known at fifteen.
27. "22", Taylor Swift: the carefree side of your early twenties.
28. "Kids", MGMT: a dreamy look back at childhood.
29. "Patience", Tame Impala: about time passing faster than you would like.
30. "Wake Up", Arcade Fire: the moment childhood ends.
31. "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman", Britney Spears: the in-between years.
32. "Little Me", Little Mix: advice to a younger self.
33. "Best Day of My Life", American Authors: young, hopeful and loud.
34. "Unwritten", Natasha Bedingfield: about the open road ahead after school.

Country songs about growing up

35. "Don't Blink", Kenny Chesney: an old man's advice about how fast life goes.
36. "You're Gonna Miss This", Trace Adkins: enjoy the stage you are in.
37. "Letter to Me", Brad Paisley: a letter to his teenage self.
38. "The House That Built Me", Miranda Lambert: going back to your childhood home.
39. "Springsteen", Eric Church: how one song brings back a teenage summer.
40. "Remember When", Alan Jackson: a whole life, looking back.
41. "Humble and Kind", Tim McGraw: what parents hope their kids take with them.

Songs about kids growing up too fast

42. "Slipping Through My Fingers", ABBA: a mother watching her daughter leave for school.
43. "Never Grow Up", Taylor Swift: a wish to keep a child small a little longer.
44. "Cat's in the Cradle", Harry Chapin: a warning about missing it.
45. "There Goes My Life", Kenny Chesney: from surprise baby to leaving for college.
46. "My Wish", Rascal Flatts: a parent's hopes for the road ahead.
47. "Butterfly Kisses", Bob Carlisle: a father and daughter, from bedtime to the wedding.
48. "Turn Around", Harry Belafonte: one minute small, the next grown.
49. "Sunrise, Sunset", from Fiddler on the Roof: parents at a wedding, wondering where the years went.
50. "Forever Young", Rod Stewart: a parent's blessing for the years ahead.

What is the best song for a growing-up slideshow?

For a slideshow at a graduation party, an 18th birthday or a wedding rehearsal dinner, mix two moods. Start light, with "Kids", "Best Day of My Life" or "In My Room" over the baby and toddler pictures. Move to "7 Years", "Never Grow Up" or "Slipping Through My Fingers" for the school years. End warm with "Forever Young" or "Unwritten" over the most recent photos. Three songs of about three minutes each fit roughly 150 pictures at four seconds per photo. Put the photos in order before choosing the music, then mark where each song should change so the mood shifts with the years, not halfway through the toddler pictures.

Sad songs about growing up

Some songs about getting older are bittersweet on purpose. "Ribs" by Lorde captures the fear of leaving childhood, "Landslide" the fear of change, "Patience" the feeling that time is moving too fast, and "The Circle Game" the quiet sadness of seasons turning. "Cat's in the Cradle" is the one that makes parents put their phones down. They are better for a quiet evening than a party, but they are often the songs people remember most.

Songs for every milestone

• Turning 13: "Best Day of My Life", "Kids" or "The Middle".
• Turning 16: "Fifteen" (one year late, still perfect), "Summer of '69" or "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman".
• Turning 18: "Unwritten", "Forever Young" or "Letter to Me".
• Turning 21: "22" (a year early), "Glory Days" for the parents in the room.
• Turning 30: "7 Years", "Stressed Out" or "Vienna".
• Turning 40 and beyond: "It Was a Very Good Year", "Don't Blink" or "Both Sides Now".

Songs about growing up in a small town

For anyone who grew up where everybody knew their name: "Small Town" by John Mellencamp, "Jack & Diane", "Castle on the Hill", "The House That Built Me" and "My Hometown" by Bruce Springsteen all bring back the main street, the friends and the summer nights.

Songs about leaving home

When someone is moving out for college, a job or a new city, the songs that fit best are about looking forward and looking back at once: "Castle on the Hill", "The House That Built Me", "Unwritten", "Landslide" and "In My Life". Our list of graduation songs has many more for the end of high school and college.

Songs about growing up with friends

Many of the best growing-up songs are really about the friends you had at the time: "Summer of '69", "Glory Days", "Jack & Diane" and "Photograph" are all about a group of kids who thought it would last forever. If you are putting together a reunion playlist, start there. See also our songs about best friends.

Songs for a son or daughter growing up

If you are looking for songs from a parent to one child in particular, we have dedicated lists of songs for your son and songs for your daughter from dad, with picks for birthdays, graduations and wedding dances.

A song about their own childhood

Every song above is about someone else growing up. A personalized song can tell the story of your child, or your own: the first steps, the nickname nobody else uses, the bike with the bent wheel, the summer at grandma's, the first day of school and the day they left home. It makes a moving gift for an 18th birthday, a graduation or a milestone birthday, and a perfect soundtrack for the slideshow. See our guides to a graduation song for a daughter, a graduation song for a son and the best 18th birthday gift for a daughter.

How to create a song about growing up

1. Choose a style from 14 genres: acoustic, pop, country, rock and more.
2. Add the name of the person it is about.
3. Share three memories from different ages, each with one concrete detail.
4. Review the lyrics and edit or regenerate them for free before any music is made.
5. Listen to 4 free 45-second previews and choose your favorite.

The full 3 to 4 minute song costs $24.99, or $29.99 for Premium with four full versions and editable lyrics. You get the MP3, a gift page and the lyrics as a PDF.

Turn their story into a song: create a song and hear four previews for free.