8 Songs You Definitely Heard At Your Graduation

Summer is just around the corner. We know because it’s starting to get hot in here.

I’m sure we’re all so eager to hit the best beaches and, for students, finally get to sleep until noon and catch up on a year’s worth of sleep. But just before we get to that piece of paradise, a lot of us still have graduation ceremonies to get to.

It’s pretty fitting that we have an actual ceremony to mark the first day of the best season of the year, don’t you think? What’s a celebration without some music? And if you have to attend commencement ceremonies every year for the first 20 years of your life, I’m sure some of these songs have become totally iconic.

So, here are some of the songs that you definitely heard at your graduation:

8. The Journey by Lea Salonga

Because spending your formative years in an institution is definitely a journey, and it’s basically the reason it’s always present in graduation ceremonies. It talks about an end and a beginning, and not really knowing what comes next.

Plus, who doesn’t want Lea Salonga singing in the background of a ceremony?

“Where I’ll be tomorrow, I can only guess,” goes the song. ‘Cause we’ll either be sleeping until afternoon or already enjoying summer at the beach.

7. Next In Line by After Image

I have reason to believe that this is meant to be a reassuring song for new graduates. I think we can all agree that the Adult World is a scary place of bills, salaries, and a whole lot of responsibilities.

Although the song doesn’t really say anything about what the next step is going to be like, it does say that you’re all in it together–and you’re probably asking the same questions as the next guy. That’s a relief, isn’t it?

6. If We Hold On Together by Diana Ross

Another song about camaraderie. I’m starting to think that everyone at graduations knows how scary the real world is. But as the song goes, “If we hold on together, I know our dreams will never die.”

We sing along happily with this song, but at the back of our minds, we actually really hoping that our dreams really won’t die.

5. Farewell (To You My Friends) by Raymond Lauchengco

If there are songs about the friendships we’ve built in school, there’s also the song that practically says, “Good riddance!”

Of course, the song doesn’t ~actually~ say that. It’s actually an emotional song about finally saying goodbye to your friends and reminiscing those mischievous acts you did with your barkada.

Although it rarely makes you cry, because you know you’ll all still be seeing each other and be partying the next day.

4. Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson

Now, this is the song that usually makes parents cry. And why wouldn’t it? It’s about their little boy or girl who’s finally grown up and ready to take on the world independently. But parents know at the back of their minds that after graduation, their kid would still be living with them for the next few weeks and until an indefinite amount of time, amirite?!

3. Glowing Inside by Nikki Gil

Remember when this was in a shampoo commercial? I can never forget all those years we spent singing this song at commencement exercises and graduation ceremonies.

This one’s a staple for kids. I guess it’s really cute and heartwarming to see rows of children in freshly-pressed uniforms singing a song about how their parents made them “glow inside.”

This song is usually associated with both parents and teachers. It’s basically just saying thank you and giving all the credit to those people who worked hard for us to get our dreams.

 

2. Thanks To You by Tyler Collins

Here’s another staple song. A vivid memory involves numerous teens in the midst of puberty trying to hit those falsetto notes at the end of the song.

Yep, those presentations were something else.

But you’ve got to admit, it’s a pretty cool song to sing when you know your parents spent a whole lot of time, money, and effort to get you where you are now.

(Now I’m getting emotional. Love you, Mom and Dad!)

1. The Graduation March

Uh, duh?!

Since this one’s pretty self-explanatory, let me just give you a bit of trivia about this song.

It’s a part of a series of marches entitled “Pomp and Circumstance” which was derived from a Shakespeare quote. The part that we hear almost every year (which is 2 minutes well into the video above) was first played at a graduation ceremony at Yale University in 1905.

Bet you didn’t know that one. As they say, learning doesn’t end when you leave the classroom.

Well, that was quite a trip down memory lane. What did you think of this list? What other songs do you always hear at graduation ceremonies? Let us know below!