Music is the food for the soul, and nothing compares to a song that resonates with an experience you’ve had. A song has a way of expressing a feeling or an emotion fascinatingly.
Artists have an uncanny ability to compose music and tunes that brings a vibe to a particular season – able to take an ordinary event or moment and display it in an expression of poetry that captures your imagination. You will find songs across all genres that bring and stir emotions of a particular season.
Here, we have sampled a collection of the top songs about seasons which are diverse in their genre and message.
Best Songs About Seasons
“Summer” – Calvin Harris
“Summer” put the Scottish DJ Calvin Harris in the spotlight as it hit the UK singles chart as the number one single and reached a top ten position on the Billboard Hot 100. “Summer” was released on March 14th, 2014. It’s a pop track that paints a picture of summer, remembering a tale of two lovebirds that fell in love in that season.
“A Winter’s Tale” – Queen
Nothing is captivating as imagery expressed in a poetry-rich song. “A winter’s tale” does not disappoint in this respect. Queen beautifully enters the world of a dreamer and paints a picture of winter and an introspective feeling that comes with it. The song was originally composed by Freddie Mercury, and he died before its release in 1995. Queen, however, picked up the challenge, and the song is mostly attributed to him.
“Spring Break Anthem” – The Lonely Island
The Lonely Island is a hip-hop group based in California. The group was formed in 2001 by its three members; Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone, and Andy Samberg. In the song “spring break anthem,” the trio portrays an image of spring joy, with the recklessness of youth, partying and hype, and irresponsible behaviors like sex, drugs, and alcohol.
“Autumn Almanac” – The Kinks
The” Autumn Almanac” is a classic rock released in 1967 by The Kinks. Though it did not make it to the Billboard Hot 100, it reached number three on the UK singles chart, and it’s still relevant to date. The song depicts a feeling of the Autumn season with its different colors and serene weather.
“The Boys Of Fall” – Kenny Chesney
If you are a country music lover, then this is the song for you. “the boys of fall” is a country motivational song, and Kenny Chesney beautifully merges the bliss and the feeling of fall with the reality of an American football player and the determination and sweat that goes into the game. The song was recorded by Kenny Chesney and released in 2010 from the album “Hemingway’s Whiskey.”
“Winter Things” – Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande is a new pop star whose songs target the young generation. In “winter things,” released in 2015, she talks of her homecoming lover and the things they’ll do in winter. It is winter, but she can’t feel the cold, perhaps because of the excitement of her homecoming love.
“Lies of Summer” – Aimee Mann
“Lies of Summer” is a single from the album “Mental Illness” released in 2017. The name of the song is poetic and quite catchy. Mann refers to a boy as a menace and a lier in society and the consequences likely to follow him. She cautions that when he dies due to his behaviors, he will be forgotten. Aimee Mann is a pop-rock artist from Virginia, her music is sorrowful, but she is a good narrator and storyteller.
“In The Summertime” – Mungo Jerry
“In the summertime” is a best-selling single of all time. It was released in 1970 and recorded by Mungo Jerry, a rock band from Britain. Their lead singer, Ray Dorset, wrote the song, and it brings a “don’t care” attitude that comes with summer. It has reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Girls In Their Summer Clothes” – Bruce Springsteen
Released in 2007 from the album Magic, girls in their summer clothes is a song of a wishful thinker who would rather sit aside and observe rather than engage In action. Bruce Springsteen is quite a narrator, and the song shows his unmatched ability to tell a story in remarkable detail.
“Summer of ’69” – Bryan Adams
“Summer of ’69” was written by Jim Vallance and Bryan Adams as a song of conflicting decisions to follow your career or settle down. It was released in 1985 as the fourth single of the album reckless. It is a hype rock song, and the video is so vibrant that it will get you off your seat.
“Summertime” – Sam Cooke
This iconic song dates to a 19th-century Ukrainian folk song and lullaby that George Gershwin turned into a jazz standard in 1935. Adding the summery lyrics to the melody has inspired countless later versions of “Summertime” that span genres.
Sam Cooke, one of the foremost masters of soul music recorded his version of “Summertime” in 1957, transforming it from jazz to a sensually slow soul song. “Summertime” was one of Cooke’s first recordings as a solo artist, released the year he broke away from the gospel group, the Soul Stirrers.
“Sunny Afternoon” – The Kinks
Written by the Kinks’ lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist Ray Davies in 1966, “Sunny Afternoon” mocks the problems that come from materialism and financial success through the point of view of a wealthy aristocrat. Davies wrote it in the morning from an extravagant home, making a farse of his success and material possessions.
“Sunny Afternoon” also marks a stylistic transition from the upbeat, bubble-gummy early 60s singles the band released to a more psychedelic and Avant guard style. The title may not allude to a season, but the chorus repeats “summertime.”
“Winter” – The Rolling Stones
Ironically, “Winter” was written and recorded by the Rolling Stones during their stint in Jamaica. Mick Jagger and temporary guitarist Mick Taylor wrote the song to express their love-hate relationship with the winter season.
Released in 1973 for Rolling Stones’ 13th studio album, Goat’s Head Soup, “Winter” gets overshadowed by the chart-topper “Angie.” The song complains about harsh cold winters that can’t be over soon enough while also describing beautiful winter holiday scenes that evoke nostalgia and endearment for the cold weather months.
“Wintertime” – Norah Jones
A sorrowful, lovesick song, “Wintertime” is a single on five-time Grammy winner Norah Jones’ 2019 compilation album Begin Again. Jones writes about winter being the hardest season to get through when going through the heartbreak of losing a partner.
Winter is a dark time figuratively and literally for Jones as she clings to the light of a single candle to lead her through the cold, dark season of loneliness.
“Late Winter, Early Spring (When Everybody Goes to Mexico)” – John Denver
From folk and country singer John Denver’s chart-topping album Rocky Mountain High, “Late Winter, Early Spring (When Everybody Goes to Mexico)” is one of five songs about seasons changing on the album’s B-side dedicated to the seasons.
The other four songs with seasons in the lyrics describe every full season with poetic elegance, while this ode to the period between two seasons is an instrumental song. It’s a mix of folk guitar picking and country melody that flows gently and invokes the bright promises of spring that emerge as the last winter snows melt.
“It Might as Well Be Spring” – Nina Simone
Written by famed musical play writers and composers Roger and Hammerstein, “It Might as Well Be Spring” was an Academy Award-winning song written for the 1945 movie, State Fair. Over the following decades, many artists covered this song, including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and the famous Bossa Nova duo Getz-Gilberto.
The iconic Nina Simone released “It Might as Well Be Spring” on her diverse 1959 album entitled The Amazing Nina Simone, featuring a unique multi-genre list of songs. Like many country songs about seasons, the song describes springtime feelings of restlessness and eagerness for a new chapter.
“Spring Among the Living” – My Morning Jacket
Recorded for Indie rock band My Morning Jacket’s 2015 album The Waterfall, “Spring Among the Living” shares the album’s overall theme of rebirth. The album reached number 11 on U.S. Billboards.
The song combines various musical styles, from folk to psychedelia to R&B. The lyrics are optimistic, expressing gratitude for the arrival of spring. Lyricist and singer Jim James describe animals emerging from winter hibernation holes just as he also rejoices to come out of his dark winter isolation to reconnect with his social life by joining the living.
“Autumn in New York” – Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong
“Autumn in New York” is both a show tune and jazz standard written in 1934 by famed composer Vernon Duke. Its popularity in the Jazz world has produced countless covers from all the historical jazz greats. The version from the famed duet Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong debuted on the 1957 album Ella and Louis Again.
The song describes the fall in New York as a romantic and glamorous season filled with endless possibilities of love mixed with endearing nostalgia.
“Autumn Leaves”- Ed Sheeran
“Autumn Leaves” is a bonus track on Ed Sheeran’s 2011 debut studio album, + (plus), which also marked his big break as a successful commercial artist. The song is a soulful poem Sheeran sings solo accompanied by his acoustic guitar.
The imagery of autumn leaves as the last remaining remnants of the past season’s fruits is a metaphor for love lost. The song is both sad and hopeful, referring to an overwhelming desire to be with a loved one that is no longer there but appreciates the time shared when they were.
“Summer in the City”- The Lovin Spoonful
The Lovin Spoonful’s biggest hit and only song to reach the top spot on US Billboards, “Summer in the City” is an upbeat rock n roll homage to urbanity. Released in 1966, this song was originally written by lead singer and songwriter John Sebastian’s younger brother Mark. the elder brother adapted the lyrics and melody to the hit song we all know today.
The song describes a sizzling concrete jungle in the summer heat by day, cooling off for a fun all-night dance party.
“Summer Love”- Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake wrote and released “Summer Love” for his 2006 album FutureSex/LoveSounds as a catchy pop song about steamy summer flings. The song is a certified platinum song that reached the top of the Billboard Pop Songs chart and number six on the Top 100 Billboard.
Timberlake narrates a typical summer romance wherein he catches a glimpse of an attractive woman driving a convertible and the subsequent pursuit of her heart, attention, and body. It’s a light-hearted, youthful song that describes a relatable lust for teenagers and young adults.
“Summertime Sadness” – Lana Del Rey
For most people, summer is joyful time of year. Not Lana, who can’t help thinking ahead to a time where her present happiness has left her. Although her “bad baby” is everything she dreamed of, she feels as if their relationship is bound to end, and so can’t quite let go and enjoy their summer together. “Kiss me hard before you go,” she sings. Lana described this mood, pervasive across her debut album, as ‘Hollywood Sadcore’.
“Solar Power” – Lorde
“I hate the winter, can’t stand the cold,” sings Lorde on “Solar Power.” Any guesses for her favourite season? This sun-soaked single was the title track to her 2021 album, which saw the singer embracing the summer season and living her best life on the beach. Two major female artists sang backing for Lorde on this track: Clairo and Phoebe Bridgers.
“Solar Power” ushered Lorde fans into a new era of the singer’s music, much sunnier and more rooted in the natural world than anything the singer had delivered before. Ironically, Lorde came up with the concept for the sunny album on a trip to Antarctica. She describes being “dazzled” by the environment and wanting to create something celebrating nature.
“Autumn Love” – Tyson Motsenbocker
Singer-songwriter Motsenbocker describes a cosy sort of love in this fall-inspired track. He and his lover find themselves wandering around their town, watching the leaves fall and feeling generally content.
“I was waiting so long to be alone with you in an autumn love,” he sings. Fall is the season for beginning to bunker down against the cold, and Motsenbocker is apparently all for it.
“Never-Ending Summer” – Wes Reeve
Many artists use summer to describe the warmth and joy of being in love. Reeve is so happy with her lover that it feels as if summer will never end. When she sees her partner in her mind’s eye standing in their future home, she feels overcome by the feeling. “We’ll never be apart, our endless holiday,” she tells him.
“Heat Waves” – Glass Animals
Glass Animals can’t stop thinking about “late nights in the middle of June”. Singer Dave Bayley can’t stop thinking about a heat wave that hits – not the stretch of a few hot days that the term is usually used to describe, but a shimmering kind of heat that distorts what he sees in front of him.
It’s an illusion – just like the relationship he finds himself. They’ve both been kidding themselves that Bayley can give his girlfriend what she needs, but the thought is faking them both out.
“Autumn” – Paolo Nutini
This mournful, piano-driven tune from Nutini describes his grandfather, who passed away when Nutini was 12 years old. His grandfather was the figure who introduced Nutini to music whilst he was babysitting his grandson.
He was a formative figure for Nutini in other ways, as one of Nutini’s earliest understandings of grief was watching his grandfather cope with the loss of his grandmother. Nutini uses the nostalgic season of “Autumn” to paint a vivid picture of his grandfather. “All these autumn leaves are yours tonight,” he sings.
“Spring Vacation” – The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys describe a relaxing vacation in this upbeat, springtime tune. “Spring vacation, good vibration,” they sing. This holiday is going to combine the fresh feelings of spring with summer weather, and The Beach Boys are ready to put the past behind them and enjoy where life is taking them.
“august” – Taylor Swift
“august” sees Swift singing about a summer love affair turned sour. The protagonist enjoys a sun-kissed romance with the boy she loves – but it was never meant to last, because the boy was never meant to be hers. He loves someone else, and when summer ends, he goes back to her. “So much for summer love and saying ‘us’,” sings Swift mournfully.
This track from 2020’s folklore is part of a trilogy within the album that follows a high school love triangle. The other two tracks are each in the voice of another player in the triangle – James, the boy in “august” who returns to his high school girlfriend, and Betty, the girlfriend. The girl in “august” is not given a name.
“July” – Noah Cyrus
The summer Cyrus describes isn’t a happy one for her – July brings a break up with her long-term boyfriend due to their toxic dynamic and his alcohol issues. “You remind me every day I’m not enough, but I still stay,” sings Cyrus. Ultimately July brings a necessary change for Cyrus, but she’s still in mourning. “You know I’m afraid of change,” she tells him.
Although the break-up in question occurred in July 2018, Cyrus didn’t write “July” until July 2019, when she found herself reflecting back on the relationship.
“Seasons” – Said The Whale
“I always thought that winter was for lovers,” sing Said The Whale in this sweet acoustic track. “’Cause when else is a body’s warmth so warm?” The band can’t decide on this for sure, however.
They consider that maybe spring is for lovers because the world around them is blooming, or summer, because of the longer days that allow for more time spent outdoors together, or fall, because that’s when the leaves stop being green and show newer colours. The lack of a final decision leaves the listener suspecting that the love they’re singing about is thriving in every season.
“we fell in love in october” – girl in red
Fall is always going to bring fond memories for girl in red, because that’s when she fell in love. She can’t stop singing about her girl and how glad she is that they met. The Norwegian singer-songwriter knows that even though the two of them might be in the honeymoon stage currently, she’s in it for the long haul.
The repetition of “my girl” throughout the song sees her owning the relationship and literally being able to shout about it, something she had struggled with in the past.
“April” – Beach Bunny
April showers mark another year since Beach Bunny’s Lili Trifilio lost someone she loved, and they still won’t pick up the phone to her. Now she spends every spring “counting tears, wishing you were here.” She’s sick of mourning the relationship and wanting to be what they want, but she can’t seem to break the cycle.
“Our Last Summer” – ABBA
ABBA sing of a past romance doomed to fail in this nostalgic summer track. The lyrics were largely written by Bjorn Ulvaeus as he reminisced about a teenage romance in Paris. In the film and stage musical Mamma Mia, the song is repurposed to reference Donna’s relationship in her younger years with Harry – a character whose name came from “Our Last Summer.”
“Cool For The Summer” – Demi Lovato
The work of Swedish producer Max Martin, “Cool For The Summer” sees Lovato taking on a carefree, open-minded persona in order to enjoy the warmer months. The song depicts a summer fling, and was a move into a far more adult sound for the ex-Disney star. Lovato acknowledged the change by explaining that whilst she took being a role model seriously, she also wanted her music to be representative of “the badass that I am.”
“Spring Wind” – Jack Johnson
This acoustic tune from Johnson is something of an epic, with the singer describing a man growing older and thinking about what might have been. “I no longer see our unborn children, born to you my unwed wife,” he sings. He’s got used to loneliness – the spring wind has blown his to-do list away, and now he’s just existing day to day.
“Wake Me Up When September Ends” – Green Day
Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong wants to hide away and sleep through the fall. After the loss of his father, the singer finds it hard to face the outside world and decides he’s better off hibernating this autumn. “Wake Me Up When September Ends” was written two years after the death of Armstrong’s father. “20 years has gone so fast,” he sings.
This emotional track was originally supposed to appear on the 2002 album Shenanigans. However, Armstrong didn’t feel that he was in the right place to record it, and so the band held onto the track for 2004’s American Idiot. The music video doesn’t focus on Armstrong’s relationship with his father, instead turning its attention to America after the September 11 attacks.
“Spring” – Saint Etienne
Spring is often used as an image for youth, a time of birth and blooming in which the rest of the year is still all to come. Saint Etienne leans into this in “Spring”, where she assures the boy she loves that what he feels for the girl who came before is only a springtime love.
“With the love I’ve got, you’ll forget about her,” she sings. The other girl might have been the early first bloom of love, but Saint Etienne thinks that she and the boy could have something deeper and more real.
Final Thoughts
Whether you prefer the warmer or colder seasons, a good playlist is a must, to walk through sunny streets with or bunker down and listen to under your duvet. From sunny holiday tunes to mournful winter melodies, songs about the seasons can help to guide us through the calendar year and appreciate what is unique and beautiful about every change.
Caitlin Devlin is a music, entertainment and lifestyle writer based in London. When she’s not creating playlists for Repeat Replay, she’s reviewing gigs and interviewing artists for Ticketmaster UK and thinking about what her Spotify Wrapped will look like this year.