The Best Songs About Growing Up & Coming of Age
42 SONGS
9342 VIEWSGrowing up is a time of change and transition. For many people, it's a time when they're discovering who they are and what they want to do with their lives. It can be a confusing and overwhelming time, but it can also be exciting and full of possibilities. It's a time when you're discovering who you are and who you want to be. And for many of us, music is a big part of that journey. There are plenty of songs out there that capture the ups and downs of growing up. From coming-of-age anthems to odes to teenage angst, these songs perfectly sum up what it's like to grow up. Growing up is full of ups and downs, and there's a song for every moment. For the highs, there are songs about feeling invincible and unstoppable. For the lows, there are songs about heartbreak and pain. But through it all, there are also songs about hope, resilience, and finding your way. Whether you're going through a tough time or just enjoying the ride, here are the best songs about growing up that will speak to you.
If you're after songs about growing up, then you'll find it in many 90's alt-rock songs like this. This like, many songs, is about making the transition from youth to adulthood. The lyrics powerfully resonate with how it feels to be a teenager, and how adulthood feels like a distant dream. One from which we are safe from in our own small adolescent bubble.
You can't have a "songs about growing up" list without "Forever Young". An instantly recognisable classic about not only the celebration of youth, but perhaps more about the fear of ageing and death. The song is incredibly unique as it makes you feel both happy and sad at the time, and often makes you reflect on ones youth and own mortality.
A sentimental, somewhat depressing song about failed childhood dreams. It speaks about a commonplace, adult reality of not realizing the potential of that you thought was possible when you were just a just a kid - and the disappointment that may follow.
While we're on the theme of growing up and staying young, Lourdes 'Tennis Court', touches on a very familiar feeling here. She uses a Tennis Court as symbolism of nostalgia in her childhood, and was recorded after she had gone mainstream, thus already having great success. The song tries to remind the listener of savouring youth and appreciating how great things are before they inevitably change.
This song is about the inevitability of change. It's about how things will never be the same, and how we have to keep moving forward even when it's hard. It became an anthem and antidote for the culture of frustrated youth. Although the song doesn't necessarily speak about growing up, given it's broad nature about change, it can be easily interpreted in that way.
This song is a nostalgic look at summertime and adolescence. It's about being young and carefree, and feeling like those days will never end. It touches on the feeling of looking back and wanting an ex back in your life, which is a feeling that touches all of us. It's one of classic coming of age songs about growing up.
A beautifully written, coming of age song, that paints a picture of Marling's figures, she once held as idols, as no longer being her saviours. It resonates deeply with growing up and the general feeling of revery once one becomes older and looks back on our potentially disillusioned selves.
This song doesn't touch on enduring friendships or youth culture, but more on on the anticipation of a father, meeting his son for the first time. It speaks about the feeling of wanting to be a parent as you grow older, and how even the anticipation of that can make you feel different and create change.
The title of this, means it requires little explanation. However it touches on Julia wanting so badly to get out of the suburbs, meet cool friends, and perform around the world. But after she got it, then wanting to be back and learnt how to appreciate the quiet of where she used to grow up.
At its heart, this song is about a break up. David Bowie's lyrics in this can be quite ambiguous and even a little ridiculous at times, however if stick with it, you'll realise quite quickly that this song is about heartbreak. A feeling everyone can feel nostalgic about, back when we were only kids and were teenage sweethearts.
This song is more about staying young forever so you can party, have fun and cause a ruckus. Which hey, although may not be the most groundbreaking message, is something we all related with at a young age.
This song is all about finding your place in the world. It's about being caught in between childhood and adulthood, and feeling like you're just trying to figure everything out. In terms of growing up songs, it doesn't get much relatable than this. With lyrics that are rooted in the feeling simply 'trying to fit in' and a coming of age music video featuring a boy in his teenage years.
This song touches on a slightly unique theme of growing up, that one, being of guilt. Often when we are young, we make decisions that are uneducated, rash or poor. Whether it be a bad break up, hurting a friend or being selfish, these are things we can often look back on with guilt, often in an unspecified manner.
The lyrics, "I'm just a kid, and my life is a nightmare" are incredibly recognisable and relatable, making this one of the most famous songs on this list. The song paints a picture of a teenage kid waiting alone at night for his friends to call him, but the call never comes and he has to spend another night on his own, with his thoughts. It's the perfect growing up song as it's a feeling we've all been through.
A poetic song where Joni speaks of her own journey from childhood to adulthood. She uses the now somewhat famous carousel metaphor, as a direct link to life. We can look back, but never go back, and we can get off whenever you want. It's an incredibly moving song and touches on a variety of themes around growing up.
Lily Allen wrote this song as a direct apology to her brother, as she often felt she had been unfairly cruel or mean to him when they were children growing up. This is a feeling any sibling can probably relate to, and is one generally everyone grows out of.
Often up for speculation, this song recounts Ludacris childhood and the pain he felt in maturing and becoming an adult, especially in a single-parent home. It also touches upon the importance of having a tight, close-knit crew as you grow up and the effort they had to go, simply to make ends meet.
One of the iconic songs about growing up, it is simply an anthem of the joys of being a youth. It has everything you need to be look back at your younger self and be reminded of your own youth - that being less consideration, less care, and more fun.
A great song that touches on teenage isolation and depression. The 'light' they speak of in the song could possibly mean many things, but my take on the lyrics has always been that there is always some form of light, in terms of hope and excitement, however as you grow older that light diminishes and is replaced by anxiety, cynicism and nerves.
A poignant song about growing up and the natural feelings one may have, when they reach the age your parents were, when they had you. The songs meaning is often up for debate but at its core, is possibly an introspective exploration on the meaning of your life. And if this is the case, then what one had to sacrifice to get there. It weighs up the consequences of selfishness and at what point in time these are realized.
One of the best songs of all time full stop, but it also speaks about youthful naïveté, mortality and emotional repression. It is quite an ambiguous song, but it feels like it touches on familiar feelings of life, being a grown up but still having some semblance of that inner child.
This song is more about growing up in the generation of smart phones and social media. It essentially acknowledges that there is much more to life than participating in social media, and often speaks quite literally with lyrics like "when I look up from my phone".
This song is centered around the age-old problem of 'getting a proper job', especially in an artists life. Often music isn't seen as a proper job, so this song deals with the bands anxiety they faced surrounding whether or not their trajectory or life path would be deemed a success.
An ode to everyday life, being stuck in the repetitiveness, mundaneness of life. The lyrics "You're a slave to money, then you die." make the message of the song clear, and were inspired by his fathers death, who died suddenly after hating his job his entire life.
You can't have a 'growing up' list, without some killers. Their music often touches on some nostalgic feeling of life, and "When you were young" is no different. This song was written by all of the members of The Killers, and deals with the feeling of bring grown up, moving on in the world and the perceptions of your youth as you look back.
A song that is about getting older and reconnecting with old friends. It's a very upbeat, energetic song to listen to, with a deep yet somewhat ambiguous meaning about the different stages of life.
One of my favourite growing up songs all time, this song is the ultimate feel good song about not necessarily youth, but the feeling of starting each day or chapter of your life, a new. The lyrics "Live your life with arms wide open, today is where your book begins, the rest is still unwritten", although quite simplistic is an incredibly philosophical message and has surely helped many listeners through tough times.
A beautiful, softly spoken piano song that speaks of childhood imagination and the coming of age as one enters their teenage years, marking the beginning of adolescent confusion. Like many of these songs about growing up, it touches on themes of years going by fast, indecision and love.
Turning 30 is a song full of energy, and has a feeling of celebration more than anything else. Although the lyrics speak to looking back at earlier years with fondness, it reminds the listener to realise you have much more life left to live, regardless of your age.
This song speaks less about growing up, and more about the importance of keeping some connection to your childhood imagination and sense of wonder. With the lyrics "Don’t stop imagining. The day that you do is the day that you die‘”, it's clear that the artist is reminding us to take a moment and reflect on days goes by, and bringing some of that into your adult life.
A self-proclaimed ode to childhood imagination and friendship and all the charm that goes along with it. It speaks about a child's journey and the celebration as one grows up, and the old healthy connections and relationships you've made through the course of your life.
This songs speaks about the finality and importance of decisions you make in your life. In life every decision we make, determines some form of history, that stretches back in time, and cannot be changed. He uses this song to recount some of the lessons learned along the way.
This song about growing up was actually influenced by the bass players', Mark Hoppus frustration with always been told he was immature and that he had to grow up. The song takes you on a journey of how it feels to grow up from his perspective. It's an incredibly well-known song, with powerful lyrics, and one of Blink-182 best songs of all time.
A song about the nerves involved in telling a friend that you like them, and whether or not they have reciprocated feelings. The perfect song about growing up as it encapsulates the nervous energy we have all felt when faced with this predicament. Clairo commented on the song stating: "It’s definitely about me learning to be comfortable in a place of the unknown and kind of just letting something be, and being okay with not knowing the outcome of something".
Surprise surprise, this song is about growing up. This song is about Springsteens time during school, where he often felt like a social outcast at school, and disappointment at home. His father, coming from traditional roots, wanted him to get a real job and how he felt at odds when trying to pursue his childhood dreams.
This song is a bittersweet look at graduation and the end of childhood. It's about moving on to the next phase of life, and leaving (or not leaving) your friends behind after you graduate and move on. The song is incredible upbeat and fun and signifies a large part of growing up - that being enjoying certain stages of life while you're in them, and also saying goodbye that stage with friends.
Written from the perspective of a teenager growing up and feeling safe and at home in his bedroom. An extremely relatable feeling that everyone experienced during their teenage years. Brian Wilson actually suffered from agoraphobia so he wrote this song to give listeners an impression of how he felt at the time. It's the perfect narration about the pains of growing up and is must have in this list.
This song is a perfect example of the teenage angst that comes with growing up. It's about being young and in love, and feeling like you're on top of the world. It looks back on youth as the glory days, and while the lyrics are somewhat nonsensical at times, it sticks to the listener like glue.
Quite a unique song, in that the lyrics tell a story of various moments in the singers life. Starting at 7 years old, all the way through to 60, it's an interesting tale from the perspective of a then 20 year Lukas Graham, who wrote it when his father passed away at the age of 61. It definitely makes you think about short life is, and to remember the important moments when they're right in front of you.
Although this is predominantly a song about being trapped in middle-class America, it touches on many themes core to growing up and getting older. The lyrics are quite ambiguous but it is said to centered around the theme of mounting pressures as you get older to settle down and 'breed' so to say. "Breed, plant a tree, build a house" is an ode to this feeling of entrapment.
A somewhat depressing song about getting and feeling older. Specifically about feeling old in a relationship, and having "in between day" girls to help with the pain of growing old. It's definitely not a fun song, but speaks to the complications of adult life and growing pains.
One of the more famous, sentimental songs about growing up in this list. Its lyrics are incredibly relatable to anyone over the age of 20 really, and talks about how much faster time seems to go as you grow older. I believe another similar metaphor for this is the toilet paper unrolling, it starts to unroll faster and faster.