10 Songs To Listen To At Your Graduation

May. 24, 2011

By Ryan O'Connell info

I write and edit Thought Catalog. I'm a brat. Send me fun things at ryan@thoughtcatalog.com

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5. “Breakaway” by Kelly Clarkson

Confession: “Breakaway” was my graduation song! My BFF sang it at our high school graduation ceremony and it was a very emotional experience. The song is essentially all about moving out of your parents house and going away to college. I mean, she talks about spreading your wings and taking a risk, which loosely translates to moving into a 5 x 5 dorm room with a stranger who deals Ecstasy. Right?

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  • http://twitter.com/pillowfort Jonah Matthews

    less pages next time please

  • dorothytortoise

    so.. what is Jason Schwartzman's favy ice cream flavour?

  • SD

    less awful songs next time please

  • CC

    These are all so perfect and yes, Third Eye Blind's debut album is completely brilliant.

  • Joffré Leroux

    You might want to check the “Best before” date on that list of songs there.

  • Matt Dekneef

    Brought a tear to my 3EB eye. Also, for your consideration: Smashing Pumpkins “1979″.

  • ghostboy2112

    Ooh, you totally forgot 'Chasing Cars' by Imogen Heap. From The OC's EPIC Graduation! #tearz #marissaaaaa

  • Billy Joe

    The idea of Green Day's “Good Riddance” being used as a graduation song is so preposterous. My graduating class walked out to it and it was ridiculous. The song is not intended the way you described, but merely as a jab at their dissenting fans.

    Green day was going through a change, a musical development and were becoming a bit softer. Their lyrics and music were becoming more refined. That song is basically a big “F U” to the die hard  Green Day fans that were giving them flak about becoming soft.

    • Allison

      hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

    • pulpblood

      wait what?

    • Lux

      Bullshit. Billie Joe wrote it about a girl who was moving away from him…I can't remember the name and I'm too lazy to google it but I think she was moving to Carolina or somewhere. They already had a lot of softer songs before Good Riddance, and in fact they hadn't become 'softer' just more polished because they had an actual record deal. Sux2bu.

  • Rivera Diana 04

    i heard number 8 in my sophmore yr english class….i cried…i still get teary eyed. i love that song =]

  • Poob Smoad Attorney at Law

    Not that I want to discourage free expression, but I think at my own college graduation I'd be prone to avoiding songs I'd already been forced to listen to at my high school graduation.

  • http://twitter.com/no_cazador hunter ray

    Here's to the Night was my fucking graduation song -_-

    • DARKSTAR

      Mine too…

  • Amy

    The Tilly & The Wall song still gives me chills.

  • Stevie nix

    my graduation song (I graduated high school june 2010) was In My Life by The Beatles.
    All other graduation songs are invalid.

    • ~guest~

      2010, you don't count as a real human

  • Nigerian_prince

    Bullshit article.

  • Mish

    Wait… Ryan! What about sarah mclachlan's “I Will Remember You”?

  • Tiny

    LOVE this — but as an FYI, the Baz Luhrman “Wear Sunscreen” bit is actually originally from this:  http://www.chicagotribune.com/…

  • Kristy

    Omg stop!!!!!

  • http://twitter.com/sophiakiona Sophia Anderson

    I was going to comment with the ridiculous song that my classmates chose as our graduation song, but I actually can't remember the title or the band, just that it was awful. Some guy's band played a ska cover of it during the ceremony. It was all pretty embarassing.

  • http://twitter.com/melvinismad Melvin Alvarez

    Weird but after my graduation last Saturday, they suddenly played Party Rock Anthem! :D

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Steven-Timberman/922794 Steven Timberman

    That Tilly song feels like a perfect soundtrack to a life I didn't know I had lived.

    If that makes any sense.

  • http://twitter.com/benhRjr ben Raifsnider, jr.

    our class (of 2000) had a list of 4 songs to vote on. i nominated The Dance by Garth Brooks because i had a huge crush on GB, but it only got 1 vote (mine). also on the list was California Love by Tupac (still not sure why) there was another rap song i don't remember, but the winner was Count On Me from Waiting To Exhale. yeah, i went to that high school.

  • zoe

    graduating from high school tomorrow night EEK BIG WIDE WORLD

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