School shows up in music for all kinds of reasons, from crushes and class trouble to memories that stick with you long after graduation. These songs about school cover those moments, whether it’s a rush of teenage nerves, a tough lesson, or the weird pride that comes from surviving it all. If you’re compiling a playlist for going back to school or just feeling nostalgic about the good old days, this list has you covered.
Be sure to check out the Songs About School Playlist at the bottom of this page.
Best Songs About School
1. “We’re Going to Be Friends” – The White Stripes
Lyric Sample: “We will rest upon the ground, and look at all the bugs we found.”
This 2000s acoustic track captures the sweet, simple anticipation of the first day of school. The lyrics follow a child’s observations and excitement as he makes a new friend.
Related: Best Songs About Friendship
2. “Hot for Teacher” – Van Halen
Lyric Sample: “I think of all the education that I missed, but then my homework was never quite like this.”
Van Halen’s hit uses playful humor to describe a student developing a crush on a teacher. The entire premise revolves around a young man’s distracting infatuation.
3. “Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)” – Pink Floyd
Lyric Sample: “We don’t need no education, we don’t need no thought control.”
This ’70s classic is a famous protest against oppressive school systems. The song’s massive chorus features a children’s choir chanting their frustration.
4. “Smokin’ in the Boys Room” – Brownsville Station
Lyric Sample: “To get caught would surely be the death of us all.”
“Smokin’ in the Boys Room” is a hard rock song about students secretly breaking the rules during class hours. It’s a slice of teenage rule-breaking that plenty of people can relate to.
5. “Be True to Your School” – The Beach Boys
Lyric Sample: “Be true to your school, just like you would to your girl or guy.”
The Beach Boys celebrate school pride with their bright surf-era sound. It’s all about supporting your team, cheering from the stands, and sticking up for your classmates.
6. “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” – The Police
Lyric Sample: “Temptation, frustration, so bad it makes him cry.”
“Don’t Stand So Close to Me” is about the uncomfortable situation and forbidden attraction between a young female student and her male teacher. The song describes the teacher’s growing anxiety about the inappropriate interest.
7. “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School” – Ramones
Lyric Sample: “I just wanna have some kicks, I just wanna get some chicks.”
The Ramones’ 1979 punk rock track is a celebration of music as a preferred alternative to academics. It celebrates the loud, restless energy that often defines high school.
8. “Fifteen” – Taylor Swift
Lyric Sample: “‘Cause when you’re fifteen and somebody tells you they love you, you’re gonna believe them.”
Taylor Swift looks back at freshman-year friendships and first heartbreaks. It’s a pop song about growing up, learning who you are, and figuring out who to trust.
Related: Best Songs About Growing Up
9. “High School Confidential” – Jerry Lee Lewis
Lyric Sample: “They’re boppin’ at the high school hop.”
This 1958 hit is built around teenage nerves and a packed high school dance. It’s filled with the youthful excitement that defined early rock music.
10. “Campus” – Vampire Weekend
Lyric Sample: “How am I supposed to pretend I never want to see you again?”
This 2008 indie rock song details the anxious experience of trying to avoid a crush while repeatedly running into them on a college campus.
11. “School’s Out” – Alice Cooper
Lyric Sample: “Well, we got no class, and we got no principals.”
Alice Cooper’s biggest hit is the ultimate celebration of the last day of school. The song became a summer staple thanks to its loud, triumphant release from homework and rules.
Related: Best Songs About Summer
12. “High School Never Ends” – Bowling for Soup
Lyric Sample: “The whole damn world’s just as obsessed with who’s the best dressed and who’s havin’ sex.”
“High School Never Ends” riffs on the idea that cliques and gossip follow people long after graduation. The song uses high school tropes to show how adulthood sometimes feels the same.
13. “School Days” – Chuck Berry
Lyric Sample: “Ring, ring goes the bell, the cook in the lunchroom’s ready to sell.”
Berry walks us through a typical school day in the ’50s, from crowded hallways to daydreams of the weekend. His storytelling helped define early rock and roll’s take on teenage life.
14. “ABC” – The Jackson 5
Lyric Sample: “A, B, C, easy as 1-2-3, as simple as Do-Re-Mi.”
While the title focuses on basic education, this 1970s pop hit uses the concept of learning to explain how easy love should be. The group uses the basics taught in school as a metaphor for uncomplicated romance.
15. “Teenage Dirtbag” – Wheatus
Lyric Sample: “I’m just a teenage dirtbag, baby.”
“Teenage Dirtbag” is about an outsider who feels invisible until he finds someone that changes everything. The song became a staple for anyone who felt out of place in high school.
Related: “Teenage Dirtbag” Song Meaning
16. “Harper Valley PTA” – Jeannie C. Riley
Lyric Sample: “The day my mama socked it to the Harper Valley PTA.”
This country hit centers on a woman who confronts hypocritical members of her daughter’s school’s Parent-Teacher Association. It’s a critique of small-town judgment and double standards.
Related: Grammy Record of the Year
17. “Teacher” – Jethro Tull
Lyric Sample: “Jump up, look around, find yourself some fun.”
This unique blues-rock track is about a charismatic but selfish mentor who exploits his followers. narrator follows the mentor’s lessons only to realize the “teacher” ultimately profited from the arrangement.
18. “Baggy Trousers” – Madness
Lyric Sample: “Baggy trousers, dirty shirt, pulling hair and eating dirt.”
Madness’ 1980 ska track is all about mischievous and carefree antics in a British school. It’s a look back on playing pranks, defying authority, and learning how to “bend, not break the rules.”
19. “High School” – Kelsea Ballerini
Lyric Sample: “But this ain’t high school, where all you care about is if the pretty cheerleader thinks you’re cool.”
This 2017 country song is about someone who is stuck years after graduation, trying to relive their glory days and high school identity. Ballerini sings about how the world feels “cruel” when people cling to the easy popularity they had in their teenage years.
Related: Songs About Growing Up
20. “Back to School (Mini Maggit)” – Deftones
Lyric Sample: “So why don’t you run? So why don’t you run back to school?”
This nu metal track is about school politics, social pressure, and pushing back against expectations. It’s about the rougher side of going back to school and wanting out of the whole scene.
21. “What I Go to School For” – Busted
Lyric Sample: “The only thing that matters is the girl who wears the glasses.”
“What I Go to School For” is a pop-rock song about a student whose only reason for attending class is his crush on his teacher. It details his pursuit and his belief that the teacher secretly returns his interest.
22. “Beauty School Dropout” – Frankie Avalon
Lyric Sample: “Beauty school dropout, no graduation day for you.”
This classic doo-wop song from Grease features a cautionary figure, Teen Angel, advising a young woman who has quit her education. He delivers a warning about avoiding responsibility and urges the student to return to school.
23. “To Sir With Love” – Lulu
Lyric Sample: “But how do you thank someone who has taken you from crayons to perfume?”
Lulu thanks a teacher who changed her perspective and helped her grow in this 1960s pop hit. It’s a song that honors the mentors who leave a lasting mark on their students.
24. “Wonderful World” – Sam Cooke
Lyric Sample: “Don’t know much about history, don’t know much biology.”
Sam Cooke uses school subjects as playful comparisons for falling in love in his R&B classic. It’s a sweet, simple take on understanding love even when the classroom makes no sense.
25. “Graduation (Friends Forever)” – Vitamin C
Lyric Sample: “As we go on, we remember all the times we had together.”
This late-’90s hit captures the mix of excitement and sadness that comes with finishing school. It became a graduation staple thanks to its focus on friendships and the future.
Related: Best Songs About Nostalgia
26. “The Headmaster Ritual” – The Smiths
Lyric Sample: “Belligerent ghouls run Manchester schools, spineless bastards all.”
This 1980s rock track criticizes the physical and emotional abuse inflicted by strict, uncaring authority figures in the British school system. It’s biting commentary wrapped in the band’s signature style.
27. “Flowers Are Red” – Harry Chapin
Lyric Sample: “Flowers are red, young man, and green leaves are green, there’s no need to see flowers any other way.”
Chapin’s 1978 folk song is about a boy whose creativity gets shut down by a strict teacher. The song raises questions about how adults shape a child’s confidence.
28. “Back to School Again” – Four Tops
Lyric Sample: “All summer long I was happy and free, save my soul, the board of education took away my parole.”
This song from the Grease 2 soundtrack captures the dread of summer ending. The song’s perspective humorously shifts when the narrator realizes that a girl he likes is also headed back to school.
29. “No Such Thing” – John Mayer
Lyric Sample: “I wanna run through the halls of my high school.”
Mayer rejects the pressure of adult expectations and the idea of a fixed life path in his 2001 hit. He sings about wanting to revisit his old school to tell everyone that the “real world” they were told about does not exist.
Conclusion
School gives songwriters plenty to work with, from hallway crushes to late-night doubts to victories that still feel good years later. The educational setting provides a perfect backdrop for stories about first loves, youthful rebellion, and the search for identity. These tracks prove that whether you hated it or loved it, those formative years stick with us forever.
If you enjoyed this list, you might also like our picks for Songs About Growing Up, Songs About Nostalgia, or Songs About Friendship.
