There haven’t been a ton of songs written about September, but it has inspired some of the most memorable music ever written about a specific month, covering everything from celebrations to grief.
Be sure to check out the Songs About September Playlist at the bottom of this page.
Best Songs About September
1. “September” – Earth, Wind & Fire
Lyric Sample: “Do you remember the 21st night of September?”
Earth, Wind & Fire’s disco-funk classic is a celebration of a night in late September that the singer can’t stop reliving, where the music and the feeling of being with someone made everything feel perfect.
Related: Best Happy Songs
2. “Wake Me Up When September Ends” – Green Day
Lyric Sample: “As my memory rests, but never forgets what I lost.”
Billie Joe Armstrong wrote this 2004 punk rock song about his father, who died of cancer when Armstrong was ten years old, and the way that grief shaped the rest of his life.
Related: Best Songs with Months in the Title
3. “September Morn” – Neil Diamond
Lyric Sample: “September morn, we danced until the night became a brand new day.”
Diamond’s 1979 pop ballad is about a spontaneous September night spent with someone, which was the kind of encounter that neither person planned and neither one will forget.
4. “September Gurls” – Big Star
Lyric Sample: “September gurls do so much.”
Frontman Alex Chilton wrote this 1970s power pop song while juggling relationships with several women who all shared September birthdays.
5. “September Song” – Willie Nelson
Lyric Sample: “Oh, it’s a long, long time, from May to September.”
Originally written for the 1938 Broadway musical Knickerbocker Holiday, “September Song” is about an old man courting a young woman, using September as a metaphor for how much time he has left and why she shouldn’t make him wait.
6. “Maybe September” – Tony Bennett
Lyric Sample: “Maybe September, I’ll love again.”
Written for the 1966 film The Oscar, the jazz-pop tune is about a heartbroken man holding on to the hope that September might be when love finally finds him again.
7. “September When I First Met You” – Barry White
Lyric Sample: “September, when I first met you. Remember?”
In his 1978 soul track, White sings about one of the most important memories of his life, describing the feeling of the day he first met the woman he loved.
8. “The September of My Years” – Frank Sinatra
Lyric Sample: “As a man who has always had the wand’ring ways, now I’m reaching back for yesterdays.”
This ’60s classic is about a man reaching middle age and taking stock, describing a life that moved fast and left a lot behind, but he’s finally comfortable with slowing down.
9. “September When It Comes” – Rosanne Cash ft. Johnny Cash
Lyric Sample: “Oh, I watch myself depending on September when it comes.”
This 2003 country folk song is about facing the end of something, Rosanne Cash recording it with her dying father as both a song about loss and a farewell.
10. “Try to Remember” – The Fantasticks
Lyric Sample: “Try to remember the kind of September when life was slow and oh, so mellow.”
This tune from the musical The Fantasticks uses September as a symbol of innocence, inviting the audience to remember when life felt simple and love felt possible.
11. “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” – The Temptations
Lyric Sample: “It was the third of September, that day I’ll always remember.”
The Temptations’ 1972 classic opens on the day a son’s father died and tells the story of a man who spent his whole life moving from town to town, woman to woman, leaving behind children who never really knew him.
Related: Best Songs About Fathers
More Themed Lists
Check out more of our Songs About the Months of the Year lists!
