80 Songs About Being Young

Being young is like wearing a superhero costume. You have special powers, boundless energy, and you can change the world—whether it needs changing or not. Plus, you look terrific in spandex. Enjoy your youth while it's here.

While some people trade in their cape for a business suit or mom jeans, others continue to keep it fresh on the inside. I hope you're one of them. Regardless of whether you're young or young at heart, celebrate the hope, freedom, and discovery of youth with a playlist of pop, rock, and country songs. We have a long list to start you out!

This rock song from 1988 is a warmhearted wish that a loved one will have all the best in life, from making the right choices to having the right attitude and spiritual guidance. Above all, it is a wish that he or she will maintain the wonder of a youthful heart, no matter their actual age.

May the good Lord be with you down every road you roam
And may sunshine and happiness surround you when you're far from home
And my you grow to be proud, dignified and true
And do unto others as you'd have done to you
Be courageous and be brave
And in my heart you'll always stay
Forever young. (Forever young)

According to this uplifting 2004 pop song, the true glory of youth is that your life is unwritten, a blank page, and you have the pen. Are you ready to write your story? The narrator encourages you to dig down deep and find who you want to be. Will you be a hero, rebel, jester, caregiver, explorer, or something else? Fully embrace your role(s) in life and remember that you are the author of your own life story.

A Grammy Award-winner and 2011 global hit, this pop song describes the blind confidence of being young, especially when you're surrounded by friends. The narrator and his friends are out on the town living it up, and they want to make sure that they each get home safely. The song was inspired by a night of heavy drinking.

Tonight, we are young
So let's set the world on fire
We can burn brighter than the sun.

Too often, people squander their youth wishing they were older then they spend their old age trying to recapture the magic of their younger years. This 2001 country song highlights the good parts about the narrator's growing up years. While in the rearview mirror it all seemed pretty good, you have to admit that mirrors are renown for their blind spots.

Most of the narrator's memories involve hanging out with his wannabe rebel friends. They donned rock and roll t-shirts and sported bad attitudes. In his mind, they'll always be young.

The young narrator in this 2010 hard rock song still searching for his identity. People are stepping over him, and all he wants is a little of the good life. Although he feels reluctant about acting, he knows that the only one who can make it happen is him. It's time to take a stand.

This 1982 rock song is a classic teenage anthem. It celebrates two 16-year-olds, a football star and his girlfriend. Jack and Diane live an idyllic, carefree life exploring their newfound independence and emerging sexuality before the full-time responsibilities of adulthood set in.

Since its release, the tune has become a cultural mainstay, and Jack and Diane have been mentioned in a number of pop, rock and country songs. How many of these songs that reference Jack and Diane do you know?

Trying to recapture the security of his childhood days, the narrator in this 2015 rock song raps that he wishes he could turn back time to the good old days. Instead of facing the pressures of adulthood, he wishes he could have the safety of his mother singing him to sleep and the stressfree days spent playing with his brothers.

Instead, he is faced with the adult reality of making money in a world where even his creativity provides little release. (Just wait until you have a house and kids of your own, buddy. That's when the real stress begins. No offense.)

Have you ever had a song that took you back instantly to your glory days? For the guy in this 2012 country tune, it's an old Bruce Springsteen soundtrack that does the trick. He's transported back to his 17-year-old self and the July Saturday night when he and a young love interest spent hours beneath the stars belting out Springsteen tunes.

That summer the narrator was the gasoline to her fire. Now, however, all that remains is his tattoo with her name on it and the memories. He's convinced that all these years later she'd still know who he was if he just whispered her name. I'd bet he's right.

This 2014 pop song is a youth anthem that captures the essence of today's generation. It proclaims that young people can break rules, question authority, and chart their own course but have to power through the dark times. With the energy and will of young blood running through their veins, today's generation can craft their own luck and find strength in one another as they rewrite tomorrow. Oh, the power and hope of being young and having the world at your feet!

Before they grew up and became men, the boys in One Direction were suggesting some adultlike hanky-panky in this 2012 pop song. Surely, they couldn't have been old enough to shave yet?

The song's narrator tries to talk a girl into sneaking out of her house all night long and making believe their attraction is love: "Tonight let’s get some and live while we’re young." When you're young, you often think with your britches, and if you're not careful, you can spend a lifetime dealing with the consequences.

Mesmerized by the invincibility of youth, the narrator of this 2010 electropop love song believes she's found the love of her young life. She feels ready to take a chance on the dream she's imagined with her partner. He's her missing puzzle piece, and their future all starts tonight. That's at least how she sees it.

This 2013 rock song has a contagious beat, and its young narrator is feeling powerful and unbeatable. In addressing his lover, he describes how their youth, raw power, and beauty makes them poised for victory. They'll discover that part of the challenge of being young volcanoes is not to destroy everything in your path with your ferocious energy.

Nostalgia runs thick in this country song from 2017. The narrator recalls that as a teen, he was in such a big hurry to grow up. He couldn't wait to have his driver's license when he was a 15-year-old just learning how to drive. After turning 16, however, he looked forward to turning 18, which would earn him an unsupervised Saturday night without a curfew.

As an 18-year-old, he had the right to vote and smoke but looked forward to turning the legal drinking age, 21. Rather than living in the moment, he always wanted something more.

Now as a married man reflecting on his life, he regrets not cherishing each life stage more. Do you value the life you have today, or are you instead too busy pining away for tomorrow?

Wanting to freeze time at age 17, the girl in this R&B song from 2016 is struggling with the reality that we must all grow up eventually. She wants to cling to the carefree, safe feeling of being young. She doesn't want to grow up. Although we can't stop time from ravaging our bodies, we don't have to let it diminish our spirits. How old do you feel on the inside?

If you pair off with someone at a young age, you are dedicating some of the best years of your life to them. Make sure they are worthy of your sacrifice. The narrator of this 2015 pop song clearly believes that his lover is. He proclaims, "my youth is yours" as he asks her to run away with him.

The smitten young man doesn't know what their future together holds—whether their love will last a short time or a lifetime. How their love story evolves could accordingly leave him feeling content or bitter. Let's hope he has decided wisely.

This 1983 pop ditty was an anthem for teen girls back in my day, and it's still just as catchy and relevant now. (Cyndi Lauper was "totally rad" in the 1980s with her nontraditionally colored hair, although that style is anything but shocking now.)

The song celebrates the partygoing lifestyle of a gal who stays out late and talks on the phone in the middle of the night, much to the chagrin of her parents. She wants to be the focus of attention and simply have fun. Who can blame her for that?

1956 was a very good year. That's when Ol' Blue Eyes recorded this jazz classic. One of his more famous numbers, the song features a narrator who professes feeling absolutely jubilant over his sweetheart:

You make me feel so young
You make me feel so spring has sprung
And every time I see you grin
I'm such a happy in-di-v i-du-al.

They run, sing, and play games like a couple of kids, and he knows that even when they're old she'll still keep him feeling young at heart.

In his real life, Sinatra was prone to bouts of mild to severe depression, was married four times, and had numerous extra-marital affairs. He did, however, remain close to his ex-wives, several of whom claimed they never truly emotionally broke up.

Recalling the love of his youth, the man in this 2018 country song reminds his old flame of their endless summers, their unbroken hearts, and falling in love for the first time. He remembers their relationship as an uncomplicated, magical love, in which they both felt invincible. Young people often do. Wistfully, he yearns to recapture that feeling but realizes on some level that the sense of being young forever will only be a distant memory.

The message behind this worldwide pop hit from 2012 is to make the most from today, living it like it's your last. The narrator depicts living life carefree, on the wild side. She and her friends engage in passion and dancing without caring who is watching. There may be hell to pay in the morning, but tonight they're young and living it up.

In this 2009 country tune, Taylor Swift paints the picture of herself as a high school freshman on the first day of school. Shyly, she tries to navigate the school's hallways, and later she learns to steer her way through friendships and dating relationships. Although at 15 years old she didn't know yet who she was supposed to be, she spent the next several years figuring her life out.