May is one of the best months of the year with flowers blooming, green grass, graduation parties, and proms happening. It’s the start of new beginnings, which is why you might want to hear songs that talk about it. Keep reading to find out what tracks made our list of the 15 best songs about May below!
1. May Queen – Liz Phair
First up on our list is May Queen by Liz Phair from Whip-Smart, which was her album released in 1994. It is all about her liking a guy for quite a long time, and when they see each other again, he is surrounded by tons of other women. Another part of this song references how he has had multiple women in his life, alluding to multiple sexual partners.
May Queen has a catchy melody, and the vibe is upbeat even though it’s dealing with this subject matter. This is one of those tracks you may end up playing while at a prom or other party in the early spring and summer months when you see people you haven’t seen in a long time.
2. Stormy May Day – AC/DC
AC/DC is on our list next with the song Stormy May Day, which comes from their 2008 album Black Ice. This track is very different from other songs that they have done in the past because you have Angus Young on the slide guitar, and it’s just interesting to listen to. This song is all about there being a big storm happening on this particular May day.
As it often goes, May is full of those spring storms, and this is the perfect track to listen to while one rolls by. Even if you’re not a fan of AC/DC, this is one of those songs that you can find yourself relating to during the early spring months when there’s just thunder and lightning all day and night long.
3. First Of May – Bee Gees
The Bee Gees are on our list next with the song First Of May, which comes from Odessa, their 1969 album. Barry Gibbs had a dog and its birthday was on May 1, which is where the title of the track comes from, even though the song itself is about your first love or teenage love. On the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, this landed at number 37, which isn’t surprising considering this track talks about love bringing everyone together regardless of how long it has been.
4. May 24 – Trophy Eyes
Next is May 24, which comes from the band Trophy Eyes on their 2013 album Everything Goes Away. This is a very emotional song that talks about looking back on May 24, when everything changed for the narrator. You can infer from the lyrics that this track is about being involved in drugs since there is a reference to the narrator seeing a needle in someone’s arm.
As the song progresses, you get the thought that he possibly saw someone overdose or go through some other very bad situation. While this is not an uplifting track, it’s a song about reflecting on some of the bad things we’ve all seen, such as someone we love going through the cycle of addiction.
5. 5 Days In May – Blue Rodeo
Blue Rodeo released 5 Days In May, which is all about how the singer of the band had met his wife, including the fact he met her while in a hurricane shelter. He talks about feeling like she is the one because she felt so familiar even though he didn’t know her. The couple felt happy when they were together, which is where the song title comes from. We all feel incredibly happy at the beginning of our new relationships, which is what this upbeat love track is all about.
6. Early Morning May – Ronald Jenkees
Next is Ronald Jenkees with the song Early Morning May, which came out in 2012 on the album Days Away. This track doesn’t have lyrics, and it’s completely instrumental, but you can feel the hint of May in this song even without words.
There is a feeling of being refreshed and renewed in the track, with the keyboard giving you feelings of hope and optimism as spring finally has arrived. While this might be an electronic song that’s all instruments, the emotions and feelings you get from it leave you feeling hopeful and happy for the future.
7. Maybe Next May – Secrets
Secrets released the song Maybe Next May on the album Fragile Figures, which was released in 2013. This track is all about a relationship that is about to end and the singer reflecting on how much he has done to try to keep that relationship going.
He has been trying to show her why they belong together, but she doesn’t think he truly loves her and begins to give up on their relationship. He realizes that he is going to have to just move on with his own life even if she isn’t a part of it anymore. There is a lot of regret and feelings of loss in this song, which is something we all can relate to.
8. May 16 – Lagwagon
You might not have ever heard of Lagwagon before, but they released a song called May 16, which was on the album Double Plaidinum. The title of the track refers to when the lead singer of the band ended up having a feud with his friends that led to a major fallout. This is a punk song that you’ll relate to in many ways. The lead singer had this falling out with his friends over what he calls a misunderstanding.
When all of his friends were getting married, he was never invited to the wedding. One of these weddings happened on May 16, and it left him sad and upset he wasn’t invited, although he mentions in the track being proud of all of his friends even from far away. We’ve all had friends we no longer associate with but are still happy and proud when we hear later in life how well their life is going, so it’s a beautiful song about still loving your friends long after you’ve drifted apart.
9. Month Of May – Arcade Fire
Next on our list is the rock band Arcade Fire with the song Month Of May, which comes from the hit album The Suburbs. This is all about living in Canada and feeling like it’s still winter even though it’s May and spring is here.
The lyrics mention how cold it is even in May, and then talk about how everyone is over being stuck indoors all winter and wants to get out and enjoy the warmer spring weather. Not only is this an upbeat track, but it’s very relatable if you live in an area where even the month of May feels cold and dreary, like winter.
10. End Of May – Michael Bublé
Michael Bublé released End Of May on the album Hollywood: The Deluxe LP back in 2010. This is a very emotional song that talks about loss and pain. In the track, a relationship ended at the end of May and now, there is a lot of heartache and pain as he tries to move forward with his life.
He sings in End Of May about how he’s good sometimes while other times, he is just filled with sadness and sorrow, and he is still trying to accept her not being in his life anymore. Instead of letting her know how much she hurt him, he mentions if he sees her again, he will just bring up how it feels like just another day to him and nothing special.
11. First Of May – Vents
Vents released First Of May in 2007 on the album Hard To Kill, and this band is from Australia, which might help you decipher what the song is all about. It talks about how you can change things and there is a lot of mention of society and where things are headed.
There are a lot of power struggles in violence in society, and this track is more of a deep and dark song that talks about how helpless it feels to be trying to change the world and not get anywhere. In the track, May Day is talked about, which is usually when a celebration happens, but instead, the song is using this day to tell people to be violent to fight back.
12. The May Queen – Robert Plant
Next up is Robert Plant with the song The May Queen, which is from the album Carry Fire. He sings this track about the person he is in love with and talks about how this woman helps bring the fire into his life. As the fire burns strong, he is willing to surrender to her, and he yearns for the love that she gives him and said it’ll never die. It relates to May because spring is that time of the year when you feel hopeful and like things will work out in your favor, which is what this song is alluding to.
13. May Queen – Heather Dale
Heather Dale is on our list with her song May Queen, which is about being in love with this man and how they both told each other they loved one another. However, the love the guy feels is more of a platonic love and not a romantic love like she thought.
The sad part is that she believes him to be her one true love, and he’s about to get married to someone else. This is a folk song that is all about wishing she was the woman the guy is marrying, even though she concedes this woman is great and she gets why he loves her.
14. May – Syn Cole
Next on our list is a record producer and DJ from Estonia named Syn Cole, who released a song called May on the album of the same name in 2015. He is more like an EDM artist given that he signed with the same label run by Avicii called LE7ELS. This is one of those songs that you listen to and then you think about the summer, all of the fun to be had, and it’s just a track that will make you feel upbeat and good about yourself and your surroundings.
15. Third Of May – Fleet Foxes
We have to conclude this list with the song Third Of May by Fleet Foxes, which comes from the 2017 album Crack-Up. This track is all about a relationship that the guitarist had with the frontman. There were a lot of issues between the two of them because of touring, and it led to them drifting apart, even though they had a great connection with each other as teenagers.
May third is the birthday of the guitarist, which is where the title comes from. What we love about this is that it’s a song that we all can relate to because we’ve all had a relationship where it drifted apart and you just long for the days when it was perfect and full of happiness and romance.
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From the time she was little, Florence loved listening to music and quickly learned how music can make you happy and feel fulfilled. One of her favorite memories is being in the garage with her dad working on classic cars with the local rock station blaring in the background. Ever since Florence was 3, she loved grunge music and spent hours listening to bands such as Alice in Chains, Mad Season, Soul Asylum, and Soundgarden.
She also enjoys classic rock, modern rock, nu metal, alternative rock, and old 90’s R&B. Her love of music grew as she got older, and used music to help her get through tough times in her life. More often than not, you’ll see Florence with earbuds in while she’s writing, cooking, cleaning, and doing other tasks. She also loves to debate music with her friends such as which lead singer is the best vocalist, the most iconic guitar solos in music, and what songs are really the best of the decade.