Recommended love songs for women in their 70s: A collection of nostalgic love songs

The last spring breakYumi Matsutoya

The Last Spring Break / Saigo No Haru Yasumi (2022 Ｍix)

A beautiful ballad by Yumi Matsutoya that gently embraces the transience of the season when spring arrives and the milestone of graduation.

With tender emotion, it portrays the feelings of saying goodbye to student life while carrying a faint crush and lingering attachment, set against quiet scenes of the school.

Included on the album “OLIVE” and released in July 1979, this piece features Matsutoya’s delicate vocals and soft piano melody that resonate deeply.

It gently depicts moments that evoke nostalgic memories—such as classrooms bathed in spring sunlight and the sound of footsteps along long corridors—and is a song that, when listened to with older adults, can spark lively reminiscences of each person’s youthful days.

Forget-me-not to youYoichi Sugawara

②_ Yoichi Sugawara Forget-me-not to You (with lyrics)

Celebrated as a masterpiece of Japanese lyric songs and cherished for many years, this work is a moving classic with a gentle melody and emotionally rich lyrics.

Yoichi Sugawara’s soft vocals tenderly convey an unwavering love for a beloved person.

Released in November 1971, the song appeared twice on NHK’s Kōhaku Uta Gassen, capturing the hearts of many.

In music therapy sessions with older adults, its heartwarming lyrics and nostalgic melody can spark lively reminiscences.

It’s a song that naturally brings smiles—perfect for clapping along and humming together, or moving gently to its relaxed tempo.

Parting at 22wind

Parting at 22 / Kaze (with lyrics)

The debut song by the folk duo Kaze is a heartwarming classic, as gentle as the spring sunshine.

The lyrics vividly portray the pure love and parting of youth, while the tender acoustic guitar melody weaves a beautiful harmony.

Since its release in 1975, it has been covered by many artists and even adapted into a film by director Nobuhiko Obayashi in 2007, remaining beloved across generations.

In NHK’s “SukiUta — Kouhaku Everyone’s Survey,” it ranked 71st for the White Team.

It’s a perfect song for savoring slowly when you want to bask in nostalgic memories, and it could also spark lively conversations among older listeners about their experiences from back in the day.

Across this wide fieldRyoko Moriyama

This Wide, Open Field – Ryoko Moriyama

The classic song that celebrates love and freedom spreading across the great outdoors is a folk tune released by Ryoko Moriyama in January 1967.

Her clear, pleasant voice and gentle melody deliver a refreshing sense of liberation, like clouds floating in the sky or wind sweeping through.

The piece is said to have been completed in just 30 minutes, based on a poem found in a Ginza art gallery.

After it was broadcast on NHK’s “Minna no Uta” in 1974, it became a children’s song passed down throughout Japan.

Singing it with older adults can blossom into warm conversations filled with nostalgia and create a wonderful time naturally full of smiles.

wintering swallowMasako Mori

wintering swallow

This gem of a ballad, which eloquently sings of the aching melancholy of painful love, is a masterpiece that showcases Masako Mori’s outstanding vocal prowess.

Its poetic world is striking: the feelings of a woman who has thrown herself into a forbidden romance are overlaid with the image of a lone swallow that defies the seasons and makes its home out of place.

Mori’s limpid voice intertwines with the heartrending melody, where sorrow and passion cross, creating a deeply moving song.

After its 1983 release, her tearful performance on NHK’s Kōhaku Uta Gassen drew widespread attention, and the song earned her the Best Vocal Performance award at the 25th Japan Record Awards.

Even among enka songs that give voice to bittersweet longing, this work stands out for its richly expressive phrasing.

It’s the perfect piece for those moments when you want to pour your emotions into the song and sing your heart out, as if setting your soul free.

Lingering Snowdolphin

Dolphin [Iruka] / Nagori-yuki [Lingering Snow] (Single Version) Official Audio with translation

Sung by Iruka, this song has been passed down as a classic of spring, a work that seems to seep into the listener’s heart.

Depicting a scene of parting in early spring, it beautifully portrays lingering feelings and the loneliness of growing up.

Written and composed by Shozo Ise and given a rich, weighty arrangement by Masataka Matsutoya, it was released in March 1975 on the album “Iruka no Sekai,” then as a single in November of the same year, reaching No.

4 on the Oricon charts.

It’s a perfect song to spark conversation with older adults.

You’ll likely enjoy a wonderful time sharing nostalgic memories and evocative scenes that resonate in the heart.

spring hazeHiromi Iwasaki

spring haze

With a beautiful singing voice reminiscent of Showa-era idols, she performed a classic that resonates in the hearts of older listeners.

Against a backdrop of cherry blossoms in half bloom, the song delicately portrays the bittersweet love of a young couple.

It carefully expresses the feelings of a woman determined to pursue love despite her father’s opposition.

Hiromi Iwasaki’s clear, transparent vocals vividly capture a fleeting spring moment with cherry blossoms in bloom.

Released in February 1979, this work was beloved by many, even making its first appearance in the Top Ten on TBS’s “The Best Ten.” Even today, it remains a much-loved song brimming with the atmosphere of spring’s arrival.

It’s especially recommended to listen to during cherry blossom season together with older adults—letting them reminisce about the past while feeling the coming of spring.