Are you fascinated by a recent sunset and want to find more music to capture the feeling that it has sparked inside you? Are you left utterly boggled by its beauty and need validation of the sensation through external media?
Then you are in the right place – today we will explore 30 of the best songs about sunsets and what they symbolically represent.
Table of Contents
- 1. “California Sunset” by Neil Young
- 2. “Waterloo Sunset” by the Kinks
- 3. “Sun Goes Down” by Robin Schulz ft. Jasmine Thompson
- 4. “Castle on the Hill” by Ed Sheeran
- 5. “Two Suns in the Sunset” by Pink Floyd
- 6. “Wasted Sunsets” by Deep Purple
- 7. “Sunset” by Stevie Wonder
- 8. “All Your Friends” by Coldplay
- 9. “Always Remember Us This Way” by Lady Gaga
- 10. “Early Sunsets Over Monroeville” by My Chemical Romance
- 11. “This Mess We’re In” by PJ Harvey ft. Thom Yorke
- 12. “Merry Happy” by Kate Nash
- 13. “Stay the Night” by James Blunt
- 14. “Indian Sunset” by Elton John
- 15. “Sunset” by Demi Lovato
- 16. “Sundown” by Bruce Springsteen
- 17. “Red Sails in the Sunset” by Nat King Cole
- 18. “Shadow Of The Day” by Linkin Park
- 19. “Gypsy” by Lady Gaga
- 20. “Must Do Something About It” by Paul McCartney and Wings
- 21. “Arabella” by Arctic Monkeys
- 22. “Queen of Peace” by Florence + the Machine
- 23. “When the Sun Goes Down” by Fleetwood Mac
- 24. “Payphone” by Maroon 5 ft. Wiz Khalifa
- 25. “Everything’s Beautiful” by Dolly Parton
- 26. “Hawaiian Sunset” by Elvis Presley
- 27. “Tears Dry On Their Own” by Amy Winehouse
- 28. “She’s A Rainbow” by The Rolling Stones
- 29. “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore” by the Walker Brothers
- 30. “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles
- Final Tones
- FAQs Songs About Sunset

1. “California Sunset” by Neil Young
Genre | Country Rock |
Year of Release | 1985 |
Album | Old Ways |
This is a real must-hear sunset song from Neil Young’s much underrated middle period. As with all his songs, this is an easy song to sing but impossible to fully convey.
2. “Waterloo Sunset” by the Kinks
Genre | Psychedelic Pop |
Year of Release | 1967 |
Album | Something Else by The Kinks |
Songs about sunset hardly come more iconic and lauded about than this anthem, well-suited to any sunset lover who also likes to ponder the machinations of life and how each of our gears slots into one another. Undoubtedly one of the best sad guitar songs too.
3. “Sun Goes Down” by Robin Schulz ft. Jasmine Thompson
Genre | Lad House |
Year of Release | 2014 |
Album | Prayer |
Anyone who has ever been anyone catching feelings for someone while intolerably inebriated on cheap liquor will no doubt “vibe” to this lad anthem.
4. “Castle on the Hill” by Ed Sheeran
Genre | Pop |
Year of Release | 2017 |
Album | Divide |
Here, Ed continues his surrealistic trend of casting redheaded people as broad caricatures of his younger self in his music videos, drafting in large crews to film on budgets that altogether halt the flow of interpersonal emotional dynamics.
5. “Two Suns in the Sunset” by Pink Floyd
Genre | Folk Rock |
Year of Release | 1983 |
Album | The Final Cut |
Pink Floyd turned their dab-compositional hands to sympathizing with war criminals in this effort.
6. “Wasted Sunsets” by Deep Purple
Genre | Rock |
Year of Release | 1984 |
Album | Perfect Strangers |
If there was ever a band so antithetical to their name, it might be this shallow rock band Deep Purple.
7. “Sunset” by Stevie Wonder
Genre | Jazz-Soul |
Year of Release | 1962 |
Album | Tribute to Uncle Ray |
The young Stevie Wonder pays tribute to fellow blind instrumentalist Ray Charles.
8. “All Your Friends” by Coldplay
Genre | Pop |
Year of Release | 2014 |
Album | Ghost Stories |
Coldplay dips their toes into early sunsets shared with loved ones no longer with us.
9. “Always Remember Us This Way” by Lady Gaga
Genre | Pop |
Year of Release | 2018 |
Album | A Star Is Born |
Lead single from the award-winning film, this song charts the progression of the story from the beginning to the fateful end.
10. “Early Sunsets Over Monroeville” by My Chemical Romance
Genre | Emo |
Year of Release | 2002 |
Album | I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love |
MCR really knows how to paint a sordid and ill-fitting picture – they do it right here!
11. “This Mess We’re In” by PJ Harvey ft. Thom Yorke
Genre | Alt-Rock |
Year of Release | 2000 |
Album | Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea |
To have song lyrics talk about sunshine blues like this is really something else.
12. “Merry Happy” by Kate Nash
Genre | Pop |
Year of Release | 2007 |
Album | Made of Bricks |
Much famed for her breakthrough hit “Foundations”, this song also has its merits as a pop song with heartfelt lyrics.
13. “Stay the Night” by James Blunt
Genre | Pop Rock |
Year of Release | 2010 |
Album | Some Kind of Trouble |
Who wore this voice better, the 13th Floor Elevators or James Blunt?
14. “Indian Sunset” by Elton John
Genre | Pop Rock |
Year of Release | 1971 |
Album | Madman Across the Water |
Are we to suppose that Elton John himself is the so-called madman across the water? Or perhaps he is garbing himself in the exotic of the Indian and calling that part of himself the madman. Who’s to say?
15. “Sunset” by Demi Lovato
Genre | Pop |
Year of Release | 2021 |
Album | Dancing With the Devil… The Art of Starting Over |
Lovato takes the time to chronicle her path forward and what lies in the wreckage behind her.
16. “Sundown” by Bruce Springsteen
Genre | Rock |
Year of Release | 2019 |
Album | Western Stars |
Soundtracking the film of the same name, this epic will leave anyone dying for a loved one by their side.
17. “Red Sails in the Sunset” by Nat King Cole
Genre | Jazz |
Year of Release | 1951 |
Album | Compilation |
The supposedly inimitable actually had a voice rather like Oscar Peterson and was also a highly accomplished pianist in his own right.
18. “Shadow Of The Day” by Linkin Park
Genre | Alternative |
Year of Release | 2007 |
Album | Minutes to Midnight |
Only Linkin Park could bear to turn the sunset trope of popular songs on its head and make it so damn miserable.
19. “Gypsy” by Lady Gaga
Genre | Pop |
Year of Release | 2013 |
Album | Art Pop |
Though only a lesser-known album cut from her seminal album Art Pop, this song packs no less of a punch for it.
20. “Must Do Something About It” by Paul McCartney and Wings
Genre | Rock |
Year of Release | 1976 |
Album | Wings at the Speed of Sound |
The seminal rebound project Wings offers forth one of their most iconic songs here allowing Paul McCartney to explore the sunset trope in greater detail.
21. “Arabella” by Arctic Monkeys
Genre | Indie Pop |
Year of Release | 2013 |
Album | AM |
By this point in their career, the Arctic Monkeys has well and truly dominated the world as much as they could through compromise, especially as they are known for writing drop-D songs for guitar.
22. “Queen of Peace” by Florence + the Machine
Genre | Indie Pop |
Year of Release | 2015 |
Album | How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful |
Despite offering a bolder and more cinematic sound, this album and the singles therein failed to grab the attention of the masses to the same extent as any other previous releases. It is what it is – a cruel industry.
23. “When the Sun Goes Down” by Fleetwood Mac
Genre | Folk |
Year of Release | 1990 |
Album | Behind the Mask |
Everyone’s favorite cocaine-indicted swingers join forces after the departure of Lindsey Buckingham to release their final album before their Greatest Hits really cemented their inability to conjure up the old magic.
24. “Payphone” by Maroon 5 ft. Wiz Khalifa
Genre | Pop |
Year of Release | 2012 |
Album | Overexposed |
Reaching rock bottom, both in terms of relevancy and within the context of the song, this is a song of a band on the brink of nothing.
25. “Everything’s Beautiful” by Dolly Parton
Genre | Country |
Year of Release | 1972 |
Album | My Favorite Songwriter, Porter Wagoner |
Parton pays her dues here to her alleged favorite songwriter, Porter Wagoner, an astonishing country artist in his own right.
26. “Hawaiian Sunset” by Elvis Presley
Genre | Pop |
Year of Release | 1961 |
Album | Blue Hawaii |
Everyone’s favorite appropriator of African-American musical styles turns his attention toward the Hawaiian-American outliers for his next pillaging.
27. “Tears Dry On Their Own” by Amy Winehouse
Genre | Soul |
Year of Release | 2006 |
Album | Back to Black |
The late, great Amy Winehouse teaches us a vital lesson about the science of the drying of tears.
28. “She’s A Rainbow” by The Rolling Stones
Genre | Psychedelic Pop |
Year of Release | 1967 |
Album | Their Satanic Majesties’ Request |
Though they could never quite fill the shoes of the Beatles, they did a damn good job sometimes.
29. “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore” by the Walker Brothers
Genre | Pop |
Year of Release | 1966 |
Album | Portrait |
Though the song is more about the use of the sun setting as a metaphor for the fleeting nature of this flame, it can be taken any other way you like.
30. “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles
Genre | Folk Pop |
Year of Release | 1969 |
Album | Abbey Road |
Though undoubtedly more of a sunrise song, this is still a luscious song worth mentioning in any context, undoubtedly one of the best guitar songs to learn.
Final Tones
So, there you have it! Hopefully, you have now found at least one sunset song that you love and can take with you to that next sunset. Why not learn it and soundtrack the sun as it sets?
FAQs Songs About Sunset
There are plenty of songs relating to sunsets in popular culture, including “Waterloo Sunset” by the Kinks and “California Sunset” by Neil Young.
The clue is very much in the name. When the sun sets – i.e. when it passed beyond the horizon onward to the other side of the earth – then we are privy to a sunset.
Bizarrely so, yes, even though it sounds like it could be AI-generated at times. Using up to 150 songs per season would accrue an unfathomable sum if these songs were by artists people actually knew and liked. Thus, the producers use music that is either royalty free or incredibly cheap to facilitate this immense number of songs.