Change is the one thing every life has in common, and songwriters keep coming back to it. These songs cover the big turns: leaving a place, becoming someone new, watching the world shift around you. Some push for it, some just try to keep up.
Updated 2026
Changes by David Bowie 1971
Bowie's anthem for reinventing yourself before anyone else can pin you down.
The Times They Are a-Changin' by Bob Dylan 1964
A warning to anyone standing still while a generation moves past them.
A Change Is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke 1964
Cooke turns weariness into a quiet promise that things will get better.
Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson 1988
Real change starts with the person looking back at you.
Landslide by Fleetwood Mac 1975
Stevie Nicks on getting older and the fear of being swept along by it.
Read the meaning behind the songChanges by 2Pac 1998
A blunt look at why so little had shifted on the street, sampling Bruce Hornsby.
Wind of Change by Scorpions 1990
A power ballad tied to the end of the Cold War, whistle and all.
Closing Time by Semisonic 1998
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.
Read the meaning behind the songBoth Sides Now by Joni Mitchell 1969
Mitchell sees life from two angles and admits she still does not know it at all.
It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) by R.E.M. 1987
A breathless rush of upheaval that somehow lands on calm.
Drive by Incubus 2000
Taking the wheel of your own change instead of letting fear steer.
Times Like These by Foo Fighters 2002
Dave Grohl on learning to live again when everything resets.
When the change is something you chose, these lean toward the bright side.
Feeling Good by Nina Simone 1965
It's a new dawn, a new day, sung like a person stepping into the light.
Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield 2004
The rest of your story is still blank, so pick up the pen.
Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles 1969
Harrison's reminder that the cold spell always ends.