The turn of the year is half party, half quiet reckoning, and the songs split the same way. These cover the midnight countdown, the old friends you toast and the clean slate everybody swears they will use this time.
Updated 2026
Auld Lang Syne by Traditional 1788
The song the whole world sings the second the clock strikes twelve.
New Year's Day by U2 1983
A soaring anthem that turns the date into something hopeful.
Happy New Year by ABBA 1980
A bittersweet toast to a future nobody can quite see.
What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? by Ella Fitzgerald 1960
A nervous, hopeful question asked before the big night.
This Will Be Our Year by The Zombies 1968
A warm promise that the good stretch is finally starting.
It's Just Another New Year's Eve by Barry Manilow 1977
A gentle reminder to take it easy on the big night.
Funky New Year by Eagles 1978
The morning-after groove for a head that overdid it.
December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night) by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons 1975
A late-December night a man never quite gets over.
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) by Green Day 1997
A shrug and a farewell for everything the year held.
Brand New Day by Sting 1999
Turning the clock back and starting the whole thing over.
New Year's Resolution by Otis Redding & Carla Thomas 1967
A couple vowing to fix what went wrong last year.