From walking with “Suzy Lee / through the park and by the tree” to learning “to spell/ nouns, and books, and show and tell,” this song’s simple lyrics and comforting melody make it a classic.

In this playful tune from rockers, The White Stripes, a boy describes his first day back to school with his classmates and teacher.

Taylor Swift has written countless pop hits about the highs and lows of adolescence, but perhaps none have been more indicative of a teenage girl’s experience of love in high school than her 2008 song, “Fifteen.” In it she speaks of her freshman year of high school with her best friend, the pain of teenage heartbreak, and finding who you are: “’cause when you’re fifteen and somebody tells you they love you / you’re gonna believe them.” By the end of the song, she realizes “some bigger dreams” and that “I didn’t know who I was supposed to be at fifteen.” The track is made even more chilling as the voices of children join the band and bring more presence and reality to the lyrics.

It seems like school has a bad rap when it comes to how bands sing about it, but few songs reach the point of despair and skepticism about education than Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall.” Education comes up in Part II of this song and is equated to “thought control,” and teachers are commanded to “leave them kids alone!” The title phrase describes how lead singer and bassist Roger Waters sees teachers as another barrier between children, isolating them from anything positive. If you’re looking for a punk’s perspective, look no further than songs about high school by the iconic punk rock band The Ramones, in particular “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School.” They don’t hold back their feelings on high school, where they’d rather “have my kicks” and “get some chicks” than be “taught to be a fool.” This song actually has three versions, but the original version featuring a lengthy drum intro was originally written for a movie by the same name featuring the same punk perspective on school. What could be more exciting than declaring “school’s out for summer!” alongside killer guitar riffs? Nothing, except perhaps for the even more thrilling lines, “school’s out forever!” and “school’s been blown to pieces!” The energy and idealism about school ending contained in one of Alice Cooper’s greatest hits has easily made it one of the population’s favorite songs about school. Here are ten of the top songs about school. The topics vary, from teachers, to pride, to girls, to academics, to emotions about education but what stays the same is how each generation finds its ways of highlighting its experiences and memories. With school being a nearly universal rite-of-passage for youth, it’s little wonder that so many artists for so many decades have written songs about school.

High school dreams moving song