You are putting together the music for a retirement party, and you want it to feel like more than a playlist on shuffle. The right songs to play at a retirement party do two jobs: they get people dancing early, then they say something real when the speeches start. Below are eight songs that do that, plus one idea for the coworker who quietly showed up every single day.
Listen: "Last Day, Old Friend"
What makes a retirement song actually land
The best retirement songs name the specific thing the person is leaving behind, not just "the grind." A great party playlist moves from celebration to reflection, because retirement is both. People want to dance to the freedom and then get a little quiet about the years that just ended. The famous songs below cover the mood. The custom one covers the specifics no chart hit can: the badge, the desk, the twenty years.
8 retirement party songs (celebratory and sentimental)
Start near the top of this list and work your way down. The early ones fill the floor. The later ones are for the toast, the slideshow, and the last song of the night.
- "9 to 5" — Dolly Parton. Parton wrote and recorded this for the 1980 film of the same name, and it became her first and only solo number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1981. For the person who is genuinely thrilled to never set an alarm again. Pure celebration of clocking out for good.
- "Walking on Sunshine" — Katrina and the Waves. Written by Kimberley Rew, this 1985 single hit the top ten in both the US and UK and has been the feel-good default ever since. For the entrance, the cake, or the first round of drinks. It is impossible to play this and stay seated.
- "My Way" — Frank Sinatra. Paul Anka rewrote the French song "Comme d'habitude" into English lyrics about a man looking back over a long, accomplished life as he faces "the final curtain." Sinatra recorded it in 1969 in about two takes. For the retiree who built a career on their own terms. This is the toast song.
- "What a Wonderful World" — Louis Armstrong. Armstrong recorded it in Las Vegas in August 1967, written as a gentle antidote to a turbulent era. For the slideshow of old desk photos and office holiday parties. Warm, unhurried, and good for getting a room a little misty.
- "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" — Green Day. Despite the calm acoustic feel, Billie Joe Armstrong wrote it about an ex-girlfriend moving away, and the "Good Riddance" title was his way of venting. Radio dropped that part and it became a graduation and farewell staple. For the bittersweet middle of the night, when people are getting reflective.
- "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" — Otis Redding. Redding and Steve Cropper wrote it in 1967, and after Redding's death it became the first posthumous number one single in the US in 1968. For the person who has been dreaming about slow mornings and nowhere to be. A near-perfect last song of the night.
- "Closing Time" — Semisonic. Songwriter Dan Wilson has said the song is secretly about birth and new beginnings, written while his wife was pregnant. "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end" is the whole idea of retirement in one line. For the formal close of the party.
- "On the Road Again" — Willie Nelson. The travel anthem for the retiree whose first move is to pack the car. For anyone trading a commute for actual trips. A light, happy way to send them off into the next thing.
The one for the coworker who showed up every day
Here is where the famous list runs out. None of those songs mention twenty years, a handed-in badge, or the coffee ring worn into a particular desk. That is what "Last Day, Old Friend" is. It is a custom song written about one real person's career, the kind of thing you play right before the speeches so the room goes quiet for the right reasons. Songbond writes an original song from the details you give us for $39.90, delivered in 24 to 48 hours, with unlimited revisions. It is the proof that a song can be about them, not about retirement in general.
The lyrics
The box is packed, the drawer is bare
But your laugh's still hanging in the air
Twenty years of nine-o'clocks beside you
Your coffee ring tattooed into that desk
You'd catch my eye when meetings ran too long
One raised brow that said the rest
They'll hire someone for the chair
But not for what was there
Last day, old friend — hand in the badge
Take the long way out the door
You made the gray years golden just by showing up
That's what the speeches never say — so here's ours
Last day, old friend
You knew which printer jammed, who needed checking
Kept a candy drawer for anybody's worst week
The hum of this whole floor will sound different
Monday's gonna look for you and me
We split a thousand lunches here
Let's split one farewell cheer
Last day, old friend — hand in the badge
Take the long way out the door
You made the gray years golden just by showing up
That's what the speeches never say — so here's ours
Last day, old friend
Ten years on, some new kid at your desk
Will never know whose shoulders held this place
But we will — every time the elevator opens
And it isn't your face
Last day, old friend — hand in the badge
Take the long way out the door
You made the gray years golden just by showing up
That's what the speeches never say — so here's ours
Last day, old friend
Lights off, door locked, one last call —
Same time Friday, after all
Frequently asked questions
What songs should you play at a retirement party?
Mix celebratory and sentimental, and order them by mood. Open with upbeat tracks like "9 to 5" and "Walking on Sunshine" while people arrive and eat. Then ease into reflective songs like "My Way" and "What a Wonderful World" for the speeches or the slideshow. Save a calm closer for the very end.
What is a good last song for a retirement party?
"(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" or "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" both work well as a closer. They sit somewhere between calm and bittersweet, which fits the end of a long career. "Closing Time" is another good option, since it is literally about endings becoming beginnings.
Can you get a custom song made for someone's retirement?
Yes. Songbond writes an original song about the person's actual career for $39.90, delivered in 24 to 48 hours with unlimited revisions. You send the details, like how long they worked there and what they were known for, and we write the song around them. It does the one thing a famous song cannot, which is be about that specific person.
Give them a song that is actually about them
Play the famous songs for the dance floor. But for the person who showed up every day for years, a song with their own story in it lands differently. Order a custom retirement song for $39.90, delivered in 24 to 48 hours, with unlimited revisions until it is right.
From the same series: A retirement song for a teacher and A retirement song for Dad.
