With November comes a lot more than just Scorpio Season, pumpkin pie and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.
For many, the eleventh month of the calendar year can feel enormously symbolic. Peaceful, cozy and understated, November represents transition and change, the calm before the storm of winter, Christmas and New Year’s plans. When you come across allusions to November in music, poetry or prose, it’s probably for a reason; the artist likely wants you to sit with the feelings of anticipation and mystery that come before any type of metamorphosis, whether it’s growing up, breaking up or moving on to something new.
The same can be said about many of the songs on this list, which spans rock n’ roll, R&B, hip-hop, country and pop. Axl Rose, for instance, touches on it in Guns N’ Roses‘ “November Rain,” singing that “Nothin’ lasts forever and we both know hearts can change.” On “Sweet November,” SZA laments the brutal ways she’s changed as a person, praying that those who love her will “Remember me for who I was, not who I am.”
As you begin to brace yourself for a contentious turkey dinner with your relatives, draft your Black Friday wishlist or take an early jump on hanging up your Christmas lights, make sure you remember to enjoy November — and the last moments of Autumn, for that matter — while it’s still here to stay. And if you need a little musical inspiration, look no further.
Keep reading to see Billboard‘s picks for songs about November below:
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Guns N’ Roses, “November Rain”
Image Credit: Mick Hutson/Redferns Year Released: 1991
Genre: Rock
Notes on November: “So never mind the darkness, we still can find a way/ ‘Cause nothin’ lasts forever, even cold November rain”Listen here.
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SZA, “Sweet November”
Image Credit: Roger Kisby/Getty Images Year Released: 2014
Genre: R&B
Notes on November: “Sweet, sweet, sweet November/ Remember me for who I was not who I am”Listen here.
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Zach Bryan, “November Air”
Image Credit: Samuel Elkins* Year Released: 2020
Genre: Folk
Notes on November: “So tell me tales of all the times and all the seasons you got by/ Breathin’ in that cold November air”Listen here.
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Gorillaz, “November Has Come”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Year Released: 2005
Genre: Alternative
Notes on November: “Well you know November has come/ When it’s gone away”Listen here.
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Wyclef Jean, “Gone Till November”
Image Credit: Paul Natkin/Getty Images Year Released: 1997
Genre: Pop
Notes on November: “You must understand/ I can’t work a nine to five/ So I’ll be gone ’til November”Listen here.
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Tyler, The Creator, “November”
Image Credit: Noam Galai/WireImage Year Released: 2017
Genre: Hip-Hop
Notes on November: “Let me pull over, quick!/ And drive back to November/ Take me back to November”Listen here.
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Lila Drew, “November”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Year Released: 2023
Genre: Indie pop
Notes on November: “November was a mystery/ I’m trying to forget/ I know that your heart shares the winter”Listen here.
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The Avett Brothers, “November Blue”
Image Credit: FilmMagic Inc/FilmMagic Year Released: 2002
Genre: Folk rock
Notes on November: “My heart is dancing to a November tune/ And I hope that you hear it singing songs about you”Listen here.
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November Ultra, “Novembre”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Year Released: 2022
Genre: Indie pop
Notes on November: “November’s all year long now/ December never came/ I realize I’m alone now/ But they all think I’m the same”Listen here.
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Morrissey, “November Spawned a Monster”
Image Credit: Gie Knaeps/Getty Images Year Released: 1990
Genre: Rock
Notes on November: “November is a time/ Which I must put out of my mind”Listen here.
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Sleeping With Sirens, “November”
Image Credit: Andrew Benge/Redferns via Getty Images Year Released: 2015
Genre: Rock
Notes on November: “There’s a fire in this November sky/ It’s burning up, burning up/ They’ll remember me tonight”Listen here.
This story originally appeared on Billboard
