13 Engaging Season Songs for Any Season

Reading Time: 14 min read

13 Engaging Season Songs for Any Season features music courtesy of City Girls, David Bowie, Dua Lipa, Noah Kahan, and Taylor Swift.

Ah, ‘tis the SEASON! What season, you ask? Well, 13 Engaging Season Songs for Any Season was published during the summer. That said, the publication date doesn’t matter. Many of the songs on this musical compendium reference all four seasons, as well as non-weather-related seasons (looking at you, Dua Lipa). The sole criterion for 13 Engaging Season Songs for Any Season is that the word season is featured in the song title. That means that winter, spring, summer, or autumn/fall alone don’t qualify a song to make this seasonal list! “Ain’t that some shit?” 13 Engaging Season Songs for Any Season features music courtesy of City Girls, David Bowie, Dua Lipa, Noah Kahan, and Taylor Swift. So, without further ado, let’s jump into these engaging season songs for any season!

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1. Dua Lipa, “Training Season”

2. Noah Kahan, “Stick Season”

3. Bebe Rexha & Dolly Parton, “Seasons”

4. Fleet Foxes, “I’m Not My Season”

5. City Girls, “Season” (Ft. Lil Baby)

6. T.I., “G Season” (Ft. Meek Mill)

7. David Bowie, “Sue (Or in A Season of Crime)”

8. The Zombies, “Time of the Season”

9. Palaye Royale, “Season of the Witch”

10. Taylor Swift, “‘tis the damn season”

11. Maroon 5, “Seasons”

12. Cast of Rent, “Seasons of Love”

13. The Byrds, “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There is a Season)”

1. Dua Lipa, “Training Season”

Radical Optimism // Warner UK // 2024

“Are you / Someone that I can give my heart to? / Or just the poison that I’m drawn to?” Legitimate questions that Dua Lipa asks in the first verse of her single, “Training Season”. In the second verse, the Grammy winner makes it clear, “Don’t wanna have to teach you how to love me right,” adding, “I hope / It hits me like an arrow / Someone with some potential / Is it too much to ask for?” Ooh-wee! Dua Lipa penned “Training Season” alongside Carolin Ailin, Tobias Jesso Jr., Danny L Harle, and Kevin Parker. Parker, of Tame Impala fame, also produces this electrifying pop single. In the chorus, she sets her expectations: “Need someone to hold me close / Deeper than I’ve ever known / Whose love feels like a rodeo / Knows just how to take control.” For good measure, post-chorus, she makes it crystal clear, “If that ain’t you, then let me know, yeah / ‘Cause training season’s over.” Essentially, she’s NOT going to raise a man – he’s gotta be ready and up to the task. All told Dua Lipa brings the heat. She sings superbly, flaunting that sensational tone, readymade for pop superstardom. Furthermore, the supporting instrumental is rad, with Parker incorporating ample groove, colorful keys and synths, and a lit bass line. Capping off the excellence is the songwriting. The melodies are memorable in all sections, as well as being rhythmic.

Appears in 🔻:

Bops That Pop: February 2024

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2. Noah Kahan, “Stick Season”

Stick Season // Mercury / Republic // 2022

“And I love Vermont, but it’s the season of the sticks.” Season of the sticks sounds like it is a bit of a sus time, Noah Kahan. The lyric hails from “Stick Season”, which appears as the second track off – wait for it – Stick Season, released in 2022, and the expanded Stick Season (Forever), released in 2024. “Stick Season” was a massive hit for the Vermont singer/songwriter, peaking at no. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2024 – his first top-10 single. Kahan penned “Stick Season” and produced it alongside Gabe Simon.

Given the fact that “Stick Season” is a folk, singer/songwriter record, it’s not surprising the lyrics are fantastic. Furthermore, Noah Kahan sings them terrifically. Matters of the heart rear their ugly head in the first verse where Kahan has lost someone special and struggles to cope with it. To make matters even worse, it’s during a bad time: “Now I am stuck between my anger and the blame that I face / And memories are somethin’ even smoking weed does not replace /… Doc told me to travel, but there’s COVID on the planes.” Facts! In the second verse, he’s still in a funk: “No, I am no longer funny ‘cause I miss the way you laugh / You once called me ‘forever,’ now you still can’t call me back.” Of course, the centerpiece is the chorus, beginning with that reference to Vermont and stick season.

“And I love Vermont, but it’s the season of the sticks

And I saw your mom, she forgot that I existed

And it’s half my fault, but I just like to play the victim

I’ll drink alcohol ‘til my friends come home for Christmas

And I’ll dream each night of some version of you

That I might not have, but I did not lose

Now you’re tire tracks and one pair of shoes

And I’m split in half, but that’ll have to do.”

Word. Backed by a folksy backdrop (acoustic guitar fuels the fire), and singing heartfelt, passionate lyrics with a gorgeous tone and tuneful melodies, the multiplatinum “Stick Season” is the sugar honey iced tea.

Appears in 🔻:

Noah Kahan, Stick Season: Bangerz N Bopz 🔥 37 (2024)

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3. Bebe Rexha & Dolly Parton, “Seasons”

Bebe // Warner // 2023

“I lie awake inside a dream / And I run, run, run away from me.” So, what happens next, Bebe Rexha? “The seasons change right under my feet / I’m still the same, same, same, same old me.” On “Seasons,” the 12^th track on Bebe, Rexha drops a country-pop tune. It’s not far-fetched given the massive success of “Meant To Be” where she collaborated with Florida Georgia Line. This time, she’s in the driver’s seat and she is assisted by country music icon Dolly Parton. “Seasons” was written by Rexha, Solly, and producer, Ido Zmishlany. The country/country-pop vibes are established at the beginning. So is the groove that remains tried and true. Rexha sings the first chorus by herself (excerpted). She also sings most of the first verse herself, but Dolly joins in on select lines – iconic! Both sing the second chorus, with Parton following up with the second verse (“My mirror is a liar / Inside, I’m still a child / Who’s tryin’ to find her way back home”). Later, on the bridge, there is some contrast, with both singing select solo lines. Fittingly, “The season’s changin’ now / The leaves are turnin’ brown / The snow is fallin’ down / The sun is comin’ out.” Ooh-wee! “Seasons” is a vibe. A perfect and surprising way to conclude Bebe.

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4. Fleet Foxes, “I’m Not My Season”

Shore // Fleet Foxes / Anti // 2020

“Blood of my blood / Skin of my skin / You’re in roundelay water again,” Robin Pecknold sings in the first verse of “I’m Not My Season.” He continues, “I want to face the condition you’re in / The old wrenches hardly turn me.” “I’m Not My Season” is the 10^th track from Shore, the fourth studio album by Seattle indie-folk collective Fleet Foxes.

As demonstrated by the excerpted lyrics, “I’m Not My Season” is poetic. A slower cut, it lacks the compositional grandiosity of others from the LP. Even so, the stripped ballad is as beautiful and charming as everything else. It features intimate vocals by Pecknold. Pecknold brings out those seasons in the chorus:

“Though I liked summer light on you

If we ride a winter-long wind

Well time’s not what I belong to

And I’m not the season I’m in.”

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5. City Girls, “Season” (Ft. Lil Baby)

Girl Code // Quality Control Music / Motown / Capitol // 2018

“It’s that season (Y’all know what time it is) / Where niggas cut a check for no reason (Where the money at?).” And, knowing these men are about to spoil them, what are JT and Yung Miami, aka City Girls about to do? “Time to blow a bag.” “Season” is the fourth track from the duo’s 2018 album, Girl Code. On this DJ OnDaBeat-produced track, City Girls gets an assist from Grammy-nominated rapper, Lil Baby in the second verse. But first, following the bag-blowing chorus, Yung Miami steps to the mic. Drip drives her rhymes, to the tune of an AP watch and Dolce & Gabbana. Also, she throws in teeth, ‘get a new body,’ makeup, lashes, and hair… Expensive! Of course, he gets pleasure in return: “You like it when I grip that dick, so get my nails done.” Lil Baby responds, demanding a return on his investment: “Baby / First of a bitch, you got me fucked up / I ain’t blowin’ shit unless I’m gettin’ my dick sucked / Anyways, is you down to let my friends fuck? / Wish I could buy a bird bitch a Benz truck.” Wow… JT is not left out in the third verse: “Ayy, it’s that season / Good pussy, niggas know I got that leave-in (wet, wet).” 😳 😶 Enough said. The “Season” speaks for itself!

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6. T.I., “G Season” (Ft. Meek Mill)

Trouble Man // Atlantic // 2012

“I’m a suck-free, sucka duckin’ / Tell all them suckas get the fuck outta my way man / You understand?” Ah, do you know what season it is? It’s “G Season,” bi-otches 💯! “G Season” is the second track on Trouble Man: Heavy is the Head, the 2012 album by Grammy-winning rapper, T.I.. Here, T.I. is at his best. The song writes off fake folks who aren’t true Gs but just wannabes. The production (Cardiak and Chinky P) begins mysteriously, foreshadowing the dark, hardcore sound. Over an exceptional instrumental featuring malicious synth brass and hard drums, T.I. reasserts his swag and status, rapping with a vengeance: “Told you motherfuckers once, prison ain’t change me/ All it did was make a nigga crazy deranged, see.” Oh, snap! T.I. is in ‘fuck it’ mode, asserting, “Fuck what they say we were doing on the day of visitation / All I care ‘bout is my out day and this next year of probation.” For some context, Tiny infamously pleasured him while he was incarcerated. Later, in the third verse, T.I. criticizes the frauds: “These niggas ain’t really ‘bout it, they just be speaking Ebonics.” Woo! Meek Mill assists, delivering a strong second verse. Per Meek, “started in the back now I’m that nigga in the front.” Also, there is no shortage of sex lines whether its “Got yo lady on my dick, cuz I got like 80 on my wrist” or “Fuckin’ all the baddest bitches, I’mma hit ‘em from the front.” “G Season” is turned up!

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7. David Bowie, “Sue (Or in A Season of Crime)”

Blackstar // Columbia // 2016

The late, great David Bowie exemplifies a musical icon. Days before he died in 2016, Bowie left the world a musical tour de force in Blackstar. Two highlights from that masterpiece come to mind: “Blackstar” and the haunting “Lazarus”. Blackstar isn’t solely defined by those seminal cuts. Another fabulous song is “Sue (Or in A Season of Crime).” “Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)” is the second song on Blackstar based on the risqué 17^th-century play, ‘Tis Pity She’s A Whore. Like “‘Tis A Pity She Was A Whore”, “Sue” captures the eccentricity of the work through musical representation. “Sue you said you want it writ, ‘Sue, the virgin’ on your stone / For your grave,” Bowie sings, continuing, “Why too dark to speak the words? / For, I know that you have a son.” Oh, snap! “Sue” features an exceptional combination of jazz and rock. It also contains a dash of crazy that makes it utterly sublime – superb! An element of murderous rage fuels the fire too 😈!

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8. The Zombies, “Time of the Season”

Odessey and Oracle // Zombies Partners // 1968

“It’s the time of the season / When the love runs high.” Indeed! The Zombies released a song for the ages with “Time of the Season”, the closing track of their 1968 album, Odessey and Oracle. “Time of the Season” was a huge success in the U.S., reaching no. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Shockingly, the song didn’t chart in their native country, England 🤯! Rod Argent penned this sexy (“Give it to me easy / And let me try with pleasured hands”), important, psychedelic classic. Colin Blunstone sings the lead. Part of the charm is the instrumental. The groove is infectious. The bass line is often compared to the Ben. E. King classic, “Stand By Me”. Also, the breathy vocal effects are part of the charm. The section to beat is the chorus! There are slight lyrical variations, but one lyric remains tried and true: “It’s the time of the season for loving.” The harmonized vocals and emphasis on this titular lyric make the song. Besides the chorus, the second verse, which is repeated following a cooking organ solo by Argent 🤘, stands out. “What’s your name? / Who’s your daddy? / Is he rich like me?” Blunstone sings, continuing, “Has he taken / Any time / To show you what you need to live?” Notably, the lyric alludes to a famous lyric from the George Gershwin, Porgy and Bess classic, “Summertime” (“Oh, your daddy’s rich / And your ma is good lookin’’”). Given the unique sound of the instrumental and the timeless chorus, it’s not surprising that “Time of the Season” has been sampled by many musicians. The final pop hit by The Zombies, the band ‘put their foot’ into this one.

Appears in 🔻:

The Zombies, Time of the Season: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 62 (2024)

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9. Palaye Royale, “Season of the Witch”

Sextape (EP) // Sumerian // 2023

“You’ve got to pick up every stitch.” Las Vegas art rock band Palaye Royale tackles a rock classic – “Season of the Witch”. “Season of the Witch” was written and originally performed by Donovan (Donovan Leitch). Leitch’s version exemplifies the psychedelia of the 1960s. As for the Palaye Royale cover, the fourth track on their 2023 EP, Sextape, Remington Leith, and company, ensures their rendition of is distinct from the original. Dave Green and Mattius produced the track that sounds darker and more foreboding in the band’s hands. The sound effects during the intro are enigmatic, setting the tone for a witching experience. The harmonized, ‘choral’ vocals, mixed in the background, serve as a fabulous preface to Remington’s lead (“Must be the season of the witch”). Consistent, rhythm guitars serve as the primary accompaniment for the nuanced lead vocals of Remington, which are mixed into the background. Even with a sense of poise and restraint, Leith’s lead possesses a cool energy. Expectedly, the band ups the ante in the passionate chorus and then settles things down. That said, the second verse expands the instrumentation, and eventually, Remington brings grittier, more overt vocals. You buy what he’s selling as he invests in the memorable lyrics:

“When I look over my shoulder

What do you think I see?

Some other cat lookin’ over

Over his shoulder at me

And he’s strange, sure, he’s strange.”

All told, Palaye Royale makes a compelling, engaging cover of “Season of the Witch”. It thrives thanks to leaning further into the dark themes. The vocals and production don’t hurt either.

Appears in 🔻:

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10. Taylor Swift, “‘tis the damn season”

evermore // Taylor Swift // 2020

“So, we could call it even / You could call me ‘babe for the weekend / ‘Tis the damn season, write this down.” Intriguing, Taylor Swift, intriguing. Interestingly, at one point, Swift would write songs sans swear words. However, with the release of Folklore in 2020, Swift joined numerous other artists by embracing cursing. It continued on Evermore where the Grammy-winning musician asserts, “‘Tis the damn season.” ‘Tis the Damn season indeed, and no way to escape it with that assertive song title! Besides a title that bears attitude, the backdrop of has attitude as well. That assertive sound includes the ripe tone of guitars, and later, punchy snare drum. Still, within the context of Evermore, Swift, as well as her background, never gets overblown or overwrought. There’s always ‘cool energy’ that cooks but never scorches. The chorus (excerpted above) is awesome with Swift providing the right amount of juice. It continues, “I’m stayin’ at my parents’ house / And the road not taken looks real good now / And it always leads to you and my hometown.” Well, damn… The verses are captivating thanks to the descriptive nature of the lyrics, telling a narrative related to Dorothea in the context of evermore.

Appears in 🔻:

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11. Maroon 5, “Seasons”

JORDI // Interscope // 2021

“I’ve been livin’ it up, breakin’ me down, I’ll take it back up / They’ve been wonderin’ where, wonderin’ what, I stay in the cut.” Lots of apostrophes in play Adam Levine. “Seasons” is the sixth track from JORDI, the so-so 2021 album by Maroon 5. On “Seasons,” Levine sounds ageless, like a pop star 15 years younger 💪. Also, we presume Mr. Levine still looks amazing sans shirt 😍. But “Seasons” has nothing to do with his sexy, toned, tatted physique… Keeping it a buck 💯, he’s more captivating than the song. The melody emulates melodic rap. Adding to melodic rap vibes, Adam exhibits swagger. “You wanna leave, I won’t stop ya / But you’re the one I would die for,” he proclaims in the verse. More seasonal, he informs her, “Waitin’ to fall for over two seasons / In spring, I’m sprung for the wrong reasons / Baby, forgive me for rivers that I can’t stop / ‘Cause my heart freeze in winter.” Okay… He also mentions summertime – surprise, surprise. The songwriting is, um, a bit flimsy, but hey, Maroon 5 (1) creates a vibe and (2) gets those seasons in. Antonio Vivaldi would be proud… or, would he? No one will ever know! One final thought… it’s tough to wrap my mind around the fact that “Seasons” was written by a team of seven writers 🥴…

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12.Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, Idina Menzel, Jesse L. Martin, Rosario Dawson, Taye Diggs, Tracie Thoms & Wilson Jermaine Heredia, “Seasons of Love”

Rent (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) // Warner // 2005

“Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes / Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear.” Those are some of the most memorable lyrics from the beloved Broadway musical gem, “Seasons of Love.” 525,600 minutes is approximately a year. “Seasons of Love” is the song to beat from Rent, which premiered on Broadway in 1996. In the Broadway musical, it appears in the second act. In the motion picture adaptation from 2005, it appears at the beginning. The late Jonathan Larson composed Rent and its best, most renowned musical selection. Early on, “Seasons of Love” is sung by the cast (a chorus) reflecting on a year. The cast performance continues in the first chorus. They ask the question, “How do you measure a year in the life?” answering, with a question (“How about love? / Measure in love / Seasons of love”). Eventually, soloists take the reins. First, it is Joanne (Tracie Thoms), asking, “How do you measure the life of a woman or man?” Collins (Jesse L. Martin) answers her, poetically (“In bridges he burned, or the way that she died”). The cast joins forces again in the bridge, remembering the year, and concludes with the chorus, led by Joanne. Ultimately, the sublime “Seasons of Love” speaks for itself. It’s tuneful, thoughtfully penned, and soundly performed.

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13.The Byrds, “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There is a Season)”

Turn! Turn! Turn! // Sony Music Entertainment // 1965

So, let’s get a little ‘spiritual’ – a little Biblical – shall we? From the Ecclesiastes, specifically Ecclesiastes 3 (NIV): ¹There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: ²A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, ³A time to kill and a time to heal… We aren’t intentionally promoting religion – make that decision for yourself – but we are providing the source of The Byrds’ 1965 classic, “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There is a Season).” Members of the legendary band, with the arrival of Turn! Turn! Turn! were Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby, Michael Clarke, and Chris Hillman. The folk-rock title track, written by the legendary Pete Seeger, is based on the text from Ecclesiastes 3 from the Old Testament. Whether you’re religious or not, this passage of scripture, and song itself, is prudent and thoughtful. Also, “Turn! Turn! Turn!” was a no. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. It spent three weeks in the penthouse, the second of two no. 1 hits by the collective. If you’ve never encountered “Turn! Turn! Turn!” you’re missing out.

Appears in 🔻:

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13 Engaging Season Songs for Any Season (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Anti, Atlantic, Columbia, Fleet Foxes, Interscope, Mercury, Republic, Sony Music Entertainment, Sumerian, Taylor Swift, Warner, Zombies Partners; ]

13 Engaging Season Songs for Any Season | Playlist 🎧

Published by the musical hype on June 26, 2024June 26, 2024