The Best Graduation Song of All Time

I had heard the best graduation song of all time hundreds of times before.

It’s just that for me to realize it could be a graduation song, certain criteria had to come together.

On June 21, 2025, they did.

The first was easy—my son graduated high school.

The next was typical—I turned to the world of art to find words of wisdom.

As do many, I started with Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss.

I was reminded by my wife, however, that Dr. Seuss always used to piss the kid off for some reason. Taking him to see Seussical the Musical had turned into a particularly memorable experience—and not in a good way.

With that, I looked to music, a natural fit given the graduate’s career path of choice.

“Graduate” by Third Eye Blind quickly jumped to the top of the list.

But upon a closer listen, the lines Can I get my punk ass off the street? and Sell your heart out for a buck somehow didn’t resonate.

I needed something deeper.

And that’s where the third criterion came in—the artist and song needed to be relevant to my son’s journey.

Given his destination, roots in the South would make sense. An appreciation for life’s complexities would be a bonus. And a reminder that despite such complexities, the path forward can be simple would be a cherry on top.

After all the boxes were checked, I was left with just one choice.

The band was Lynyrd Skynyrd, which along with the Allman Brothers Band was the pride and joy of southern Georgia, more commonly known as Jacksonville, Florida.

Lynyrd Skynyrd had once had a musical feud with Neil Young regarding North-South relations, yet on the band’s last album before a fateful 1977 plane crash, lead singer Ronnie Van Zant wore a T-shirt with a Neil Young album cover. Cue the complexity.

Finally, the message of simplicity could come, of course, from none other than “Simple Man.”

In preparation for a small graduation party and with the goal of sharing the genius, I eagerly charged my JBL bluetooth speaker.

Then—after a series of minor details like saying hello to people—came the moment I had been waiting for, the one that captured the essence of the life transition.*

The key lines are listed below.

Oh, take your time, don’t live too fast

Troubles will come and they will pass

And be a simple kind of man

Be something you love and understand

Forget your lust for the rich man’s gold**

All that you need is in your soul

All that I want for you, my son, is to be satisfied

Boy, don’t you worry, you’ll find yourself

Follow your heart and nothing else

Baby, be a simple kind of man

And that—according to a complex, simple man—was the best graduation song of all time.

*The bluetooth speaker lost charge before anyone actually heard the tune. Thankfully, the beer cooler was a sufficient distraction.

**On the other hand, if the rich man’s gold comes, take it!

All lyrics courtesy azlyrics.com