Anniversary songs for year one, year 25 and every year in between

Ten at night. The last guests are gone and the coffee table is shoved against the wall. Start with "Harvest Moon" by Neil Young (1992), a slow one about asking her out dancing again years after they met.

Most of these anniversary songs are sorted by the number on the cake, one through fifty and past it, with a loud set for the party and another for your parents' night. Somewhere in here is the anniversary song you'll end up playing twice.

For the first anniversary

A first anniversary can take a sillier song than the wedding could. By now the photographer has gone home. Your only audience is the radiator in the first apartment, which bangs every time the heat comes on.

Paper is the traditional gift for year one, so print the lyrics to whichever song wins and tuck them into a card. Our guide to anniversary gifts by year has the rest of the list.

"Lover" by Taylor Swift (2019). The bridge reads like a set of homemade vows. Play it while the top tier of the wedding cake thaws on the counter.
"We've Only Just Begun" by the Carpenters (1970). It started life as a bank commercial, of all things. Karen Carpenter sings it like a promise anyway.
"Speechless" by Dan + Shay (2018). For the one who still can't describe what she looked like walking in.
"Lucky" by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat (2008). Two voices trading lines across an ocean, a good pick if part of year one happened over video calls.
"Everything" by Michael Bublé (2007). Bouncy and a bit goofy. Better in the car than over candles.
"How Long Will I Love You" by Ellie Goulding (2013). A cover of an old Waterboys song, soft enough for the last thing you play before bed.
"First Day of My Life" by Bright Eyes (2005). Conor Oberst sounding surprised to be this happy. Good for a couple who found each other late.
"Die with a Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars (2024). The newest song here and the most dramatic, which suits a year with at least one slammed door in it.

Ten years in

What does a decade do to a love song? It moves it off the dance floor and into the car, where it comes on during the drive home from the grocery store and one of you turns it up without a word. Ten is the tin anniversary, which is no help at all with music.

If the playlist is going to her, there's a longer run of slow ones in our list of love songs for her.

"Then" by Brad Paisley (2009). He thought he loved her as much as anyone could, back at the start. The chorus admits he had no idea.
"You're Still the One" by Shania Twain (1997). For the couple everybody gave six months.
"Anniversary" by Tony! Toni! Toné! (1993). A slow jam with the occasion right there in the title, so nobody asks why it's on.
"Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane (2004). Play it on the drive past the restaurant that closed.
"Lovesong" by the Cure (1989). The Cure at their least gloomy, promising to love someone whatever happens. Year ten is about right for it.
"Tennessee Whiskey" by Chris Stapleton (2015). Slow enough to sway to in the kitchen with the dishwasher running.
"Make You Feel My Love" by Adele (2008). Bob Dylan's song, sung over a piano. Her version is the one for midnight.
"Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol (2006). Slow to start, then the whole band arrives at once. By year ten, an afternoon with no plans takes planning.
"God Only Knows" by the Beach Boys (1966). The first line sounds like a hedge. Wait for the second.

Silver, 25 years

Saturday night, same booth as every year. The waiter brings the bread before you've even sat down, and somewhere behind the kitchen door a radio is playing a song from your wedding that now counts as an oldie. Silver does that. Mix in a few newer wedding anniversary songs if you like, then play the old ones anyway.

"Still the One" by Orleans (1976). Brisk enough for the drive to dinner. The two names on the credit, John and Johanna Hall, were married at the time.
"Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran (2014). A man in his early twenties guessing what love looks like at seventy. You're close enough now to check his work.
"Amazed" by Lonestar (1999). If you married around the turn of the century, it might be on the wedding video, the one on a DVD nobody can play anymore.
"Maybe I'm Amazed" by Paul McCartney (1970). No relation to the Lonestar song, and nearly thirty years older. Linda McCartney is the one he's amazed by.
"Have I Told You Lately" by Van Morrison (1989). Van Morrison sings it like a prayer, which it partly is. Play it during the toast to the couple.
"How Deep Is Your Love" by the Bee Gees (1977). All falsetto and electric piano, for the slow walk back to the car.
"Sweet Love" by Anita Baker (1986). Her voice sits low and warm. Good with a second glass of wine.
"Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton (1977). Pattie Boyd was running late, and he got a song out of the wait. Play it while you're the one waiting by the door.

Fifty years and more

Old songs win at a fiftieth. A couple married half a century ago will know the words to the early ones here before the first verse is over, and they'll sing louder than anyone expected. If there's a vow renewal in the backyard, start with the slow ones while the folding chairs are still full and nobody's wandered off to the buffet.

"When I'm Sixty-Four" by the Beatles (1967). Paul McCartney wrote the melody as a teenager, and the couple is well past sixty-four now, so play it for the laugh.
"Forever and Ever, Amen" by Randy Travis (1987). He tells her he isn't in love with her hair, so it can go gray or fall out and he'll stay put.
"Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis Presley (1961). The melody comes from a French song written in 1784, so it was already old when Elvis got to it. Dim the lights and give the couple the floor.
"Remember When" by Alan Jackson (2003). There's a line about when thirty seemed old. Time the slideshow so the baby photos come up when he sings about the kids.
"The Luckiest" by Ben Folds (2001). Ben Folds at the piano. The last verse is about the old man next door and his wife, and it's sad, so listen alone before the party.
"You Make Me Feel So Young" by Frank Sinatra (1956). Quick swing with plenty of brass. By the final verse he's promising to feel this way when he's old and gray, and here they are.
"Unchained Melody" by the Righteous Brothers (1965). Yes, the pottery wheel one. They weren't brothers, and only one of them sings on it.

Songs about marriage, the ordinary parts

Remember the casserole dish from the wedding? It's still in the cupboard, with a lid that stopped fitting years ago. Most love songs stop at the first month, but the good songs about marriage go further in, to Tuesday nights and whose turn it is to cook. Put these on while you're doing something else.

"Lovely Day" by Bill Withers (1977). Wake up to this one. Near the end he holds a single note so long you'll check the speaker.
"Banana Pancakes" by Jack Johnson (2005). For a rainy morning when you both call in sick and neither of you is.
"Our House" by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (1970). Graham Nash and Joni Mitchell at home on an ordinary afternoon, with cats in the yard and flowers in a vase.
"This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" by Talking Heads (1983). The sweetest thing David Byrne ever sang, and he sounds a little surprised by it.
"Ordinary People" by John Legend (2004). Only piano under it. It starts past the honeymoon and stays there, fights included.
"I Say a Little Prayer" by Dionne Warwick (1967). A whole morning routine, makeup to coffee break, with him on her mind the entire time.
"Grow Old with You" by Adam Sandler (1998). From The Wedding Singer. He volunteers for the dishes and lets her keep the remote, which beats most vows.
"You're My Best Friend" by Queen (1975). John Deacon, the bass player, wrote it for his wife, Veronica. Light enough for Saturday breakfast.
"Jackson" by Johnny Cash and June Carter (1967). Husband and wife squabbling over a trip to Jackson, a year before Cash and Carter married for real.

Upbeat anniversary songs for the party

Once the cake is cut, nobody wants another slow one. This is the stretch of the night when an uncle takes his jacket off and the grandkids teach everyone a dance they learned online. Before you build the whole set, one honest word: play the first minute of each song in the actual room, because a speaker that fills a kitchen can sound thin under a high ceiling.

"Celebration" by Kool & the Gang (1980). Too obvious? Yes, so play it the second the cake knife goes down.
"I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by the Proclaimers (1988). The Reid brothers from Leith, all accent and stamping feet. By the second chorus nobody is sitting down.
"Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi (1986). Under all the hair-metal shouting is a broke young couple who won't quit on each other. Someone's cousin will do the talk box part with his mouth.
"I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" by Whitney Houston (1987). Save it for about 10:30 p.m., when the coffee's out and half the room is checking the time.
"Happy Together" by the Turtles (1967). A hush in the verse, then the band kicks the door open.
"Love on Top" by Beyoncé (2011). The chorus climbs four times at the end, and your aunt will try to follow every one.
"September" by Earth, Wind & Fire (1978). If your anniversary falls in September, this one's yours by law.
"Islands in the Stream" by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton (1983). A country duet by way of a disco songwriting trio. Decide who's singing Dolly's part before the second verse.
"Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon (2014). About the night two people met on a dance floor. Close enough.
"Dancing Queen" by ABBA (1976). She's seventeen in the song, and the oldest person on the floor will sing it loudest.

For your parents' anniversary

In the back room of a restaurant, your parents are pretending they haven't seen the cake.

If you're the grown kid running the night, ask one of them, quietly and early, what played at their wedding, because a confident guess is how you end up playing a song your mom has never liked. Then build around it. For the toast or the card, borrow a line from our anniversary wishes and swap in their names.

"Three Times a Lady" by the Commodores (1978). It thanks her for the years, slowly, the way a good toast does. Cue it right after yours.
"The Lady in Red" by Chris de Burgh (1986). If there's a photo of your mom in a red dress anywhere in the house, put it on the screen for this.
"Let's Stay Together" by Al Green (1971). Ask them to dance to it first, alone, before anyone else gets up.
"Love Will Keep Us Together" by Captain & Tennille (1975). A married duo singing a Neil Sedaka song. Listen for his name near the end.
"Your Song" by Elton John (1970). Bernie Taupin wrote the words at seventeen, and at one point the singer can't remember whether the eyes he's singing about are green or blue.
"At Last" by Etta James (1960). Etta James sounds like she waited years for this. Your parents will be on their feet by the first line.
"You're the First, the Last, My Everything" by Barry White (1974). Later in the night, once the aunts and uncles have their shoes off.

An anniversary song with both of you in it

None of the songs above know their name, and most nights that's fine. For a year with a big number on the cake, HeartCraft makes a song card with their name sung in the chorus. You say who it's for and share a few memories of the two of you, like the Polaroid from year one or the first apartment with the loud radiator, and those go into the lines.

Pick the language and the feel of the song. It's ready in about 10 minutes and comes to your WhatsApp or email as a link, which you can forward to the family chat or play for them across the table. The anniversary card is the other route, with a love meter, a pinky promise, a cake and your letter. When you're ready, start an anniversary song.

A few late requests

Is there a happy anniversary song, like there is for birthdays?

Not one a whole room sings at once, the way everyone knows the birthday song. Choose something loud from the party list and raise a glass when the chorus hits.

Can we play our wedding song again?

Yes, and save it for last, when it lands harder than it would as the opener.

How many songs does an anniversary party need?

About 15 an hour, since most pop songs run three to four minutes. A three-hour party needs roughly 45, plus a few spares for requests.

What if we can't agree on one song?

Pick one each and play them back to back, with a coin toss for the order. Then argue on the drive home about which one got more people dancing.

For the first anniversary

Paper is the traditional gift for year one, so print the lyrics to whichever song wins and tuck them into a card. Our guide to anniversary gifts by year has the rest of the list.

"Lover" by Taylor Swift (2019). The bridge reads like a set of homemade vows. Play it while the top tier of the wedding cake thaws on the counter.
"We've Only Just Begun" by the Carpenters (1970). It started life as a bank commercial, of all things. Karen Carpenter sings it like a promise anyway.
"Speechless" by Dan + Shay (2018). For the one who still can't describe what she looked like walking in.
"Lucky" by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat (2008). Two voices trading lines across an ocean, a good pick if part of year one happened over video calls.
"Everything" by Michael Bublé (2007). Bouncy and a bit goofy. Better in the car than over candles.
"How Long Will I Love You" by Ellie Goulding (2013). A cover of an old Waterboys song, soft enough for the last thing you play before bed.
"First Day of My Life" by Bright Eyes (2005). Conor Oberst sounding surprised to be this happy. Good for a couple who found each other late.
"Die with a Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars (2024). The newest song here and the most dramatic, which suits a year with at least one slammed door in it.

Ten years in

If the playlist is going to her, there's a longer run of slow ones in our list of love songs for her.

"Then" by Brad Paisley (2009). He thought he loved her as much as anyone could, back at the start. The chorus admits he had no idea.
"You're Still the One" by Shania Twain (1997). For the couple everybody gave six months.
"Anniversary" by Tony! Toni! Toné! (1993). A slow jam with the occasion right there in the title, so nobody asks why it's on.
"Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane (2004). Play it on the drive past the restaurant that closed.
"Lovesong" by the Cure (1989). The Cure at their least gloomy, promising to love someone whatever happens. Year ten is about right for it.
"Tennessee Whiskey" by Chris Stapleton (2015). Slow enough to sway to in the kitchen with the dishwasher running.
"Make You Feel My Love" by Adele (2008). Bob Dylan's song, sung over a piano. Her version is the one for midnight.
"Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol (2006). Slow to start, then the whole band arrives at once. By year ten, an afternoon with no plans takes planning.
"God Only Knows" by the Beach Boys (1966). The first line sounds like a hedge. Wait for the second.

Silver, 25 years

"Still the One" by Orleans (1976). Brisk enough for the drive to dinner. The two names on the credit, John and Johanna Hall, were married at the time.
"Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran (2014). A man in his early twenties guessing what love looks like at seventy. You're close enough now to check his work.
"Amazed" by Lonestar (1999). If you married around the turn of the century, it might be on the wedding video, the one on a DVD nobody can play anymore.
"Maybe I'm Amazed" by Paul McCartney (1970). No relation to the Lonestar song, and nearly thirty years older. Linda McCartney is the one he's amazed by.
"Have I Told You Lately" by Van Morrison (1989). Van Morrison sings it like a prayer, which it partly is. Play it during the toast to the couple.
"How Deep Is Your Love" by the Bee Gees (1977). All falsetto and electric piano, for the slow walk back to the car.
"Sweet Love" by Anita Baker (1986). Her voice sits low and warm. Good with a second glass of wine.
"Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton (1977). Pattie Boyd was running late, and he got a song out of the wait. Play it while you're the one waiting by the door.

Fifty years and more

"When I'm Sixty-Four" by the Beatles (1967). Paul McCartney wrote the melody as a teenager, and the couple is well past sixty-four now, so play it for the laugh.
"Forever and Ever, Amen" by Randy Travis (1987). He tells her he isn't in love with her hair, so it can go gray or fall out and he'll stay put.
"Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis Presley (1961). The melody comes from a French song written in 1784, so it was already old when Elvis got to it. Dim the lights and give the couple the floor.
"Remember When" by Alan Jackson (2003). There's a line about when thirty seemed old. Time the slideshow so the baby photos come up when he sings about the kids.
"The Luckiest" by Ben Folds (2001). Ben Folds at the piano. The last verse is about the old man next door and his wife, and it's sad, so listen alone before the party.
"You Make Me Feel So Young" by Frank Sinatra (1956). Quick swing with plenty of brass. By the final verse he's promising to feel this way when he's old and gray, and here they are.
"Unchained Melody" by the Righteous Brothers (1965). Yes, the pottery wheel one. They weren't brothers, and only one of them sings on it.

Songs about marriage, the ordinary parts

"Lovely Day" by Bill Withers (1977). Wake up to this one. Near the end he holds a single note so long you'll check the speaker.
"Banana Pancakes" by Jack Johnson (2005). For a rainy morning when you both call in sick and neither of you is.
"Our House" by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (1970). Graham Nash and Joni Mitchell at home on an ordinary afternoon, with cats in the yard and flowers in a vase.
"This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" by Talking Heads (1983). The sweetest thing David Byrne ever sang, and he sounds a little surprised by it.
"Ordinary People" by John Legend (2004). Only piano under it. It starts past the honeymoon and stays there, fights included.
"I Say a Little Prayer" by Dionne Warwick (1967). A whole morning routine, makeup to coffee break, with him on her mind the entire time.
"Grow Old with You" by Adam Sandler (1998). From The Wedding Singer. He volunteers for the dishes and lets her keep the remote, which beats most vows.
"You're My Best Friend" by Queen (1975). John Deacon, the bass player, wrote it for his wife, Veronica. Light enough for Saturday breakfast.
"Jackson" by Johnny Cash and June Carter (1967). Husband and wife squabbling over a trip to Jackson, a year before Cash and Carter married for real.

Upbeat anniversary songs for the party

"Celebration" by Kool & the Gang (1980). Too obvious? Yes, so play it the second the cake knife goes down.
"I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by the Proclaimers (1988). The Reid brothers from Leith, all accent and stamping feet. By the second chorus nobody is sitting down.
"Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi (1986). Under all the hair-metal shouting is a broke young couple who won't quit on each other. Someone's cousin will do the talk box part with his mouth.
"I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" by Whitney Houston (1987). Save it for about 10:30 p.m., when the coffee's out and half the room is checking the time.
"Happy Together" by the Turtles (1967). A hush in the verse, then the band kicks the door open.
"Love on Top" by Beyoncé (2011). The chorus climbs four times at the end, and your aunt will try to follow every one.
"September" by Earth, Wind & Fire (1978). If your anniversary falls in September, this one's yours by law.
"Islands in the Stream" by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton (1983). A country duet by way of a disco songwriting trio. Decide who's singing Dolly's part before the second verse.
"Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon (2014). About the night two people met on a dance floor. Close enough.
"Dancing Queen" by ABBA (1976). She's seventeen in the song, and the oldest person on the floor will sing it loudest.

For your parents' anniversary

In the back room of a restaurant, your parents are pretending they haven't seen the cake.

"Three Times a Lady" by the Commodores (1978). It thanks her for the years, slowly, the way a good toast does. Cue it right after yours.
"The Lady in Red" by Chris de Burgh (1986). If there's a photo of your mom in a red dress anywhere in the house, put it on the screen for this.
"Let's Stay Together" by Al Green (1971). Ask them to dance to it first, alone, before anyone else gets up.
"Love Will Keep Us Together" by Captain & Tennille (1975). A married duo singing a Neil Sedaka song. Listen for his name near the end.
"Your Song" by Elton John (1970). Bernie Taupin wrote the words at seventeen, and at one point the singer can't remember whether the eyes he's singing about are green or blue.
"At Last" by Etta James (1960). Etta James sounds like she waited years for this. Your parents will be on their feet by the first line.
"You're the First, the Last, My Everything" by Barry White (1974). Later in the night, once the aunts and uncles have their shoes off.

An anniversary song with both of you in it

A few late requests

Is there a happy anniversary song, like there is for birthdays?

Not one a whole room sings at once, the way everyone knows the birthday song. Choose something loud from the party list and raise a glass when the chorus hits.

Can we play our wedding song again?

Yes, and save it for last, when it lands harder than it would as the opener.

How many songs does an anniversary party need?

About 15 an hour, since most pop songs run three to four minutes. A three-hour party needs roughly 45, plus a few spares for requests.

What if we can't agree on one song?

Pick one each and play them back to back, with a coin toss for the order. Then argue on the drive home about which one got more people dancing.