50 Best Rock Songs About Leaving Home
Rock Songs for Leaving the Place You Grew Up
There’s a certain pull in the gut that hits when you’re standing in your old room, surrounded by boxes and echoes. It’s not pride, not grief, something knotted in the middle. The walls feel smaller, the air thicker, and every song on shuffle seems to find a way to narrate what you can’t say out loud. The right riff can make a cracked driveway feel cinematic for a second. These tracks don’t sugarcoat the leaving part. They hang in that quiet space between packing up and pulling away, where the thrill and the ache blur together.
Leaving home never really feels like one clean break. Sometimes it’s freedom that tastes weirdly guilty, sometimes it’s regret hiding under adrenaline. You roll the windows down, maybe light feels too sharp, and that first chorus kicks in like a dare. Not every track on this list is literally tied to the act of leaving, but they all hum with that same restlessness. They catch the flicker between knowing where you came from and realizing it might never feel the same again once you go.
Some songs do it loud, guitars thrashing through the feeling like they’re trying to drown it out. Others keep it slow, half-asleep in the backseat kind of energy. The mix doesn’t care if you’re into pop, rock, country, and R&B songs—it’s about the hit of recognition, the echo of motion. These are the tracks that catch that restless pulse and make you want to drive a little farther before turning back. Here are the best rock songs for leaving home.
Top 10 Leaving Home Rock Songs
1. 'Born to Run' by Bruce Springsteen
2. 'Runaway' by Bon Jovi
3. 'Fast Car' by Tracy Chapman
4. 'Free Bird' by Lynyrd Skynyrd
5. 'Thunder Road' by Bruce Springsteen
6. 'Go Your Own Way' by Fleetwood Mac
7. 'I'm Movin' On' by Rascal Flatts
8. 'Breakaway' by Kelly Clarkson
9. 'She's Leaving Home' by The Beatles
10. 'The Great Escape' by Boys Like Girls
Rock Songs About Escaping the Past #11 to 20
11. 'Leaving New York' by R.E.M.
12. 'Home' by Foo Fighters
13. 'Runnin' Down a Dream' by Tom Petty
14. 'Here I Go Again' by Whitesnake
15. 'America' by Simon & Garfunkel
16. 'Fly by Night' by Rush
17. 'Don't Stop Believin'' by Journey
18. 'Wake Me Up When September Ends' by Green Day
19. 'Walk Away' by Ben Harper
20. 'My Winding Wheel' by Ryan Adams
Songs About Moving On to a Better Place #21 to 30
21. 'Moving To New York' by The Wombats
22. 'Leaving On A Jet Plane' by Peter, Paul, and Mary
23. 'The End of the Line' by The Traveling Wilburys
24. 'Refugee' by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
25. 'Runaways' by The Killers
26. 'I'm Leaving You' by Electric Light Orchestra
27. 'Home at Last' by Steely Dan
28. 'Closing Time' by Semisonic
29. 'I Wanna Be Sedated' by Ramones
30. 'I'm Not Okay (I Promise)' by My Chemical Romance
Rock Songs About Independence and New Adventures #31 to 40
31. 'Landslide' by Fleetwood Mac
32. 'Babe I'm Gonna Leave You' by Led Zeppelin
33. 'Where the Streets Have No Name' by U2
34. 'All Signs Point To Lauderdale' by A Day To Remember
35. 'Leaving' by The Wildhearts
36. 'A New Career in a New Town' by David Bowie
37. 'Small Town' by John Cougar Mellencamp
38. 'Leaving Here' by Motörhead
39. 'Moving On' by Asking Alexandria
40. 'The Sound of Silence' by Simon & Garfunkel
Essential Rock Songs About New Beginnings #41 to 50
41. 'Don't Look Back in Anger' by Oasis
42. 'The Way' by Fastball
43. 'Going Up The Country' by Canned Heat
44. 'The Last Train to Clarksville' by The Monkees
45. 'Hometown' by cleopatrick
46. 'King of the Road' by Roger Miller
47. 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' by Elton John
48. 'Road Trippin'' by Red Hot Chili Peppers
49. 'Leaving Town' by The Dears
50. 'Travelin' Man' by Ricky Nelson
© 2025 Carson McQueen
