September may well be the most often referenced month in song titles, lyrics and themes, and not just because it rhymes so well with “remember”—after all, November and December have equal claim to that distinction. September as metaphor can symbolize change, separation, reunion, a lost love, a new beginning, the passage of time, the process of aging. The Chairman of the Board himself, Frank Sinatra, recorded an entire album, the Grammy Award-winning September of My Years, in anticipation of his impending 50th birthday in 1965. Or it can simply cite the specific date of a significant event, real or imagined. Here are 15 September songs:

The Teen Queens—“Eddie My Love” (1956)—Can a duo be a group? If so then the Teen Queens, sisters Betty and Rosie Collins, qualify as the first girl group of the Rock ’n’ Roll era. In this song, their sole hit, they await the return of Eddie, who left “last September.”

Dinah Washington—“September in the Rain” (1961)—The jazz, blues and R&B icon had a string of pop hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s. This one, a standard and the title cut from her album September in the Rain, takes a nostalgic look back on a love lost during that month of the year.

Brian Hyland—“Sealed With a Kiss” (1962)—Summer spells separation for the young singer who looks forward to a promised September reunion, presumably with the start of a new school year. Subsequently a hit for Gary Lewis and the Playboys (1968) and Bobby Vinton (1972) too.

Carole King—“It Might as Well Rain Until September” (1962)—Her first hit single as an artist, long before Tapestry, this was meant to be a demo for Bobby Vee, who had already scored with several Goffin-King songs, but was released as a Carole King record  instead. Another song of summer separation.

The Beach Boys—“Keep an Eye on Summer” (1964)—In this song, September means separation after a summer spent together and a longed-for reunion in the next year. Co-written by Brian Wilson, Mike Love and Capitol recording engineer Bob Norberg, from the album Shut Down, Volume 2.

The Happenings—“See You in September” (1966)—A hit for Pittsburgh’s the Tempos in 1959 and an even bigger hit for Paterson, New Jersey’s the Happenings seven years later. Yet another song about separation, this one making the fear of love lost over the summer more explicit.

Rod Stewart—“Maggie May” (1971)—After fronting the Jeff Beck Group and the Faces, this was the breakout #1 hit from his breakthrough solo album, Every Picture Tells a Story. It’s “late September” and the singer “really should be back at school” after a summer fling with an older woman.

Related: Radio hits of September 1972

The Temptations—“Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” (1972)—The date of September 3rd inspires memories of a missing father. A #1 single produced by Norman Whitfield, he followed it up with a single and album by the group named “Masterpiece,” but “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone,” written with Barrett Strong for All Directions, was truly his masterpiece.

Related: 12 Temptations classics

Earth, Wind & Fire—“September” (1978)—A joyous recollection of September 21st, the night the singer fell in love, written by Maurice White and Al McKay of the band with Allee Willis. Recorded for inclusion in the album The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Volume 1. “Ba-Dee-Ya”!

Neil Diamond—“September Morn” (1979)—From the album of the same name, this is Diamond at his most sentimental, in which he reunites with a lost love and reminisces about their long-ago romance.

Willie Nelson—“September Song” (1979)—A standard originally from the Broadway musical Knickerbocker Holiday, written by Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson, popularized by actor Walter Huston in the 1930s, and a country hit for Willie Nelson from his classic album Stardust. In it, September is when “the days grow short.”

Alan Jackson—“Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” (2001)—September 11, 2001. Alan Jackson’s ballad describes the reaction of an ordinary American to the events of that infamous day. It became a #1 country record and crossed over to the pop charts too, and is included on his album Drive.

James Taylor—“September Grass” (2002)—From the album October Road (you have to pass through September to get there), this song’s lyrics evoke memories of a long-ago love and express a present-day desire, delivered in Sweet Baby James’ trademark laid-back style.

Rosanne Cash featuring Johnny Cash—“September When It Comes” (2003)—An ailing Johnny Cash died not long after the release of Rosanne Cash’s album Rules of Travel, which contained this father-daughter duet, an emotionally sung dialog about aging, mortality and acceptance made all the more haunting when her father passed away in September 2003.

Green Day—“Wake Me Up When September Ends” (2005)—Written by a grieving Billie Joe Armstrong in the wake of his father’s September death but not recorded and released until 20 years later on American Idiot, this song became a major hit single for Green Day, taking on more general significance in light of the events of September 11, 2001.