Billboard's music staff have picked their nine favourite songs about or inspired by September, spanning six decades of pop, soul, rock and jazz standards. The list reflects how differently artists have treated the month — some framing it as wistful nostalgia, others as a marker of ageing, heartbreak or renewal — as autumn begins.

Featured picks include Earth, Wind & Fire's disco classic "September," Green Day's "Wake Me Up When September Ends" (written by frontman Billie Joe Armstrong after his father's death), and Frank Sinatra's reflective "The September of My Years." Other selections named in the piece include tracks by James Taylor, Daughtry, Neil Diamond, Fiona Apple and Dinah Washington.