# Disappointing song endings **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [January 9, 2025, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappointing-song-endings/1012770 "2025-01-09T20:18:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2025, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappointing-song-endings/1012770/101 "2025-01-23T22:10:14Z")
[quote=jsc1953, post:98, topic:1012770"]I always wondered: does he really say “Stronger than dirt!”? Or was I just programmed to match those chords with that jingle, through hundreds of viewings of TV commercials? [/quote] Easy to figure out. Listen to the studio track I linked to, then listen to the end of [this live version, where Morrison distinctly does NOT sing the ending](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgrHGXWhuc8) (you can see he’s holding the mic down by his side) and decide for yourself if there’s a difference. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2025, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappointing-song-endings/1012770/102 "2025-01-23T22:46:44Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > nobody ever talks about how the song seems to skip like two or three verses afterward and jump right to the denouement. There’s an urban legend that Jimi Hendrix sang the verses of All Along the Watchtower out of order… The “two riders (who) were approaching” in the last verse, were the Joker and the Thief from the first verse. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2025, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappointing-song-endings/1012770/103 "2025-01-23T22:50:11Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > There’s an urban legend that Jimi Hendrix sang the verses of All Along the Watchtower out of order… Which is obviously not true since the guy who wrote the song sang it the same way. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappointing-song-endings/1012770/104 "2025-01-28T14:42:31Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > There’s an urban legend that Jimi Hendrix sang the verses of All Along the Watchtower out of order… The “two riders (who) were approaching” in the last verse, were the Joker and the Thief from the first verse. I’ve heard, and it makes more sense, that the song intentionally inverts the order. Same comment about the two riders. I did once hear a recording of some local band that sang “Gimme Three Steps” out of order. That had the guy run out the door, and then get confronted by the gun. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappointing-song-endings/1012770/105 "2025-01-28T14:46:40Z")
Or more like the song changes perspective. The beginning is the joker and thief. Then it shifts to the princess. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappointing-song-endings/1012770/106 "2025-01-28T14:58:19Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Then it shifts to the princess. Was that a typo/autocorrect? Because there is no princess in the song, the line is “All along the watchtower, princes kept the view”. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappointing-song-endings/1012770/107 "2025-01-28T15:02:59Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Which is obviously not true since the guy who wrote the song sang it the same way. 🙂 And also, it’s one of the most ominous endings ever written to a song. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappointing-song-endings/1012770/108 "2025-01-28T15:05:07Z")
Yeah, it’s a very mysterious song from beginning to end, and a masterpiece of writing by Dylan and recording by Hendrix. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappointing-song-endings/1012770/109 "2025-01-28T15:27:43Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > At the end of Three Dog Night’s “Mama Told Me Not to Come,” there are a few chords, but the song doesn’t quite “resolve” and play the tonic chord at the very end like I am expecting. I think the Eric Burdon version is the same. My wife and I play a lot of Contemporary Christian music at church, and one of the things that drives us batty is the way that many modern songs end on the IV chord (e.g. a song in the key of C would go through all kinds of gyrations and then end on a dangling F chord.) That’s no way to end a song! Since we are in the driver’s seat, so to speak, there is an unwritten rule that we will always resolve to the I chord regardless of the silly hanging IV chord. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappointing-song-endings/1012770/110 "2025-01-28T16:36:41Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > One fade-out I’m ok with is the Talking Heads’ “Life During Wartime”. Not often you’ll hear vocals fading out. I think Mr. Byrne was just trying to be an oddball, there. I find that one really frustrating because, in _Stop Making Sense_, they perform the song in its entirety, and there are a couple more well-written stanzas to go before a great final ending. I only had the album on CD so I don’t know if the original lyric sheet had it all. Speaking of which, Pink Floyd’s _The Wall_ had the full lyrics for “Empty Spaces” though they cut the latter half of the song for the record. The full version was used in the movie, though. Bit confusing for those following the lyric sheet in 1979, I suppose. Roger Waters has had more than his share of annoying song endings, with many of the tracks on _The Pros and COns of Hitch-Hiking_ just stopping before going into the next one. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappointing-song-endings/1012770/111 "2025-01-28T18:04:27Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > And also, it’s one of the most ominous endings ever written to a song. Hendrix’s Watchtower cover? His final note being a sustained A-sharp (I think), fading out? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappointing-song-endings/1012770/112 "2025-01-28T18:05:25Z")
I meant the lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappointing-song-endings/1012770/113 "2025-01-28T18:07:33Z")
Kid Charlemagne has one of the most disappointing endings. The song contains maybe my favorite guitar solo of all time by Larry Carlton. In the running for my second favorite solo is what ends the song. But we only hear some of it because the song fades out. There is an extended version out there but it’s clear that they were planning a fade-out so that one doesn’t end well either. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappointing-song-endings/1012770/114 "2025-01-28T18:08:21Z")
Got it. Gave them a read. _Well, uh, outside in the cold distance_ _A wildcat did growl_ _Two riders were approaching_ _And the wind began to howl, hey_ _All along the watchtower_ _All along the watchtower_ I suppose not the most warming for heart-cockles. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappointing-song-endings/1012770/115 "2025-01-28T18:30:03Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Was that a typo/autocorrect? Because there is no princess in the song, the line is “All along the watchtower, princes kept the view”. Well, that’s a misheard lyric for me. While _other women_ came and went, barefoot servants, too. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappointing-song-endings/1012770/116 "2025-01-28T18:50:14Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > While _other women_ came and went, barefoot servants, too. Well, that’s another misheard lyric 😉. It’s actually “all the women”. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappointing-song-endings/1012770/117 "2025-01-28T20:07:41Z")
> [@veryfrank](#): > > Speaking of which, Pink Floyd’s _The Wall_ had the full lyrics for “Empty Spaces” though they cut the latter half of the song for the record. The album version segues right into “Young Lust”, which IMO is a pretty good answer to the question “How shall I complete the wall?” When I saw Waters perform The Wall live in 2010 he played the full version. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2025, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappointing-song-endings/1012770/118 "2025-01-29T13:09:52Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > > [@Irishman](#): > > > > While _other women_ came and went, barefoot servants, too. > > Well, that’s another misheard lyric 😉. It’s actually “all the women”. In any case, I think we can all agree that Hendrix was a revolutionary, pioneering lyricist. He wrote and publicly sang about same-sex public displays of affection years before it was socially acceptable to do so, though he was somewhat apologetic about it. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2025, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappointing-song-endings/1012770/119 "2025-01-29T14:30:06Z")
" 'Scuze me, while I kiss this guy!" ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2025, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappointing-song-endings/1012770/120 "2025-01-29T16:55:19Z")
> [@solost](#): > > He wrote and publicly sang about same-sex public displays of affection years before it was socially acceptable to do so… Interesting. Cite? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappointing-song-endings/1012770.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disappointing-song-endings/1012770.md?page=7)