# Popular Songs that Don't End on the Root **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 7, 2013, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-dont-end-on-the-root/660391 "2013-06-07T16:17:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-dont-end-on-the-root/660391/21 "2013-06-07T23:49:48Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Nothing definite about it. The chorus, which both begins and ends the song, is firmly in G, which is what makes that final E minor chord sound weird. True, the verse melody switches to E minor, but even that resolves to a G chord after each line. > [@BigT](#): > > I’m not even sure I’d count the verses as being in E minor. There’s an E minor chord throughout, but it always resolves in G major with a plagal cadence. > > Plus the version I just listened to resolves on Fm, not Em. “Definitely” was definitely the wrong adverb. There are major/minor ambiguities in a lot of Beatles songs… this is uh, definitely one them 🙂 I can buy the G Major position. The lack of the V chord is interesting. **BigT** for f minor, are you referring to the “Can You Take Me Back…” part… this is usually considered a different song (although not split on the album). ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-dont-end-on-the-root/660391/22 "2013-06-08T01:19:26Z")
“Roundabout” by Yes doesn’t really fit the OP since it does end on the I, but it’s the _major_ I in an otherwise minor key song. This effect is known as the Picardy third. I mention that in order to mention this: the Mothers of Invention’s “Let’s Make the Water Turn Black” is in C major, but ends with a repeated phrase that resolves to A minor–until the last iteration, when with a Picardy third-like twist it finally lands on A _major_, the VI of the home key. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-dont-end-on-the-root/660391/23 "2013-06-08T02:23:42Z")
I was going to mention various songs that end on a Picardy third (major I of a song mostly rooted in minor i), but that doesn’t quite fit the OP’s example of an _unresolved_ ending. For that, how about Led Zeppelin’s “The Ocean”? Ends on a V, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-dont-end-on-the-root/660391/24 "2013-06-08T02:43:39Z")
David Cook’s “Come Back to Me” - one note shy of a complete resolution (but that’s OK): [David Cook - Come Back to Me (Official Video) - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBF6IV8W-80) ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-dont-end-on-the-root/660391/25 "2013-06-08T03:02:40Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Oh, and _ **Her Majesty** _. The [del]root[/del] _tonic_, excuse me, is over at the beginning of _ **Polythene Pam** _. > > And I guess\*\*\* I Want You (She’s So Heavy) \*\*\*counts as released, too, but isn’t an example of unusual composition - just literal mid-note cut-the-tape. I’m feeling left out for some reason. :mad: mmm ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-dont-end-on-the-root/660391/26 "2013-06-08T11:40:24Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I’m feeling left out for some reason. :mad: 🙂 It’s because you’re mean _and_ old. And dirty, too. R.E.M.'s “New Test Leper” ends on a strange chord which appears nowhere else in the song. They should have just let the final chorus repeats fade out. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-dont-end-on-the-root/660391/27 "2013-06-08T12:47:09Z")
> [@K364](#): > > **BigT** for f minor, are you referring to the “Can You Take Me Back…” part… this is usually considered a different song (although not split on the album). I was. I didn’t know about that. I know it’s sacrilege, but I’m not much a [del]Beetles[/del]Beatles fan. And both the video and the chord site I verified it with have that as part of the song. (See, I even initially misspelled the name of the group.) ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-dont-end-on-the-root/660391/28 "2013-06-08T13:01:54Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > Doesn’t The Joker fade out? Yeah, because Steve Miller was frantically hunting around for other music “to be inspired by.” ---
**Author:** ![Pitchmeister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pitchmeister/32/3459_2.png) [@Pitchmeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitchmeister)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-dont-end-on-the-root/660391/29 "2013-06-08T13:08:24Z")
One more Beatles song: A Hard Day’s Night ends on a very complicated chord that is most definitely not the tonic. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-dont-end-on-the-root/660391/30 "2013-06-08T13:18:24Z")
> [@Pitchmeister](#): > > One more Beatles song: A Hard Day’s Night ends on a very complicated chord that is most definitely not the tonic. I think it’s just the IV, arpeggiated. You’re right that it’s not the tonic, but I think the “complicated” chord you have in mind is the one at the BEGINNING of the song. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-dont-end-on-the-root/660391/31 "2013-06-08T13:28:13Z")
Also, the non-tonic ending was for a specific reason: because the song was completed (though not initiated) to serve as the title track to a film, the final chord SHOULDN’T resolve – it’s meant to lead right into the action of the film. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-dont-end-on-the-root/660391/32 "2013-06-08T13:45:19Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > You’re right that it’s not the tonic, but I think the “complicated” chord you have in mind is the one at the BEGINNING of the song. It’s arguably the _exact same chord_: Dm7 (add 11), which is v in the key of G. The root of the v is heard only on the final word “right” (note the bass) while the 12-string pattern that flows out of that beat is made up of the remaining notes of the chord. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-dont-end-on-the-root/660391/33 "2013-06-08T14:50:22Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > It’s arguably the _exact same chord_: Dm7 (add 11), which is v in the key of G. The root of the v is heard only on the final word “right” (note the bass) while the 12-string pattern that flows out of that beat is made up of the remaining notes of the chord. Cool! I stand corrected. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-dont-end-on-the-root/660391/34 "2013-06-08T17:15:51Z")
Some versions of “Four Strong Winds” end on a V chord, though I don’t know if you’d call it a rock song. This isn’t a famous person, but I have a friend who’s a singer-songwriter, who seems to enjoy ending the majority of his songs on a IV chord. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-dont-end-on-the-root/660391/35 "2013-06-08T18:20:09Z")
I not 100% sure I am understanding the OPs criteria but I always felt the song “Silent Lucidity” was unfinished. It feels like they want to say “Silent Lucidity” one last time and they don’t which I find frustrating. ---
**Author:** ![Weedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weedy/32/301_2.png) [@Weedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weedy)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-dont-end-on-the-root/660391/36 "2013-06-10T12:44:26Z")
I’m not sure if this is true, but someone told me _Call Me Maybe_ finishes this way, which is what made people want to listen to it over and over (because it never resolved). ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-dont-end-on-the-root/660391/37 "2013-06-10T15:48:30Z")
**Quimby** , I \*thought \*I was asking for songs where the final note of the melody line was not the first note of the scale. But I don’t know a lot about music theory. To me, a song that finishes on a different chord, but where the melody line does end on “DO” sounds more resolved than one where the melody does just end without getting back ‘home.’ If people want to mention songs that end on funny chords, that’s cool. And I’m sure they know more than me. **Weedy** , I think you’re right - it ends on “Call Me, Maybe?” and I think _Maybe?_ is a quick 6th then 5th. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-dont-end-on-the-root/660391.md?page=1)