# Songs with an actual ending **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 4, 2016, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-an-actual-ending/770660 "2016-11-04T23:40:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-an-actual-ending/770660/1 "2016-11-04T23:40:59Z")
Instead of a lame fade out. My favorites: Wild Night (Van Morrison) Mississippi Queen (Mountain) I had more in mind when I thought of this post. They’ll come to me presently. Other candidates? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-an-actual-ending/770660/2 "2016-11-05T00:48:36Z")
The Beatles “A Day In The Life” ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-an-actual-ending/770660/3 "2016-11-05T00:53:43Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > The Beatles “A Day In The Life” Uh, I think that’s the exact opposite of what the OP is looking for. I nominate “I want you (She’s so heavy).” ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-an-actual-ending/770660/4 "2016-11-05T01:02:09Z")
Since you’re thinking Classic Rock to start with, and assuming you mean songs that end GREAT, here are some off the top of my head: Baba O’Riley (The Who) Not To Touch The Earth (The Doors) Helter Skelter (The Beatles) Rock and Roll (Led Zeppelin) Rosalia (Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band) Ziggy Stardust (David Bowie) Lady, Mr. Roboto (Styx) ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-an-actual-ending/770660/5 "2016-11-05T01:09:49Z")
This thread will end in Cafe Society, rather than IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-an-actual-ending/770660/6 "2016-11-05T01:22:01Z")
Be Kind To Your Web-footed Friends ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-an-actual-ending/770660/7 "2016-11-05T01:35:51Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Uh, I think that’s the exact opposite of what the OP is looking for. Pretty sure the OP wants songs that actually finish playing, even if the final note takes a while to fade away. In which case, “A Day in the Life” certainly counts. “Pull Me Under” by Dream Theater has a very cold ending, much similar to the aforementioned “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” by the Beatles. I once figured out that _every_ song by Iron Maiden has a “finished” ending as opposed to a fade, the only two exceptions being “Stranger in a Strange Land” and “Women in Uniform”. There may be some new songs or Blaze Bayley-era songs that I missed but I’m not aware of any. Black Sabbath: “Black Sabbath”, “War Pigs”, “Iron Man”, lots of others. The Who: “Won’t Get Fooled Again” ---
**Author:** ![Oly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oly/32/8255_2.png) [@Oly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oly)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-an-actual-ending/770660/8 "2016-11-05T01:50:54Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > The Who: “Won’t Get Fooled Again” This was the first one I thought of. I think most Who songs qualify. On “Who’s Next” for example 7of 9 have definite endings. ---
**Author:** ![tenacious\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@tenacious\_j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tenacious_j)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-an-actual-ending/770660/9 "2016-11-05T01:53:20Z")
Well, there’s \*Miss You Much \*by Janet Jackson- you think it’s going to fade away, I miss ya much baby I really miss ya much I miss ya much I really miss you much I miss ya much baby I really miss ya much But then That’s the end Also, I think \*Paradise by the Dashboard Light \*fits. Ends the story pretty well, then shuts up. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-an-actual-ending/770660/10 "2016-11-05T01:53:21Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Pretty sure the OP wants songs that actually finish playing, even if the final note takes a while to fade away. In which case, “A Day in the Life” certainly counts… Ah. I see. As opposed to “Na, na, na, na, na, na, na…” as the recording engineer turns the volume down. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-an-actual-ending/770660/11 "2016-11-05T02:10:53Z")
Best ending ever. (after a few fake endings). Motorhead: Overkill [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlecTBevmzc) ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-an-actual-ending/770660/12 "2016-11-05T02:16:23Z")
Layla. Bell Bottom Blues. She Loves You. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-an-actual-ending/770660/13 "2016-11-05T02:37:52Z")
Boddhisatva, Rikki, and a lot of things by Steely Dan. Masterful. ---
**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:** [November 5, 2016, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-an-actual-ending/770660/14 "2016-11-05T02:40:22Z")
Genesis: “The Musical Box.” Very “symphonic” ending. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-an-actual-ending/770660/15 "2016-11-05T02:46:45Z")
There are way too many songs that end that way to even begin to name them all, even if we limit them to really good songs. Clapton’s “Tears In Heaven” and “Wonderful Tonight” both end. One of my personal favs is the environmental anthem from Kenny Loggins, “Conviction of the Heart.” I could go on endlessly, just off the top of my head, but to what point? ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-an-actual-ending/770660/16 "2016-11-05T03:34:02Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Pretty sure the OP wants songs that actually finish playing, even if the final note takes a while to fade away. In which case, “A Day in the Life” certainly counts. Back then, WMMS in Cleveland prided itself on being the kind of station that would let the entire last chord fade away on the air. It’s about 45 seconds as I recall. And even then, they would quietly come back to the studio mike, never a raucous commercial or something. Towards the end of the chord, as it gets fainter, you can hear odd things like crickets or something. Dennis ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-an-actual-ending/770660/17 "2016-11-05T03:55:36Z")
[quote=“bobot, post:11, topic:770660”] Best ending ever. (after a few fake endings). Motorhead: Overkill [/QUOTE] I think I got the Crabs from watching that. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-an-actual-ending/770660/18 "2016-11-05T04:21:35Z")
The Doors: “Touch Me” (“tougher than dirt!”) Queen: “Bohemian Rhapsody” ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2016, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-an-actual-ending/770660/19 "2016-11-05T05:59:59Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > The Doors: “Touch Me” (“tougher than dirt!”) > Queen: “Bohemian Rhapsody” It was “Stronger than dirt” (Mr Clean) ---
**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:** [November 5, 2016, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-an-actual-ending/770660/20 "2016-11-05T06:04:50Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > Back then, WMMS in Cleveland prided itself on being the kind of station that would let the entire last chord fade away on the air. It’s about 45 seconds as I recall. And even then, they would quietly come back to the studio mike, never a raucous commercial or something. Towards the end of the chord, as it gets fainter, you can hear odd things like crickets or something. > > Dennis Supposedly the squeak of Ringo’s bass drum pedal as he releases it. As the sound of the piano chord gets fainter, the engineers are gradually RAISING the microphone volume, to stretch out the experience – so even quiet extraneous studio noises start to get picked up toward the end. Never could be any other way! 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-an-actual-ending/770660.md?page=2)