# What are songs with great climaxes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [June 12, 2025, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-songs-with-great-climaxes/1019545 "2025-06-12T21:29:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-songs-with-great-climaxes/1019545/1 "2025-06-12T21:29:58Z")
You know, it builds, it builds, it builds…and then reaches a definite point where it’s at a climax and then, afterwards, calms. I mean, the obvious one is [Bohemian Rhapsody](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ)… But I can think of a few others such as the brilliant one in [White Rabbit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnJM_jC7j_4), the shiver-inducing one in I[t’s All Coming Back to Me Now](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63-3its8B6k) and the instrumental one in [Light My Fire.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoX6AKuYWL8) But, c’mon, there has to be hundreds more, right? ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-songs-with-great-climaxes/1019545/2 "2025-06-12T21:34:20Z")
Paradise By The Dashboard Light by Meatloaf. American Pie by Don McLean. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-songs-with-great-climaxes/1019545/3 "2025-06-12T21:37:07Z")
I can’t Live…_Harry Nilsson_ ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-songs-with-great-climaxes/1019545/4 "2025-06-12T21:37:11Z")
Most will not like this answer because I think it is everyone’s favorite song to dump on: - [Stairway to Heaven](https://youtu.be/X791IzOwt3Q) - Led Zeppelin The whole song is a slow climb to higher energy, reaching a crescendo and then, at the very end, it brings you back down. Full circle. I get people dumping on it because it was overplayed and people got sick of it but it was over played for a reason. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-songs-with-great-climaxes/1019545/5 "2025-06-12T21:39:37Z")
“Where No One Stands Alone” - Alison Krauss ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-songs-with-great-climaxes/1019545/6 "2025-06-12T21:42:08Z")
Great Gig in the Sky. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-songs-with-great-climaxes/1019545/7 "2025-06-12T21:45:52Z")
Television’s “Marquee Moon” has one of my favorite guitar solo build-ups ever. It’s positively orgasmic. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-songs-with-great-climaxes/1019545/8 "2025-06-12T21:47:54Z")
I always liked Christine’s belting towards the end of Phantom of the Opera (the theme song). It’s a lot of fun at karaoke especially, whether they nail it perfectly or just make a fool of themselves 🙂 A lot of Evanescence songs have a similar effect. Slightly eclectic, but I love the build-up in Coin-Operated Boy, which builds and builds and builds into an orgasmic crescendo 2/3 of the way through before gradually coming back down to earth. ---
**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:** [June 12, 2025, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-songs-with-great-climaxes/1019545/9 "2025-06-12T21:51:39Z")
“Let There Be Rock” AC/DC “The Music Never Stopped” The Grateful Dead (live) ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-songs-with-great-climaxes/1019545/10 "2025-06-12T21:52:04Z")
A recent example: Olivia Rodrigo’s “Bad Idea Right?”. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-songs-with-great-climaxes/1019545/11 "2025-06-12T21:54:50Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > I mean, the obvious one is [Bohemian Rhapsody](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ)… I thought the obvious one was A Day In The Life. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-songs-with-great-climaxes/1019545/12 "2025-06-12T21:57:23Z")
Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five by Wings Magic Bird of Fire by Salsoul Orchestra ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-songs-with-great-climaxes/1019545/13 "2025-06-12T22:02:21Z")
Does classical music count? Because Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture definitely fits. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-songs-with-great-climaxes/1019545/14 "2025-06-12T22:04:47Z")
Does “Nessun Dorma” qualify? The ending is positively orgasmic. ---
**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:** [June 12, 2025, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-songs-with-great-climaxes/1019545/15 "2025-06-12T22:25:32Z")
_Love Reign O’er Me_…sort of. After Roger’s belts out the last line, there’s a pick slide and multiple cymbal crashes–and then it fades out on a synth note. But listen closely at the very end and you can just barely hear Keith trashing his kit. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-songs-with-great-climaxes/1019545/16 "2025-06-12T22:27:45Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/u9Dg-g7t2l4/maxresdefault.jpg "Disturbed - The Sound Of Silence (Official Music Video) [4K UPGRADE]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Dg-g7t2l4) ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-songs-with-great-climaxes/1019545/17 "2025-06-12T23:30:39Z")
Movement IV of _Scheherazade_ by Rimsky-Korsakov isn’t exactly a “song” but it is the ultimate musical climax. It keeps building, doubles the tension and builds again, until you’re holding your chair arms with tight white knuckles… then when it finally breaks and those HUGE wave phrases come in… I used to crank the family stereo to 10 and sit in front of the speakers. [recommended: Leopold Stokowski’s 4F 1964 recording] ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-songs-with-great-climaxes/1019545/18 "2025-06-12T23:52:57Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > A recent example: Olivia Rodrigo’s “Bad Idea Right?”. [Vampire](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlPNh_PBZb4&list=RDRlPNh_PBZb4&start_radio=1) is also a great example. Each verse builds the intensity higher. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-songs-with-great-climaxes/1019545/19 "2025-06-13T00:03:07Z")
_Poorboy (The Greenwood)_ from **Eldorado - a Symphony by the Electric Light Orchestra** This is just before the intermission, so off to the restroom with you. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ZrnYZjiunrw/maxresdefault.jpg "Electric Light Orchestra - Poorboy (The Greenwood) (Audio)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrnYZjiunrw) ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-songs-with-great-climaxes/1019545/20 "2025-06-13T00:26:52Z")
Yes’s “Starship Trooper” is the first one I thought of. The final movement just builds and builds in intensity with that descending riff and then sort of “explodes” when Steve Howe starts his guitar solo. And I hope I’m posting this correctly to get it cued up to where I want it to start. If not, go to 5:35. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Yu9ykgGUm1w/maxresdefault.jpg "Starship Trooper: a. Life Seeker, b. Disillusion, c. Würm (2008 Remaster)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu9ykgGUm1w&t=336) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-songs-with-great-climaxes/1019545.md?page=2)