Songs That End Softly

[After Eight]

Songs That End Softly#1

Posted: 9/12/13 at 8:04am

Reading the responses in the very interesting song ending thread, I was thinking that a song needn't have a grand finish to prompt that special "frisson" --- ending softly can equally touch the recesses of one's soul.

I can think of a number of songs that do so, often of a wistful bent. Some that come readily to mind:

A Little Bit in Love, winsomely sung by Edie Adams; Where Shall I Find Him? and When You Want Me (Sail Away); Walking Away Whistling and the reprise of Summertime Love (Greenwillow); Seagull, Starfish, Pebble (La Strada)

Anyone else have favorite songs that end softly?

[dreaming]

Songs That End Softly#2

Posted: 9/12/13 at 8:13am

"I Dreamed a Dream" (the late, great Laurie Beechman's version is my favorite) is the first one that pops into my head.

[tazber]

Songs That End Softly#2

Posted: 9/12/13 at 8:29am

The ending of Another Winter in a Summer Town is absolutely haunting.

....but the world goes 'round

[mamaleh]

Songs That End Softly#3

Posted: 9/12/13 at 9:00am

Love Don't Need a Reason (THE BOY FROM OZ)
What's the Use of Won'drin' (CAROUSEL)

[Wynbish]

Songs That End Softly#4

Posted: 9/12/13 at 9:48am

Even though it ends on the highest note of the song, I love when Amalias don't forcibly project the end of "Will He Like Me?". If they do, it takes away from the parts that are projected and disrupts the arc of that song.

Also, "How Could I Ever Know" ends pretty softly

[morosco]

Songs That End Softly#5

Posted: 9/12/13 at 9:58am

Music of the Night -PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

[dreaming]

Songs That End Softly#6

Posted: 9/12/13 at 10:17am

morosco-How could I forget that! And it's a gorgeous, gorgeous ending after the crescendo just before it.

Memory is another that pops into my head with a quiet ending. (I find it neat after the big 'money notes' there on "Touch me..." how the song ends so quietly-and yet the note is very high for a soft note (it's really difficult to do correctly).)

[morosco]

Songs That End Softly#7

Posted: 9/12/13 at 10:29am

Bring Him Home -LES MISERABLES

[Unknown User]

Songs That End Softly#8

Posted: 9/12/13 at 10:31am

With You - GHOST

[morosco]

Songs That End Softly#9

Posted: 9/12/13 at 11:20am

Losing My Mind - FOLLIES

[GilmoreGirlO2]

Songs That End Softly#10

Posted: 9/12/13 at 11:54am

While it has a nice crescendo right before the end, the very end of “Unusual Way” (NINE) is the first thing I thought of.

[eperkins]

Songs That End Softly#11

Posted: 9/12/13 at 12:14pm

I think there are lots of examples. Here are two that leapt to my mind:

Mamma Look Sharp
I'm Not My Father's Son

[jnb9872]

Songs That End Softly#12

Posted: 9/12/13 at 12:37pm

Not every song deserves a thunderous climax, it is absolutely true. Many songs are all the more effective for their refusal to bend to that moment.

For example, RAGTIME, the score loaded with epic climaxes (many of which are among my favorites), also boasts "Your Daddy's Son" and "Sarah Brown Eyes," two songs that gorgeously resolve without triumph and fanfare, but sorrow and remorse.

"The 'I Love You' Song" from SPELLING BEE ends with it's hauntingly soft rejoinder to the wildly fanciful eruptions of melody towards its end... stunning and gorgeous way to finish that particular fantasy.

"Falling Slowly" from ONCE ends the way it beguilingly began, only now with both its piano and guitar playing in sync (god, the orchestrations for that show are genius.) There are a number of songs in that score ("Gold" and "Sleeping" as well) that have similar structures, but the acoustic style of music there lends itself to softer endings far more easily than your typical Broadway fare.

Another acoustic favorite: "I Chose Right" from BABY.

The title number from THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA ends softly, gorgeously, perfectly.

For all its pomp and parade, "Is Anybody There?" from 1776 ends with a ponderous anxiety, as befits its night-before-the-vote climactic placement.

Respecting the known proclivities of the OP, I will group all of my Sondheim mentions together at once:
"Move On"
"A Bowler Hat"
"No More"
"No One Is Alone"

And, since I'm me, I have to mention "Quiet" from MATILDA here, which folds softly in on itself in its gorgeous second half.

My list is by no means comprehensive, but I'm glad After Eight brought up the other side of this coin.

Words don't deserve that kind of malarkey. They're innocent, neutral, precise, standing for this, describing that, meaning the other, so if you look after them you can build bridges across incomprehension and chaos. But when they get their corners knocked off, they're no good anymore…I don't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.

Updated On: 9/12/13 at 12:37 PM

[Sant]

Songs That End Softly#13

Posted: 9/12/13 at 5:06pm

"Marta" - KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN
"She's a woman" - KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN
"There's a fine fine line" - AVENUE Q
"Somewhere that's green" - LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
"A little fall of rain" - LES MIS

[darquegk]

Songs That End Softly#14

Posted: 9/12/13 at 5:48pm

Miracle in Matilda tapers very quickly down to nothing.

Finale (everything you ever) in Doctor Horrible ends almost silent, a cappella.

[binau]

Songs That End Softly#15

Posted: 9/12/13 at 6:23pm

When Benadette Peters sang SEND IN THE CLOWNS it ended with a whisper. Loved her performance.

Give me claws and a hunch, just away from this bunch.

[Gothampc]

Songs That End Softly#16

Posted: 9/12/13 at 6:27pm

Sunrise Sunset, Anatevka and Sabbath Prayer from Fiddler On The Roof

If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.

Updated On: 9/12/13 at 06:27 PM

[Unknown User]

Songs That End Softly#17

Posted: 9/12/13 at 7:27pm

"Rosie" from BYE BYE BIRDIE.

"You Are Love" from SHOW BOAT originally ended softly, but I believe that the soft ending is rarely used nowadays.

The Finale from CABARET also ends somewhat softly, if you excuse the cymbal crash.

[peerrjb]

Songs That End Softly#18

Posted: 9/13/13 at 12:37am

I'm a little prejudiced, I am sure, but when I directed PIPPIN years ago, I worked with our amazing Catherine (Lisa Dyson, in case anybody reading this knows her) to sing "I Guess I'll Miss the Man" so surely, with all the little jokes intact, that when she held......the last note....down to a whisper, it stopped the show. I like Mister S's small stuff, and this song is just beautifully constructed.

[somethingwicked]

Songs That End Softly#19

Posted: 9/13/13 at 12:59am

"A Quiet Thing" from FLORA THE RED MENACE

Tonya Pinkins: Then we had a "Lot's Wife" last June that was my personal favorite. I'm still trying to get them to let me sing it at some performance where we get to sing an excerpt that's gone.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.

[eatlasagna]

Songs That End Softly#20

Posted: 9/13/13 at 2:54am

I'm Not that Girl - WICKED

[JuanValjean72]

Songs That End Softly#21

Posted: 9/13/13 at 12:53pm

"Not A Day Goes By" from Merrily We Roll Along

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Songs That End Softly#22

Posted: 9/13/13 at 1:06pm

"Gethsemane" in Jesus Christ Superstar, pre-1996. Most recordings and live productions tend to try to give it a big finish even without the added tag, but I've never cared for that. The 1972 Australian cast recording gives it the nice slow send-off it needs. I believe the Indigo Girls "Resurrection" recording also does so.

Formerly gvendo2005
Broadway Legend
joined: 5/1/05

Blocked: After Eight, suestorm, david_fick, emlodik, lovebwy, Dave28282, joevitus, BorisTomashevsky, Seb28

[Kad]

Songs That End Softly#23

Posted: 9/13/13 at 2:10pm

"I Hate the Bus" blends softly into the next song. It's lovely.

"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."

[Dave19]

Songs That End Softly#24

Posted: 9/13/13 at 2:32pm

I know the truth:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dw0yt8it134

Loose Ends:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAs2-VF_2bc