"The Song Is Over" (or "Song Is Over") is a song by the English rock band
the Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
, appearing on ''
Who's Next
''Who's Next'' is the fifth studio album by English rock band the Who. It developed from the aborted '' Lifehouse'' project, a multi-media rock opera conceived by the group's guitarist Pete Townshend as a follow-up to the band's 1969 album ''T ...
''. It was originally to be the ending song on ''
Lifehouse''.
It takes place after the police invade the Lifehouse Theatre and the concert goers disappear.
Lyrics and music
"The Song Is Over" is one of the tracks on ''Who's Next'' with lead vocals by both
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s.
Townsh ...
and
Roger Daltrey
Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the Rock music, rock band The Who.
Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include "My Generation", "Pinball Wizard", "Won't Ge ...
and piano work by
Nicky Hopkins
Nicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. Hopkins performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, most notably ...
.
According to Pete Townshend, the song provides "a mixture of being sad and wistful but at the same time a high point."
That mixture is achieved by Townshend's vocals conveying a sense of the end: "The song is over, It's all behind me", and Daltrey's conveying a sense of continuing: "I sing my songs to the wide open spaces ...." Who biographer John Atkins remarks that the two singers' "contrasting voices" "work wonderfully well."
Atkins considers Daltrey's vocals to be the song's strongest feature, but he also praises
Keith Moon
Keith John Moon (23 August 19467 September 1978) was an English drummer for the rock band the Who. He was noted for his unique style of playing and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour and addiction to drugs and alcohol.
Moon grew ...
's "superbly controlled" drumming,
John Entwistle
John Alec Entwistle (9 October 194427 June 2002) was an English musician who was the bassist for the rock band The Who. Entwistle's music career spanned over four decades. Nicknamed "The Ox" and "Thunderfingers", he was the band's only member ...
's "expressive"
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gui ...
and the "beautiful, rich
synthesizer
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
chords
Chord may refer to:
* Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously
** Guitar chord a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning
* Chord (geometry), a line segment joining two points on a curve
* Chord (as ...
on verses."
[ The music is based on an ]E flat major
E-flat major (or the key of E-flat) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has three flats. Its relative minor is C minor, and its parallel minor is E minor, (or enharmonically D m ...
7 chord progression, which Mike Segretto said is "sad and hopeful" and "guaranteed to jerk tears."[
According to Segretto, with ]metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...
s about singing his farewell song to "wide open spaces," "sky high mountains," and "the infinite sea," the song "poetically indicates that a heart may break but it will endure as nature does."[ Atkins interprets the song as being about the "concept of song" itself and forming the climax of the ''Lifehouse'' concept by being about "the power of song being finally harnessed as a unifying strength."][ Indeed, Atkins identifies "The Song Is Over," " Getting in Tune" (also released on ''Who's Next'') and "]Pure and Easy
Pure may refer to:
Computing
* A pure function
* A pure virtual function
* PureSystems, a family of computer systems introduced by IBM in 2012
* Pure Software, a company founded in 1991 by Reed Hastings to support the Purify tool
* Pure-FTPd, ...
" (later released on '' Odds and Sods'') as being the three songs that are most central to the ''Lifehouse'' concept in that they "reflect the central idea of music as a source of social and spiritual power."[ The song also features quotes from "Pure and Easy" in its final bars.][
]
Critical reception
''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' critic John Mendelsohn rates "The Song Is Over" as being among Daltrey's and Townshend's best work, describing it as "an unutterably beautiful song" in which Townshend sings exquisitely over a gentle piano background before and in between Daltrey charging in exhilaratingly over a hard part with breathtaking chord changes in the manner of the " Listening to you I hear the music . . ." refrain from ''Tommy
Tommy may refer to:
People
* Tommy (given name)
* Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film
* ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...
''. Music critic Chris Charlesworth
Chris Charlesworth is a British-based music journalist and author; and, between 1983 and 2016, managing editor of Omnibus Press. He is particularly noted for his work about, and with, The Who, for whom he has worked as an executive producer. Char ...
calls "The Song Is Over" "among the most gorgeous ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
s Pete ownshendhas ever written." Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...
similarly describes it as a "gorgeous" ballad. ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' critic Dave Marsh
Dave Marsh (born March 1, 1950) is an American music critic, and radio talk show host. He was an early editor of ''Creem'' magazine, has written for various publications such as ''Newsday'', ''The Village Voice'', and ''Rolling Stone (magazine), ...
describes it as an "exceptionally fine song." Segretto considers it "one of the Who's most beautiful songs" and ''Rolling Stone Record Guide
''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...
'', 2nd edition editor John Swenson concurred that it was one of Townshend's most beautiful songs.[ In the 4th edition of the '']Rolling Stone Album Guide
''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...
'', critic Mark Kemp described it as a "great Daltrey vocal vehicle." Atkins describes it as "a mature composition, structured with an almost baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
tidiness and order."[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Song Is Over
The Who songs
1970s ballads
Songs written by Pete Townshend
Song recordings produced by Glyn Johns
1971 songs
Song recordings produced by Pete Townshend
Songs about music