Craig’s Friday Countdown Best Endings
Caught in a meeting going nowhere, two Siftings rattling around in my head, but it’s not like I can whip out the laptop and start maneuvering words into order. But I can hand write a list and make it look like I’m taking notes. Thus (off the top of my head, so I could be way off) the best ending songs I can think of. Before we get started, I’m gonna declare Delta Rae’s “If I Loved You” unfair. Whenever I hear that on the radio, I feel sorry for whoever has to follow it.
44. Star Spangled Banner, Various – Ending isn’t bad, and a baseball game usually follows, but “gave proof through the night” and “oh say does that…” verses are the pinnacles of the song.
43. Happy Birthday to You, Various – Because, cake and presents follow.
42. Brass in Pocket, Pretenders – What’s better than cake? Chrissy Hynde moaning.
41. Lanterns, Birds of Tokyo – “… we are ready, we are young, we have nothing to fear.” Good for them.
40. And She Was, Talking Heads – The guitar bit.
39. All My Life, Foo Fighters – “… done, done and I’m on to the next”. With volume set to Foo.
38. Bloodbuzz Ohio, The National – “… I was carried … to Ohio, in a swarm of bees …”. Not saying I have any idea what that means.
37. Georgia Ray, John Hiatt – “… lucky for you, child … you look like your mama.”
36. Who Will Comfort Me, Melody Gardot – The laugh at the end gets me every time.
35. Ice Cream Man, Van Halen – Because I was once 17.
33. We Came to Dance, Gaslight Anthem – There’s no better ending to any song before taking the field to give steal signs.
32. I Think She Likes Me, Treat Her Right – A three minute, thirty-four second ode to optimism.
31. I Wanna Be Sedated, Ramones – Come to this meeting.
30. Medicine, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals – Any live version.
29. Tennessee Plates, John Hiatt – The ending is like a class in songcraft.
28. tie – (just when you think they’re over songs) One Tree Hill by U2 and This Beat Goes On by The Kings
27. tie – (tapering off songs) Stacked Actors by Foo Fighters and Volvo Driving Soccer Mom by Everclear
26. Eulogy, Frank Turner – “… at least I (expletive deleted) tried …”.
25. The Truck Got Stuck, Corb Lund – Any song that includes “… epilogue …” as a spritely stand-alone verse, makes the list.
24. Girl’s Got Rhythm, AC/DC – See “Ice Cream Man”. Also, the fact that Bon is as certain of the rhythm thing the last time he sings it as the first is, to me, heartwarming.
23. tie – (made for each other) Let’s Get Drunk & Get It On by Old97s and Whisky While I Wait by Jesse Thomas
22. Rough Boys, Pete Townsend – Guitarist for some band called The Who knows how to close.
21. Promise You Anything, Steve Earle – Obsession evident here, but the very end has the best mix of Maria McKee’s vocals.
20. Walking In Memphis, Marc Cohn – Not proud of it, just happen to like it.
19. Rumor Has It, Adele – Again, songcraft.
18. The Long Cut, Uncle Tupelo – “… we’ll get there eventually …” (the end of this meeting?)
17. A Long December, Counting Crows – “… been so long since I seen the ocean … think I should”. On the way back to City Hall, if this meeting ends before nightfall.
16. Talent Show, The Replacements – Some people do the Amy Cuddy thing before interviews. I just listen to this. (not saying that’s a perfect strategy)
15. Surrender, Cheap Trick – “we’re all all right, we’re all all right”.
14. Sometime Around Midnight, The Airborne Toxic Event – “… you just have to see her, you just have to see her, you just have to see her, you know that she’ll break you in two.” Been there, done that.
13. Open All Night, Springsteen – “… hey ho rock and roll, deliver me from nowhere”.
12. Red Light Fever, Liz Phair – Honestly, almost any early to mid Liz.
11. All The Way, Eddie Vedder – Someday, this year?
10. People Get Ready, Jeff Beck – Because if there had to be slow dancing, some masterful guitar work made it not completely uncool.
9. Romeo & Juliet, Dire Straights – How bout it, indeed.
8. Thunder Road, Springsteen – Last verse (“… it’s a town full of losers, I’m pulling out of here to win”) is the fulcrum upon which Born to Run (song and album) and thus, Springsteen’s career, rests.
7. Left of the Dial, The Replacements – The big giant guitars. The hopeful wail of wistfulness. Yeah, that’s gonna play.
6. Time You Waste, Steve and Justin Earle – “… the time you miss, is the time you waste.”
5. If I Had A Rocket Launcher, Bruce Cockburn – During the days of do I really want to fly helicopters ROTC, wearing Sandinistas t-shirts at PT. Probably in the FBI file.
4. Can’t Hardly Wait, The Replacements – The closest thing I have to a tattoo.
3. Let The Day Begin, The Call – Last song heard as a bachelor. Car stereo on the way to church. Loud.
2. The Way You Look Tonight, Frank Sinatra – How you get there is your business, but proper mixtapes end here.
1. Laughter, Bruce Cockburn – “… I laugh for me and Kitty in the delivery room, waiting for the child’s first cry.”
update: forgot Paula Cole's "I Don't Want To Wait" (Live on Letterman version).
