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Top Rock Codas: All's Well That Ends Well

By definition, a coda, or end piece, concludes a song with an idea that does not repeat an earlier one. A good coda can complement or create contrast; it can be subtle or overt; it can build gradually or start abruptly. And, let's face it, sometimes the end is the best part of the song. Here are 20 of rock's best "happy endings" -- and we've fast-forwarded to the part of the song that matters, sparing you the setup.
'Hey Jude'
The Beatles (1968)
The first song that should come to anyone's mind when thinking of a great pop coda is this one. It's a great ballad with a clear message: Hey, kid, cheer up." What makes this coda such a powerful and amazing one, though, is its ability to cheer everyone up who hears it. When the Fab Four break out into one of the simplest, yet most infectious singalongs at the end, defy yourself from joining in.
Beatles
Getty Images | YouTube
'Galang'
M.I.A. (2005)
M.I.A.'s 'Galang' encapsulates everything we love about her: Verses that tease, a chorus that sticks and a banging beat. She tops it all off with a coda that, much like 'Hey Jude,' is hard not to join in on and scream at the top of your lungs. The coda becomes the most transcendent moment of the song; to some it's nonsense, but to others the meaning only becomes clear when it's sung aloud.
M.I.A.
Tommy Jackson, Redferns
'Hiding All Away'
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (2005)
On 'Hiding All Away' Cave sings about a woman who seems to be searching for love but ends up in rather salacious situations with all the wrong men instead, while the Bad Seeds soundtrack Cave's narrative with their own cacophony. It all erupts into one fine finish as a gospel choir collides with organ and electric guitar to form a white-hot noise that's as pleasurable as it is unsettling.
Nick Cave
Getty Images
'Karma Police'
Radiohead (1997)
The coda on 'Karma Police' is what pushes this Radiohead song past its emotional edge, arriving almost without warning in its cathartic outpouring of the lyrics "For a minute there, I lost myself." The feelings expressed both lyrically and musically in the ending act as counterpoint to the rather assured nature of the verses, and show that perhaps the Karma Police aren't as well-balanced as they let on.
Thom Yorke
Gary Wolstenholme, Redferns
'Stand!'
Sly and the Family Stone (1969)
As the title track to Sly and the Family Stone's 1969 album, 'Stand!' is supported by a pulsing bass line and an exclamatory chorus that builds with each refrain. Finally, the song climaxes as the band stops on a dime and kicks into funk overdrive. You need to stand up for what you believe in, but you don't need to stand still.
Sly Stone
Getty Images
'Epic'
Faith No More (1989)
Though they were categorized as "funk metal" early on, there were always hints in Faith No More's work that suggested that they would outgrow their body gloves as well as that label. 'Epic' succeeds in doing just that because for all its rapped lyrics, funky bass lines and heavy metal riffage, the song makes absolutely no sense. While the piano-driven coda seems out of place, it fits perfectly with the rest of the song for being so hilariously over-the-top.
Matt Patton
Redferns / Getty Images
'Good Morning, Captain'
Slint (1991)
Slint singer Brian McMahan tells of a shipwrecked captain while the band repeats a relatively simple song structure. Once McMahan utters, "I miss you," everything changes: The distorted guitar line is sustained and the three words are repeated, with McMahan getting louder each time. Finally he screams them, and the music cascades into washes of pummeling dissonance, channeling the captain's feelings of loss and alienation.
Brian McMahan
Getty Images
'Station to Station'
David Bowie (1976)
At first, 'Station to Station' mimics the slow chug of a train gaining speed. As the tempo increases, the style changes, as well, mimicking the progression of Bowie's career. That is, until around the 6:02 mark, where Bowie blends disco, Philadelphia soul and his own take on Rock 'n' Roll to create something entirely fresh and new. Up until that point, Bowie was only gaining speed, but once he hit terminal velocity, he would never look back.
David Bowie
Redferns / Getty Images
'Execution Day'
The New Pornographers (2003)
Part of being a great pop band is knowing when and how to usurp the listener's expectations, while still maintaining pop song structures -- and the New Pornographers do pop amazingly well. Tacking the chorus of the song onto the end allows singers Dan Bejar and Carl Newman a continuous momentum from verse to verse and gives the chorus much more weight when they do reach it because it's all the more unexpected.
New Pornographers
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'When the Levee Breaks'
Led Zeppelin (1971)
Sure, Led Zeppelin borrowed a lot. You could even say they stole. 'Levee' has the Led Zep stamp all over it, whether it's the dirty Southern stomp, the backward harmonica echo or the reverberated vocals that seem to just wash over everything else. The last minute of 'Levee' is an extended jam that departs from the source material significantly but in a way that's true to the original song, essentially showcasing what Zep did best.
Robert Plant
Redferns / Getty Images
'November Rain'
Guns N Roses (1991)
After the lean 'Appetite for Destruction,' G N' R's material would often be self-indulgent, and at times, borderline unlistenable. The coda in 'November Rain,' however, works really well to balance their love for big songs with their raw, muscular tendencies and is really the anchor to the entire track.
Axl Rose
Redferns / Getty Images
'Layla'
Derek and the Dominoes (1970)
What starts out as a bluesy tribute to unrequited love ends as piano gorgeousness. Although contradictory, the two parts define each other: The standard blues first half is not so standard when it's accompanied by the piano part, and the piano seems all the more extraordinary when juxtaposed with the rocking start. The two parts achieve something greater than they would individually, which makes Clapton's longing for companionship all-the-more real.
Eric Clapton
WireImage
'Wake Up'
Arcade Fire (2005)
This song is a wellspring of emotions -- most of which are expressed in a single word: "Oh." That Arcade Fire are capable of conveying such a vast array of feelings through very few words is a tribute to their skills as songwriters and musicians. The coda in 'Wake Up' serves a similar purpose in its reference to '60s wall-of-sound pop (The Supremes' 'You Can't Hurry Love') lightens the mood with its buoyant energy, yet still lets Arcade Fire say a lot in a very subtle way.
Arcade Fire
WireImage
'Black Sabbath'
Black Sabbath (1970)
Heavy metal started with a death knell. It's well documented that the tritone that Tony Iommi repeats throughout the beginning of this Black Sabbath song is associated with the devil, but the dirge is only so evil-sounding because of what follows. As Ozzy yells a guttural "Oh, no, please, God, help me," Iommi's guitar rises, seemingly possessed, while Sabbath's rhythm section pound the last few nails into the coffin of blues rock.
Black Sabbath
Getty Images
'Alec Eiffel'
Pixies (1991)
The Pixies could do whatever they wanted, and 'Alec Eiffel' is a testament to their ability to effortlessly pull different styles out from nowhere and make them work. Surf rock may have been their go-to sound, but on 'Alec' the Pixies shift from a typical '90s rocker to a more synth-driven mode that would probably be more at home on a Stereolab record. That the Pixies pull it off is no small feat, but they make it sound so easy.
Black Francis
Redferns / Getty Images
'Beside You in Time'
Nine Inch Nails (2003)
This song finds Trent Reznor singing over a minimalist, shoegazey drone. The song seems infinite, with Reznor whispering the words "This goes on and on," adding to the feeling of endlessness. As if breaking from a trance, the music shifts abruptly when the guitars cut through the drone like sirens. When Reznor then returns with "We will never die/Beside you in time" the song becomes overwhelmingly heavy, and at that point comes as close as a song can to evoking such a sense of relief and calm.
Trent Reznor
Getty Images
'Purple Rain'
Prince (1984)
Much like 'November Rain,' 'Purple Rain' is a big song, and big songs need big finishes. Though unlike G N' R, Prince doesn't hold back. And because it was recorded live, the reverb of the club makes the song sound that much larger. The codaenhances that effect by adding length as well as melodrama. Prince plays us out with a huge guitar solo, and he is eventually joined by organ and strings, which are also signifiers for grandness as staples of gospel music.
Prince
Redferns / Getty Images
'PDA'
Interpol (2002)
What's most interesting about 'PDA' is how the song goes about shifting to the coda. A lot of the songs above involve a kind of abrupt shift, but this coda in particular actually continues the momentum of the song, feeding off it like feedback or a ripple effect. As it phases into something completely different entirely, it becomes clear that you're witnessing Interpol at its most artful.
Interpol
Getty Images
'Silence'
Portishead (2008)
The brilliant thing about this coda is that it simultaneously builds as it fades the song out. The majority of 'Silence' is a head-bobbing krautrock jam, driven by repetition and a rollicking drum beat. As Portishead lead us along, and we reach the end, the song becomes more intense, building with every repeating phrase. Through their hypnotic reiteration, they lull the listener into a sense of comfort, only to pull it out from under as the song ends unexpectedly.
Portishead
AFP / Getty Images
'Son the Father'
F---ed Up (2008)
'Son the Father' is a prime example of how a band can effectively set the tone for the rest of an album with the opening track. Like the flutes that announce the band's arrival, the coda helps F---ed Up defy any preconceived notions of what a hardcore band should sound like. The coda's extra length is used to escalate the song into near-shoegaze territory, thereby giving it a very euphoric feel without sacrificing any of the band's fervor.
Damian Abraham
Getty Images

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PhillyJoeC

God Only Knows - the Beach Boys
Surfs Up - the Beach Boys

January 19 2011 at 2:41 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
oscar

i'm surprised you mentioned the pixies, personally i would've chosen another pixies tune, but at least you put them on here

January 17 2011 at 2:57 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
rob iandolo

Oops almost forgot:
MY SWEET LORD [George Harrison]
IMAGINE [do I actually have to say what version? don't be a putz, OK John Lennon]
ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE [Beatles]
YMCA [Village People]
MARGERITAVILLE [Jimmy Buffet]
It's Kick off time gotta go.

January 16 2011 at 12:52 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
pheequine

Pink Floyd--"Comfortably Numb"

January 16 2011 at 7:47 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
John Levis

Best thing about all of these is that they (mercifully) ended.

January 15 2011 at 3:43 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
eddy callaghan

How about The Clash's "White man in Hammersmith Palais"?

September 25 2010 at 3:52 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
chris of suffolk

two nobody seems to have considered - in the style and spirit of "layla", there's the coda to (the original, british) fleetwood mac's "oh well", which on the original single occupied the b-side. i've been trying to download it for ages, but can't find it.
and then who could resist the sumptuous closing solo on the carpenters' "goodbye to love", where the guitar, having established a fuzz template earlier in the song, goes off into previously unexplored galaxies, only to be cut off in its prime beyond prime by the evil genius that is richard carpenter?

September 25 2010 at 2:14 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to chris of suffolk's comment
chris of suffolk

having scrolled up just a little way i see that someone else has nominated "oh well". oh well. congratulations on your taste and perspicacity

September 25 2010 at 2:24 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
kwak

comfotably numb say no more

September 24 2010 at 7:36 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Alun

The presence of a coda as a structural element in a music movement is especially clear in works written in particular musical forms . In a sonata form movement, the recapitulation section will, in general, follow the exposition in its thematic content, while adhering to the home key . The recapitulation often ends with a passage that sounds like a termination, paralleling the music that ended the exposition; thus, any music coming after this termination will be perceived as extra material, i.e., as a coda. In works in variation form, the coda occurs following the last variation and will be very noticeable as the first music not based on the theme.
Not a clue! What the above means.
But I do like Hey Jude by the Beatles

September 11 2010 at 11:04 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Patsy

And what about Tunnel of Love - Dire Straits.

September 11 2010 at 8:59 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply