Best Closing Songs: 25 Final Tracks in Film That Made a Lasting Impression

Posted by Marina Galperina
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The right closing song will leave the movie theater with you. Whether you're crying or grinning after that final scene, you'll definitely be humming. Just like for our best Opening Songs countdown, we've rounded up some of cinema's greatest finishing tracks. Same rules apply: No doubling up on directors, no musicals and no non-song themes -- Sorry again, 'Star Wars.' Oh, and one more thing: There will be spoilers... and a special comment from our #1. Check our favorite picks and let us know if we missed yours.

25. 'Miss Misery,' Elliott Smith

'Good Will Hunting' (1997)

After a die-hard therapist (Robin Williams) unravels the deep-rooted psychological burdens of math genius Will Hunting (Matt Damon), Hunting takes off for California in a Chevy "to see about a girl" while Elliott Smith chimes in with a melancholy, almost-maybe-hopeful tune. Since Smith's tragic death in 2003, this song is one of his most fondly remembered and recognized -- it earned him an Oscar nomination in 1998.

Read 'Miss Misery' Lyrics

24. 'Born Slippy .NUXX,' Underworld

'Trainspotting' (1996)

Underworld's B-side remix with its restless pounding and joke lyrics of "babes and babes and babes and babes and babes" wasn't intended to be a hit, but it slammed up to #2 on the UK Singles Chart after scoring the end scene to Danny Boyle's 'Trainspotting,' which is really just the opening scene inside out. Junky protagonist Renton isn't ranting against "normal life" this time because that shady heroin deal money he ripped off his comparably less fortunate addict friends should fund his "normal life" quite cozily. Cue club track. Party.

Read 'Born Slippy' Lyrics

23. 'Wake Up,' Rage Against the Machine

'The Matrix' (1999)

Rage Against the Machine's Zack de la Rocha raps about government conspiracies to keep the people from righteous revolt while this '90s cult classic's hero Neo sends out a message of revolution to the artificial intelligence that enslaves humanity in the virtual reality of the Matrix. Talk about metaphor...

Read 'Wake Up' Lyrics

22. 'Mad World,' Gary Jules

'Donnie Darko' (2001)

The surrealist psychological thriller ends with troubled, teen prophet Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) mastering wormhole transport and propelling himself into recent past to be at the site of a freak accident. The final montage/reveal is scored by Gary Jules's version of the Tears for Fears song, drawn out to maximum sadness.

Read 'Mad World' Lyrics

21. 'Things Have Changed,' Bob Dylan

'Wonder Boys' (2000)

'Wonder Boys' stars Michael Douglas as novelist, creative writing professor and marijuana hobbyist Grady Tripp, unsettled by pregnancy from an adulterous affair, complicated (read: gun-wielding) star students and, in one pivotal scene, hundreds of pages from the only copy of his new novel flying away in the wind. Of all the happy resolutions, Tripp clicking "Save" on his laptop is most climactic. There's a happy ending. "Things have changed."

Read 'Things Have Changed' Lyrics

20. 'Coconut,' Harry Nilsson

'Reservoir Dogs' (1992)

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Who cares if Quentin Tarantino's unsuccessful-heist-with-undercover cop classic "borrowed" intensely from 1987 Hong Kong action film 'City on Fire,' down to this tense, final Mexican standoff scene? You can't argue with genius. Bang! Bang! Bang! After gurgling with blood and guilt, Mr. Orange (Tim Roth) comes clean to Mr. White (Harvey Keitel) about being a cop and things get a little more red. Cue credits to the merry, Calypso stylings of 'Coconut' -- so wrong, yet so right.

Read 'Coconut' Lyrics | Watch on YouTube

19. 'Flashdance... What a Feeling,' Irene Cara

'Flashdance' (1983)

This synth-heavy '80s anthem was written for the film that made it an international chart-topper. Steel welder/untrained-yet-phenomenal dancer Alex (Jennifer Beals) pirouettes and gyrates her heart out at the auditions to a prestigious conservatory, but leaves quickly. Who cares if she was accepted? She had a romantic freeze-frame to make!

Read 'What a Feeling' Lyrics

18. 'Cat People (Putting Out a Fire),' David Bowie

'Cat People' (1982)

Bowie's brooding ballad blasts in at the credits of Paul Schrader's cult flick starring Nastassja Kinski and Malcolm McDowell as rabid, incestuous werepanthers... It's a niche film, ok? Enter soundtrack fetishist Quentin Tarantino, who deemed the song's oomph as wasted in the credits and thought "Man, if I had that song, I'd build a 20-minute scene around it!" That he did for a definitive scene in 'Inglourious Basterds.' Cinematic stuff! To boot, Bowie's "putting out the fire with gasoline" lyrics are actually literally appropriate in this one, considering the next flaming sequence of events.

Read 'Cat People' Lyrics

17. 'Exit Music (for a Film),' Radiohead

'Romeo + Juliet' (1996)

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Only Radiohead's Thom Yorke could make the ending of 'Romeo and Juliet' even more depressing. More than just a monument to literalism, 'Exit Music' is also a chilling post-mortem middle finger to the parents and authority figures who stood between the star-crossed lovers. In addition to the film's closing credits, the song also accompanied countless bouts of emo poetry writing by a generation of misunderstood, mascara-stained teens.

Read 'Exit Music (for a Film)' Lyrics | Watch on YouTube

16. 'The Wrestler,' Bruce Springsteen

'The Wrestler' (2008)

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The Boss wrings this one straight out of his heart -- the tune he wrote for Darren Aronofsky's 'The Wrestler' is a tear-jerker. In his comeback hit role, Mickey Rourke stars as an aging wrestling legend down on his luck, "a one-legged dog" and "a one trick pony." There are a few ups but, ultimately, there's just one very dramatic final down in the rink.

Read 'The Wrestler' Lyrics | Watch on YouTube

15. 'Save Me,' Aimee Mann

'Magnolia' (1999)

Aimee Man wrote this Grammy-nominated song for Paul Thomas Anderson's Oscar-nominated mosaic epic set in the San Fernando Valley. Seems like one of his central, intertwined characters -- a lass unlucky with lovers and addictions -- gets "saved," despite being one of "the freaks/who suspect they could never love anyone." John C. Reilly -- the heavily religious White Knight in a police uniform -- is here to make it all better and get drowned out by the music.

Read 'Save Me' Lyrics

14. 'Age of Aquarius,' 5th Dimension

'40-Year-Old Virgin' (2005)

Only really joyous occasions call for blasting anything the 'Hair' soundtrack. How about the resolution of decades of unnecessary sexual complexes with a very successful, 2-hour romp with the one you love? That calls for an 'Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In' medley! Take it, Steve Carell!

13. 'Put a Little Love in Your Heart,' Al Green and Annie Lennox

'Scrooged' (1999)

Al Green and Annie Lennox's version of the song "Put a 'Scrooged' was basically a modern take on 'A Christmas Carol,' just a whole lot wackier. How so? A heartless TV mogul Frank Cross played by Bill Murray is confronted by a David Johansen of the New York Dolls as the hell-trollish, taxi-driving Ghost of Christmas Past, for one thing. Cross has a change of heart alright, and after his emphatic speech, the whole cast sings 'Put a Little Love in Your Heart,' the film ends and the Al Green and Annie Lennox charting hit version kicks in in the credits. Enjoy it in their music video.

Read 'Put a Little Love in Your Heart' Lyrics

12. 'Just Like Honey,' Jesus and Mary Chain

'Lost in Translation' (2003)

You can argue about what Bill Murray inaudibly whispered into Scarlett Johansson's ear. You can debate whether or not director Sofia Coppola's heroine -- alienated by her famous partner and emotionally stranded in Tokyo -- is really autobiographical projection of her past relationship with Spike Jonze. Or you can just enjoy Coppola's soundtracking skills that turn movie scenes into music videos.

Read 'Just Like Honey' Lyrics

11. 'The Sound of Silence,' Simon and Garfunkel

'The Graduate' (1967)

Just in case you were wondering why Natalie Portman's strut to Damien Rice's 'The Blower's Daughter' isn't on the list, Mike Nichols directed 'Closer' too. Before that, there was 'The Graduate.' After dramatically crashing a wedding to bits, Dustin Hoffman's character rides the bus off into the horizon, rescued bride in tow. As the duo's euphora wears off and their beaming expressions slowly slump, Simon and Garfunkel's melancholy folk classic fills in the awkward silence.

Read 'The Sound of Silence' Lyrics

10. 'Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometimes,' Beck

'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' (2004)

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Only a love story is written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Michel Gondry would reunite two exes after the last time around sent them volunteering for a targeted memory erasing procedure. Look at them running off into the snowy horizon together. "Change your heart." Pffft... Pass the tissues, please?

Read 'Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometimes' Lyrics | Watch on YouTube

9. 'Queen Bitch,' David Bowie

'The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou' (2004)

Wow, it's really tough to pick a Wes Anderson favorite. It was a very close tie with ' Everyone' by Van Morrison in 'The Royal Tenenbaums' for scoring family funeral goers into optimists, but 'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou' wins for Anderson's most triumphant slow-motion walk of all as world famous Oceanographer and documentarian Steve Zissou realizes that catching the "Jaguar shark" isn't the point - it's the adventure. The film award accolades are good too. Damn, Bowie's good for self-satisfied strutting!

Read 'Queen Bitch' Lyrics

8. 'Don't You (Forget About Me),' Simple Minds

'The Breakfast Club' (1985)

YouTube

So, you've just vented all your "troubles and doubts" and "everything inside and out." What better way to end John Hughes's classic '80s teen drama and celebrate your escape from being a detention hall with five high school stereotypes performing amateur therapy on each other? Cue the victory anthem of friendship!

Read 'Don't You (Forget About Me)' Lyrics | Watch on YouTube

7. 'Jazz Thing,' Gangstarr

'Mo' Better Blues' (1990)

Director Spike Lee specifically requested the jazz-influenced, East Coast hip-hop duo Gangstarr to contribute to the soundtrack of 'Mo' Better Blues,' a '90s classic starring Denzel Washington as playboy jazz trumpeter Bleek Gilliam, a fictional composite partially based on Chet Baker, who, like Bleek, suffered a mouth injury in a fight that put a damper on his spectacular career. The late MC Guru and DJ/producer DJ Premier delivered a perfect closing credits track that pays homage to jazz greats and features saxophonist Branford Marsalis. See it come together in the music video below.

Read 'Jazz Thing' Lyrics

6. 'Somebody to Love,' Jefferson Airplane

'A Serious Man' (2009)

Set in 1967 Minnesota, the same year that Jefferson Airplane released it's hippie hit, Coen brothers biblical-themed comedic drama is one mishap after another for protagonist professor Larry Gopnik. In the end, trouble befalls his very unfortunate heir as well while 'Somebody to Love' blasts diegetically from his son's compact music player and, as the final misfortune approaches as an ominous tornado, blasts in as a regular score.

Read 'Somebody to Love' Lyrics

5. 'Little Person,' Jon Brion

'Synecdoche, New York' (2008)

YouTube

Charlie Kaufman's meta-meta-textual saga 'Synecdoche, New York' winds down with Philip Seymour Hoffman's character stranded in the biggest stage in the world abandoned by its characters, a city with no people. After decades of orchestrating his grand experiment, all this "just a little person, one person in a sea" can hope for is that very last stage direction. Bummer... but how cinematic.

Watch on YouTube

4. 'Happy Together,' the Turtles

'Happy Together' (1997)

A long road trip is thwarted in Argentina, along with the passionate, torturous relationship of two lovers from Hong Kong in this gorgeous masterpiece by Wong Kar-wai. In the end of it all, the 1967 ditty's romantic idealism takes on a new note, covered by Danny Chung: Maybe the only way to be "happy together" is not to be.

Read 'Happy Together' Lyrics

3. 'My Way,' Sid Vicious

'Goodfellas' (1990)

YouTube

As Martin Scorsese finishes up his take on the non-fiction New York City crime book of wiseguy-turned-mafia-informant Henry Hill, he ties up the story of each of the 'Goodfellas' into a nice little bow. Who got pinched, who got whacked and who entered the Witness Protection Program and got away with it all, at least for a little while. That last one's Hill himself. And more, much more than this, he did it hi-i-is wa-a-ay, with a conviction so obnoxious, Sid expresses it better than Frank.

Read 'My Way' Lyrics | Watch on YouTube

2. 'We'll Meet Again,' Vera Lynn

'Dr. Strangelove' (1964)

Just in case you were wondering why you haven't seen the 'Clockwork Orange' thematic double hitter closing of Beethoven symphony and 'Singing in the Rain' here yet... For Stanley Kubrick, we went a little further back and a little bigger. BOOM goes the Doomsday Machine in the classic nuclear scare comedy 'Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.' Vera Lynn's WWI era song scoring the mushroom clouds. Epic dark satire.

1. 'Where Is My Mind,' the Pixies

'Fight Club' (1999)

Eleven years after the Pixies's 'Surfer Rosa' album, director David Fincher scored the climax to his film adaption of Chuck Palahniuk's cult lit hit with 'Where Is My Mind.' That embedded the 1988 track into the 'Fight Club' collective zeitgeist for years of fandom to come and catapulted the band into a newer, bigger wave of fame. Just how well the music fit Tyler Durden euphoric, anarchistic legacy surprised even the band.

"When I watched 'Fight Club,' I was shocked when it came on," Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago tells Spinner. "The whole movie was an electronic score by the Dust Brothers and the most violent scene, with the buildings crashing down, the first thing you hear is acoustic guitar. Are you kidding me? And then the slow ballad played as things were beautifully crumbling. Genius! That's a great placement of song." Glad we agree.

Read 'Where Is My Mind' Lyrics

Best Opening Songs