Best End Tags

[Rick5150]

I have been really intrigued by how many songs use end tags to close. I am sure I have the wrong words for that but I mean a section of the song that does not really follow the melody of the rest of the song that is used to end the song rather than a fade-out ending. Of course, the end tags could be used to fade out the song, but you know what I mean. If not here are a few examples, and I just listened to The Beach Boys Love You so it is a bit heavy in examples from that album:


The "I can't wait (can't wait) to see (her face)" section of Airplane from The Beach Boys Love You.
The "Who's the man that we admire? Johnny Carson is a real live wire" section of Johnny Carson from The Beach Boys Love You
The "Pat, pat, pat, pat pat her on her butt, butt" section of I Wanna Pick You Up from The Beach Boys Love You
The "1-2-3 She's falling in love with me" section of Love Is A Woman from The Beach Boys Love You
The "The Whispering winds send my wind chimes a tinklin' " section of Wind Chimes from Smiley Smile
The "I know that you'll feel better...." section of Vegetables from Smiley Smile
The "background 'noise' at the fade" section of All I Want to Do from 20/20 (I figured someone was going to bring it up if I did not... )

These little snippets of music really add interest to a song, and sound like they often could be melodies for stand-alone songs.

[rab2591]

'Surf's Up' - that piano step down is one of my favorite moments from any Beach Boys song. Even without lyrics that coda sounds heavenly.
'God Only Knows' - this is an obvious one. Philip Lambert points out, in the Songwriter documentary, how the opening instrumental melody in GOK shows up again in the coda; kinda neat how that melody opens the song and closes it. Each vocal line wraps around another harmony which is laid over such a beautiful instrumental.
'Surfers Rule' - it's a very short tag, but it is so damn catchy. At the time Brian felt like he was in competition with The Four Seasons and he threw in a friendly little poke at them during this part.
'That's Why God Made The Radio' - the tag to this song is beyond beautiful. Brian's "whoooaaaoo" wail at the end in combination with the chords is one of the saddest and incredible moments since 'The Night Was So Young'.
'Cabin Essence' - overall it's one of the greatest songs they ever did, but that tag is something from another world.

Great topic and I can't wait to see what others come up with. You're so right about the tags in Love You: that section from Airplane always hits me hard when I listen to that album.

[Michael Edward Osbourne]

Out of all their songs, Surf's Up and Cabinesence have my favorite end tags. I love the end tag of Endless Harmony (I just don't care for the rest of the song....)

[guitarfool2002]

'Surf's Up' - that piano step down is one of my favorite moments from any Beach Boys song. Even without lyrics that coda sounds heavenly.
'God Only Knows' - this is an obvious one. Philip Lambert points out, in the Songwriter documentary, how the opening instrumental melody in GOK shows up again in the coda; kinda neat how that melody opens the song and closes it. Each vocal line wraps around another harmony which is laid over such a beautiful instrumental.
'Surfers Rule' - it's a very short tag, but it is so damn catchy. At the time Brian felt like he was in competition with The Four Seasons and he threw in a friendly little poke at them during this part.
'That's Why God Made The Radio' - the tag to this song is beyond beautiful. Brian's "whoooaaaoo" wail at the end in combination with the chords is one of the saddest and incredible moments since 'The Night Was So Young'.
'Cabin Essence' - overall it's one of the greatest songs they ever did, but that tag is something from another world.

Great topic and I can't wait to see what others come up with. You're so right about the tags in Love You: that section from Airplane always hits me hard when I listen to that album.

Agreed.

"Warmth Of The Sun": Brian ends the song with the same wordless melody in falsetto as he started it with in the intro, only transposed to a higher key. The way he pushes his voice into an even higher range and sings it even more forcefully to close the song gives it an incredibly powerful ending, and an even deeper emotion than where he started it. It's like the falsetto intro soars as the introduction, before he tells his story and spills his guts, then when it's over he's feeling even deeper emotions after the release of stating the lyrics and that wordless vocal sounds even more like a cry of pain and hope mixed together.

No one did that kind of vocal like Brian. It's the fastball of all fastballs when he did that. Last time I heard it as prominently was on one of the final C50 shows in the UK when he reared back and let loose with one of those notes as Please Let Me Wonder was drawing to a close.

"When I Grow Up" : "won't last forever" answered by the falsetto "it's kind of sad", repeated and faded over new chord changes. Brilliant.

"Til I Die" : Maybe not an end tag, or is it? Whatever it can be called, it's unlike anything I've heard in popular music and one of the greatest and most unique sections in all popular music. It's hypnotic and devastating how it keeps going and eventually fades out into infinity. If Brian's choice of getting lost in a song was having a loop of Be My Baby played over and over as he went into a listening trance, I might choose a loop of this ending for my own meditations.

Edit to add a thought about Surf's Up: One of my favorite all-time musical moments happened to be captured on film. Inside Pop, that split-second right before Brian goes into the tag/ending wordless falsetto. He takes that breath and seems to prepare himself for delivering that falsetto ending mind-body-soul, and it's an element of the song which only happened by chance as the camera was rolling that day.

Tough to think of more. So many of Brian's songs back to the early days had great endings or fades where a chord would be added or something would change just enough to make it sound new compared to the rest of the song, short of composing an entirely new ending or tag.

[jiggy22]

When the bass kicks in for the ending tag of "At My Window". Pure bliss!

[tpesky]

Two tags for me that sound better live are California Girls and I just Wasn't Made for These Times with Brian and Al alternating.

It's Ok and Getcha Back are two of my favorites.

[rab2591]

Two tags for me that sound better live are California Girls and I just Wasn't Made for These Times with Brian and Al alternating.

It's Ok and Getcha Back are two of my favorites.

Yes! How could I forget Cali Girls? It's OK was never on my radar (I usually skipped it when it came on)...hearing it on vinyl forced me to listen to the whole thing and I was missing out on one hell of a tag.

[KDS]

The a capella ending of This Whole World

[Custom Machine]

In the Parking Lot

You Still Believe in Me

[SMiLE Brian]

I wanna pick you up.

[NOLA BB Fan]

Holidays - TSS. Love that vocal tag.

[rab2591]

Holidays - TSS. Love that vocal tag.

This is where I think BWPS really shines. The Smile Sessions version of 'Holidays' sounds decrepitly muddy and sparse (though I think that TSS tag is still very beautiful), whereas BWPS creates a crystal clear version of this song that really packs a punch. And Brian's beautiful "long, long ago, long ago" line is one of the most touching moments on that album.

[The Cincinnati Kid]

This Whole World.  Especially Brian singing This Whole World over the rest of the band.

Breakaway

California Girls

From There To Back Again

I Get Around

[NOLA BB Fan]

Holidays - TSS. Love that vocal tag.

This is where I think BWPS really shines. The Smile Sessions version of 'Holidays' sounds decrepitly muddy and sparse (though I think that TSS tag is still very beautiful), whereas BWPS creates a crystal clear version of this song that really packs a punch. And Brian's beautiful "long, long ago, long ago" line is one of the most touching moments on that album.

Yes. TSS Holidays is a bit of a mess. Guess that's why the tag at the end leading into Wind Chimes stands out for me
Just listened to the BWPS version and it is a lot better..

[Quzi]

Surprised no one has mentioned All This is That or I'll Bet He's Nice, they're up there for me

[Awesoman]

The a capella ending of This Whole World

Seconded. 

[JK]

Agreed on so many in this topic. I should imagine if you were to add up the BB songs that don't fade there wouldn't be too many. So masses to choose from.

I'd add "Leaving This Town" and "Girls On The Beach". Oh and "We're Together Again", where the additional chord has a softening, warming effect.

And... 

[rab2591]

Surprised no one has mentioned All This is That or I'll Bet He's Nice, they're up there for me

In addition to these I'd also add the tag to 'Funky Pretty', one of their more underrated songs in my opinion.

[SMiLE Brian]

Summer's gone!

[Willy Wilson]

The vocals and snare drum tag "Won't. Last. Forever. Won't last forever (forever)..." to 'Winds of Change' is totally scrumptious.

[Bicyclerider]

From Smile:

Vegetables tag - the incredible musical track and the great wordless Al vocal with backing vocals is gorgeous, one of the greatest minutes of music Brian ever committed to tape IMO.

Heroes and Villains cantina version tag (false Barnyard) - also the original MY Only Sunshine tag - strange but enthralling, and emblematic of the "cartoon consciousness" music Van Dyke has referred to as part of Smile

Cabinessence - although it's a new final section of the song with new lyrics as much as a tag

The Wonderful vocal tag that was never completed - "mama mama mama mama"

And on Smiley of course as mentioned the whispering winds tag of Wind Chimes is right up there with Brian's greatest musical moments as well.

[JK]

The exchange about doo wop in the "discuss a song a day" topic made me think (and not before time) of "I'm So Young", which not only boasts a fabulous tag with vocals to die for but a classic false ending!

The apotheosis of doo wop and one of my all-time BB favourites.

[Ray Lawlor]

Marcella.

Little Bird

At My Window

Cabinessence

Surf's Up

Till I Die

[barsone]

Summer's gone!

Oh Yeah....Summers Gone !!!! 

[Bleachboy]

Wind Chimes - Smiley Smile version