
Are you the kind of person who likes to fall asleep to music? Well, recently while drifting off into dreamland while listening to Ty Segall's Goodbye Bread (one of 2011's best albums), we noticed that the San Francisco-based rocker signs off as the album fades out by saying, "Bye bye...see you next time...on the Reading Rainbow." This got us thinking -- what albums end with a song where the singer says so long and farewell to the listener? [Surprisingly, The Sound of Music soundtrack does not end with "So Long, Farewell," although legendary punk band the Vandals did close out their 1998 album Hitler Bad, Vandals Good with a cover of the Broadway standard.]
In addition to "Fine" by Segall, here are five album-closing tracks where the singer bids farewell to the listener. If you can think of any others, post them in the comments below!
"Fingerprint File," It's Only Rock 'n' Roll - the Rolling Stones (1974)
Mick Jagger concludes this the six-and-a-half minute funk-rocker by whispering hoarsely, "Good night...sleep tight..." And then he abruptly howls "Ow!" like a spider monkey, and the track ends.
"Rock Star," Live Through This - Hole (1994)
You probably know Courtney Love as the human train wreck who holds court at the Givenchy party during Fashion Week, but believe it or not, back in 1994, she actually released a pretty amazing album! As the scorching last track fades out, Ms. Love-Cobain whispers "Good bye...good bye...good bye" in a sing-song voice. Looking back, it seems like she might have been bidding farewell to her sanity.
"American Woman (Epilogue)," American Woman - the Guess Who (1970)
No, this isn't a Lenny Kravitz song from the Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack; Lenny covered the original version by Canadian rockers the Guess Who. In addition to kicking off the 1970 American Woman LP, the song also closes it, with singer Burton Cummings telling the titular American woman, "I'm gonna leave you woman. Bye-bye" over-and-over.
"Good Night," The Beatles (The White Album) - the Beatles (1968)
On this schmaltzy, string-laden song, which John Lennon wrote as a lullaby to his son Julian, Ringo Starr nasally croons the lyrics and is the only Beatle who actually appears on the recording (an orchestra of hired musicians plays behind him). As the song fades out, Ringo whispers, "Good night...good night everybody...everywhere...good night." Also, Teri Hatcher covered this song for a 2006 charity album called Unexpected Dreams. Now you know!
"Farewell and Goodnight," Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness - Smashing Pumpkins (1995)
By closing their double-LP with a lullaby, Billy Corgan & Co. tipped their caps to the Beatles' White Album closer. On this laid-back acoustic track, Corgan, the bald-behemoth, trades verses with the other Pumpkins, and bids adieu at the end by singing, "Good night, always, to all that's pure in your heart."
