Death Song

Death Is Dramatic. So is musical theatre. Therefore it should come as no surprise that major deaths are often accompanied by a final musical exclamation by the dying character—and frequently another, for extra duet points. The Death Song is often followed, fittingly enough, by a Grief Song. Sometimes the two even overlap. Frequently a Tear Jerker or a Dark Reprise. In some works can attract Killed Mid-Sentence/Musicalis Interruptus.

It should be noted that this can describe a song a character sings as he or she dies, or a song building up to (and ending with) the singing character's death.


 * "How Glory Goes" from Floyd Collins.
 * "Tell Her I Love Her" from Urinetown, a duet which is half this and half Grief Song.
 * "A Little Fall of Rain", "Come To Me",, and the epilogue from Les Misérables.
 * "Eva's Final Broadcast" and/or "Lament" (depending on production) from Evita.
 * "Sh'ma" from Parade could be argued to be this, as Leo is about to die.
 * "I Didn't Know I'd Love You So Much" from the film version of Repo! The Genetic Opera.
 * The reprise of the titular song in Man of La Mancha - but a surprise, as Don Quixote does not know he is dying.
 * "I'm Goin' Home" from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, though Frank doesn't die during it, but afterwards, and isn't even aware he's going to be killed until afterwards.
 * The reprise of "Somewhere" is  Death Song in West Side Story. *sniffle*
 * "Some Things Are Meant To Be" from Little Women, The Musical, acts as Beth's Death Song, even though she doesn't actually die at the end. She dies afterwards, off-screen.
 * "Mother Earth and Father Time," from the 1973 film of Charlotte's Web.
 * Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street ends with the title character singing a reprise of which is both one of these and a Grief Song given that, just before.
 * "The Mole's Reprise" from South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut.
 * Parodied in The Bachelor when Jimmy notes that Mariah Carey's character is singing even while she's dying.
 * "Blue" from Cowboy Bebop.
 * But we're not quite sure he IS dead...
 * "Farewell at the Foot of the Hill" from Clannad After Story
 * " Noble End" from Star Wars
 * from Jesus Christ Superstar.
 * from Little Shop of Horrors. other characters die, but they either do not die immediately after a song or die immediately after a song sung by someone else.
 * Neil Young's Birds has been interpreted as this.
 * In Children of Eden Abel sings a few lines of 'The Wasteland' as he dies
 * The Crucifixion from Godspell certainly counts.
 * The Flesh Failures from Hair is  death song. He even gets a Dark Reprise of his "I Am" Song in.
 * Last Midnight for The Witch in Into the Woods. Of course, we're not quite sure if she's dead...
 * "No One Mourns the Wicked" from Wicked. Subverted, as we later find out she's just hiding.
 * The reprise of "Out to the Sea" for in "Kristina", as well as "I'll Be Waiting There" for
 * Infamously,and memetically, the violent death scene from the finale of The OC.
 * "Always Look On The Bright Side of Life" from Monty Python's Life of Brian.
 * "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Canadian singer and songwriter Gordon Lightfoot is based on an actual ship wreck and was done as a memorial.
 * Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury manages to turn "Happy Birthday" into one for multiple characters.