Solemn Ending Theme

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
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This is my cheesy song for an RPG
Artistically invalid, but it rhymes sufficiently
And now it modulates to D
because it is the saddest of keys
To denote the tragic romance
That ended so predictably

"Cheesy RPG Song", ending theme of Turn Based Battle
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An emotional, solemn, usually slow-paced song played during the credits. Common especially in anime and video games.

The most common type is a pensive, retrospective or sad Anime Theme Song, but it can be an instrumental tune as well. Often so melodramatic that it falls into Narm territory.

Might be accompanied by a Credits Montage.

Tropes and styles commonly found in a Solemn Ending Theme:

Since except in some cases the soundtrack usually supports the temper of the ending, this is often a sign of a bittersweet or Downer Ending, except in anime, where the opening theme is usually more exciting in order to build excitement for the coming show while the closing theme is more somber to provide a resting period or moment of reflection between shows.

Preferably provide links to the song (Youtube or otherwise) when adding examples. Take care, linked credits videos might obviously contain ending spoilers; to prevent this, it would be optimal to link the song without the credits video or mark credits videos as such.

Examples of Solemn Ending Theme include:

Anime

Film

Live Action TV

  • Gerry Anderson's UFO has a fast upbeat opening theme, but closes with an ominous atmospheric piece.
  • Game of Thrones.
  • Parodied by the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Love Theme that plays over the show's closing credits, which is a much slower, ponderous version of the theme sung over the opening credits.
  • "Now it's time to say goodbye to all our company..."
  • Kamen Rider Black: "Long Long Ago 20th Century"
  • Friday episodes of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood from 1971-72 closed with the solemn-sounding "Weekend Song".
    • A part of this song would also serve as the coda to the closing version of "It's Such A Good Feeling" used since 1972, but the solemn effect was less pronounced because the preceding portion was upbeat, and the tempo picked up again for the instrumental as Mister Rogers said his closing words.

Professional Wrestling

  • When Mick Foley first appeared as "Mankind" in the WWF, he had two themes, an entrance theme and a different, more solemn exit theme that played when he won a match.

Video Games

Web Original