"The End" is stunning

The song is so awesome. However, the album version doesn't compare to when Eddie played it live at the Ryman this past summer.

It's a lot like a Randy Newman song in Toy Story II -- when the girl doll Josie sings about her child abandoning her. "When She Loved Me", it was sung by Sarah Ann McLachlan -- and wow, it was nominated for the oscar but lost to phil collins tarzan something.... sigh.

Amazing song for me. Not a song I especially wanted, but a song I needed. That I was there when Ed first performed it (6/12) was one of those cosmic karmic events in life....

There's something to be said for recognizing that it's simply the human condition to go through incredible, "searing" emotional pain -- knowing that others are going through it, others are writing about it perhaps having weathered it, survived.... That the inverse of that pain is in fact something quite beautiful.

Like this song. Like Black.

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I agree, it is the best song on the album and one of the all-time PJ classics. Such emotion, passion and lyrical mastery. Along with a great melody line. Brilliant.

I'm listening to it right now. It has the ITW feel. I love it. I loved it the first time I heard it. The way the lyrics are put to the music, brilliant!

Gmoney wrote:

So sorry to hear... what a bitter sweet day. I am and have been torn from day one as to whether or not this song is actually about death. At first I was convinced that it wasn't, and that it simply was written by someone who recognized the end of a relationship and was suffering greatly from it. The only thing that has slightly changed my mind, making me lean toward it being about death is the "gasp" at the end of the song. As if it's the last breath...

When Ed introduced the song at the Portland show he said "I'll be playing it alone, which is fitting because its about death." ...or something to that effect.

I love this song and I gave my mom the new album and this is her favorite song. It makes me wanna cry its so sad sounds like a dying guy saying bye to his family.

I am amazed by how Eddie managed to capture the emotional and physical pain that a fairly young patient (in this case I believe palliative in his early 40 or 50s with children and afflicted by bone metastases) will experience and express to his wife (sexes may be reverse). More than friends ... want to grow old (with you) ... sickness in my bones.

I, as a physician, have seen this reality a few times. The drainage of energy from metastatic cancer is complete ... bottom of a well. I have also seen up close from one on my 44 year old friend who passed away from metastatic lung cancer (he never smoked a cigarette in is life), this, 3 years ago. My father in law also went through the same emotional an physical despair described by Eddie 3 weeks ago.

I believe the ones that "get" this song have lost a close one. The ones that have yet to get it will one day as death of a close one inevitably will happen to them (hopefully, i.e., they will be close to another person and will not die prematurely themselves). This intense and painful emotion that come with death of a close one is important to help one grow and realize that there is a big picture, that each day should not be wasted, and there has to be life after death.

The songs ends perfectly as palliative cancer patients die in this fashion. I have seen it many times. They take one breath, and the next one does not come.