Line #1 Main/DeathSong


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6	[[quoteright:350:[[Theatre/{{Hamilton}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/stayalive_reprise.png]]]]
7	[[caption-width-right:350:♪"Save your strength and stay alive..."♫]]
8	%%
9	->''"Opera is when a guy gets stabbed in the back and instead of bleeding, he sings."''
10	-->-- variously attributed
11
12	DeathIsDramatic. [[TheMusical 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. Often followed, fittingly enough, by a GriefSong. Sometimes the two even overlap. Frequently a TearJerker or a DarkReprise. In some works can attract KilledMidSentence[=/=]MusicalisInterruptus.
13
14	It should be noted that this can describe a song a character sings [[AlmostDeadGuy as they die]], or a song building up to (and ending with) the singing character's death.
15
16	----
17	!!Examples:
18	[[foldercontrol]]
19	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
20	* ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' has two songs, although one of them is never actually heard anywhere in the entire series proper.
21	** "Blue" plays for the ending credits of the final episode, right after we see Spike collapse on the stairs after finishing a fight to the death. Word is still out on whether he actually dies or not, but the lyrics fit this trope.
22	--->Everything is clearer, now.\
23	Life is just a dream, you know?\
24	It's never ending.\
25	I'm ascending.
26	** "No Reply", a song that never actually plays anywhere in the series, is part of the "Knocking on Heaven's Door OST Future Blues" soundtrack. The song details how the singer laments how he'll never be with the woman he loves, a woman who doesn't know he loves her, but has always supported him at every turn. A woman who will never know how he feels about her as [[DrivenToSuicide he has already jumped from the top of a building]].
27	* ''Manga/OnePiece'' has "Bink's Sake/Bink's Brew" as a recurring and well known sea shanty in-universe, but it's most famous and notable use in the series is as the song that Brook's old crew, the Rumbar Pirates, sang as they perished from poisoned weapons. Knowing Brook would come BackFromTheDead due to his Devil Fruit, the crew immortalized their final performance as a recording that Brook now carries with him, intending to deliver it to a whale that followed their ship around as a baby.
28	* ''Anime/{{Symphogear}}'' features this as a mechanic of its music-based MagicalGirl system -- the "Swan Song," a song sung as a last resort, removing all limiters on their power at cost of the singer's life.
29	[[/folder]]
30
31	[[folder:Comic Books]]
32	* In ''Magazine/{{MAD}}''[='=]s "The Mad 'Comic' Opera" (1960), ComicStrip/DickTracy [[CollateralDamage accidentally shoots]] [[ComicStrip/Blondie1930 Dagwood Bumstead]]. While dying, Dagwood tries to assure Tracy that it's okay because his life's been "nothing but misery, anyhow," then sings about his terrible job and wishes goodbye to Blondie and Daisy in "Old Man Dithers" (a parody of "[[Theatre/ShowBoat Old Man River]]") before falling down dead.
33	[[/folder]]
34
35	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
36	* In WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobSquarePantsMovie, [[spoiler:when [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick realize they made it to Shell City after all, they sing one last verse of the Goofy Goober Song before they completely dry out.]]
37	[[/folder]]
38
39	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
40	* "I'm Goin' Home" from ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow'', though Frank doesn't die during it, but afterwards, and isn't even aware he's going to be killed until afterwards.
41	* Parodied in ''Film/TheBachelor'' when Jimmie notes that Music/MariahCarey's character is singing even while she's dying.
42	* "Bye Bye Life" from ''Film/AllThatJazz''
43	* "Always Look On The Bright Side of Life" from ''Film/MontyPythonsLifeOfBrian''.
44	* "Chromaggia" from ''Film/RepoTheGeneticOpera'', sung by Blind Mag in the Genetic Opera just before she rips out her own due-to-be-repossessed eyes and then falls to her death. Also "I Didn't Know I'd Love You So Much", which Nathan Wallace and his daughter Shilo sing as the former is dying from a gunshot wound.
45	* "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" from ''Film/TheRose''. Followed up by "The Rose", which counts as a GriefSong.
46	* In the movie adaptation of ''Film/InTheHeights'', AdaptationalContextChange makes it so that Abuela Claudia’s "Paciencia y Fe" is changed from a retrospective song to one of these.
47	* Everyone on the Titanic in ''Film/Titanic1953'' starts singing a hymn together as they wait to die. However, when the boat crashes and starts rapidly sinking all is quiet.
48	* "Mother Earth and Father Time", from the 1973 film of ''Literature/CharlottesWeb''.
49	* The Finnish fantasy film ''Film/RolliAmazingTales'' has "Suuren Roskan tuho" ("Destruction of the Great Trash"), a hammy VillainSong which is sung by [[OracularHead the Great Trash]] as he's about to be killed by his followers' {{collapsing lair}}.
50	* "Country Roads" from ''Film/KingsmanTheGoldenCircle''.
51	[[/folder]]
52
53	[[folder:Literature]]
54	* ''Literature/TheLadyOfShalott'': The lady is described as chanting a haunting choral "deathsong" as she lays dying on her boat.
55	[[/folder]]
56
57	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
58	* Infamously, and [[MemeticMutation memetically]], the violent death scene from the finale of ''Series/TheOC''.
59	* The MusicalEpisode of ''Series/XPlay'' has "Love Me (Reprise)" sung by Adam and Morgan's video game (it MakesSenseInContext) just before it expires.
60	* The [[http://www.lexxdomain.com/audio/brigadoom14.mp3 Brunnen-Gi song]] from ''{{Series/Lexx}}'' is essentially the song equivalent of "Today is a good day to die". ''[[http://www.lexxdomain.com/audio/brigadoom13.mp3 A Good Way To Die]]'' from the episode Brigadoon laments their death, but also says it was s death worthy of being remembered.
61	* "Promised Land" from the ''Series/{{Psych}}'' [[TheMusical musical episode]]
62	[[/folder]]
63
64	[[folder:Music]]
65	* Music/DanielAmos's "Shadow Catcher" from ''Music/FearfulSymmetry'', about a man standing at death's door and staring into the shadows.
66	* "Love You All" by Cloud Cult is about letting your family know you love them while you die.
67	-->I love my mother\
68	I love my father\
69	When it's my time to go\
70	I need you to know\
71	Love you all...
72	** It's heavily auto-tuned, to the point that it can be mistaken for SyntheticVoiceActor, but the tuning drops away, verse by verse, until it's the singer's original voice. [[{{Applicability}} Presumably, this represents life-support machines failing or being turned off one by one.]]
73	* Julia Ecklar's "For the Need of the One" is Spock singing to Kirk as he dies of radiation poisoning in ''The Wrath of Khan''.
74	* The band Enter the Haggis puts a positive spin on this trope in both "One Last Drink" and "Let Me Go".
75	* Forgive Durden's "The End and the Beginning", from the album ''Razia's Shadow'', is this for [[spoiler:Adakias]] when he throws himself in front of Anhura to protect her from his brother's blade. It also doubles as a GriefSong for Pallis when he realizes what he's done.
76	* "Prayer for the Dying" from Music/LisaHannigan's album ''At Swim'' was written about the recent death of a friend's mother. "What'll I Do" from ''Passenger'' can also be interpreted as either this or BreakUpSong.
77	* "See You Soon" by Lord of the Lost is sung from the perspective of a man on his deathbed.
78	-->Will you tell me – See you soon in a while\
79	When my eyes fade please give me your smile\
80	And even dark nights are ending in dawn\
81	You'll have time to cry when I'm gone
82	* "Count to Six and Die" from Music/MarilynManson's ConceptAlbum ''Music/HolyWoodInTheShadowOfTheValleyOfDeath''. However, "The Death Song", from the same album, is not a Death Song.
83	* Music/KlausNomi's "The Cold Song" from ''[[Music/KlausNomiAlbum Klaus Nomi]]'' and "Ding Dong" and "Death" from ''Music/SimpleMan'', which are all covers by the way.
84	* Music/TearsForFears: "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUp-ujO979U The Tipping Point]]" is about the tipping point between life and death, and it was based on Roland Orzabal's harrowing experience of watching his wife Caroline die slowly of [[https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/oct/08/tears-for-fears-reunion-interview liver cirrhosis.]] Curt Smith does share some of the anguish because Caroline was his ChildhoodFriend, hence the reason why the song is a duet. At the time of this single's release in 2021, it marked only the second time that both men's vocals carried equal weight in the band's 40-year-long history [[note]]their first duet was the album version of "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL-CnhbNvYU The Hurting]]" back in 1983[[/note]], so it's a testament to how deeply personal Caroline's illness and eventual death were for the duo.
85	-->''Silver tongue, they'll soon be gone\
86	When the sunlight hits the room\
87	Lay down with them if you want\
88	Watch their breath and feel the cold\
89	\
90	Winter done, they'll soon be gone\
91	From this unforgiving place\
92	To that vague and distant void\
93	Where the sunlight splits the I\
94	\
95	Life is cruel, life is tough\
96	Life is crazy, then it all turns to dust\
97	Will you let 'em out?\
98	Will you let 'em in?\
99	Will you ever know when it's the tipping point, the tipping point?\
100	\
101	So who's that ghost knockin' at my door?\
102	You know that I can't love you more\
103	What's that shape climbin' over my wall?\
104	You know that I can't love you more''
105	* Within Temptation has "The Swan Song", in which the singer is peacefully dying.
106	* Music/NeilYoung's ''Birds'' has been interpreted as this.
107	* "[[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-y7u8SPmio The Farewell Song]]" by Rachel Rose Mitchell is a particularly tearjerking example, which sees the singer [[LastRequest pleading for someone to live a happy life without her]], despite how broken they are by her death.
108	* "Remember Me" by Music/MachinaeSupremacy[[note]]Not to be confused with the song from WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}[[/note]] is sung to the singer's lover, and asks them to...well, remember him, while gently asking them to continue living. It's both heartwarming and tearjerking.
109	-->Our time we had together\
110	We thought would last forever\
111	You will always know what we said and what we showed\
112	\
113	Stay with me in this moment\
114	I'll remain in your arms, in your memories and dreams\
115	Will you wake up and still [[TitleDrop remember me]]?
116	* [[Music/OfMonstersAndMen Of Monsters and Men's]] hit single, ''Little Talks'' tells the story of a woman wandering through the home she shared with her late husband, imagining him telling her to let him go. The dreamy instrumental and the singers' accents (by some reports, the band wasn't fluent in English when recording this song and used a phonetic translation) covers up the LyricalDissonance of the song's message.
117	* ''Music/{{Sabaton}}'':
118	** "Hammer Has Fallen," sung by a soldier dying of his wounds and wondering if he'll be let into Heaven.
119	-->''"Here I'm standing, darkness all around\
120	Thinking of past, taking my last breath, air is cold as ice\
121	No one close to hear my voice\
122	Didn't leave me with a choice\
123	Heaven will you wait for me?\
124	Will I find a way, will I find a place\
125	Will you let me go in peace?\
126	Will I find a way to the other side?"''
127	** "Soldier of Heaven," sung by one of the soldiers killed in the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Friday_(1916) White Friday avalanche]]. It's actually much more upbeat and kickass than you might think, because the narrator realizes that 1) he's going to Heaven, and 2) that his frozen body will eternally guard his post, like something out of legends.
128	-->''"I won't be coming home\
129	I won't be going anywhere\
130	I will guard this post forever (forever)\
131	Here on the Alpine slope, where I did my final stand, I shall remain\
132	Among the ice and snow that binds me to this mountain\
133	A force of nature too strong, sent from above\
134	Where spirits lead the way, the winds will never fade!\
135	White Friday, I'll take the stairway to Heaven\
136	I'm sky high, when I die, I'll be immortal\
137	Forever, I never\
138	I won't return to Blood Mountain\
139	I am the soldier of Heaven!"''
140
141	* ''Music/JonathanCoulton'' has "Red Shirts," a FilkSong for Creator/JohnScalzi's ''Literature/RedShirts.'' The singer is one such RedShirt whose Captain Kirk-[[{{Expy}} analouge]] has led him to his death in yet another crazy adventure billions of miles away from home for no other reason than [[MetaFiction the Narrative finds it dramatic]].
142	-->''"I don't hear the sound\
143	Everything slows\
144	All of it falls away\
145	They don't turn around\
146	Everyone knows\
147	It won't be them today\
148	Instead it was me\
149	Go down dramatically\
150	Stretching it out a bit\
151	Still no one notices\
152	When they write me out of it\
153	They said this air would be breathable\
154	I see the naked sky and I taste the dirt\
155	Dark at the edges and closing in\
156	I look down in my red shirt\
157	I look down in my red shirt''
158	* Music/TheSawDoctors "Carry Me Away" is about an aquaintance of some of the band members who liked to fish on Lough Corrib. His final wish (which was carried out) was to have his ashes scattered there.
159	* Music/TheWolfeTones have a few of these
160	** “Grace” is sung from the POV of Joseph Plunkett as he awaits his execution the next morning for his part in [[UsefulNotes/TheIrishRevolution the Easter Rising]].
161	** "Joe [=McDonnell=]" is sung from the POV of the eponymous hunger striker as he awaits his turn to die of starvation.
162	[[/folder]]
163
164	[[folder:Theatre]]
165	* "How Glory Goes" from ''Theatre/FloydCollins''.
166	* "Tell Her I Love Her" from ''Theatre/{{Urinetown}}'', a duet which is half this and half GriefSong.
167	* "A Little Fall of Rain", "Come to Me", [[spoiler:"Javert's Suicide"]], and the epilogue from ''Theatre/LesMiserables''.
168	* "Sh'ma" from ''Theatre/{{Parade\|1998}}'' could be argued to be this, as Leo is about to die. The ''Sh'ma'' is the central prayer of Judaism, and the last thing a Jewish person is supposed to say before they die.
169	* "I Didn't Know I'd Love You So Much" from the film version of ''Film/RepoTheGeneticOpera''.
170	* The reprise of the titular song in ''Theatre/ManOfLaMancha'' -- but a surprise, as Don Quixote does not know he is dying.
171	* In ''Theatre/Frankenstein2014'', when Victor's dear friend Henri goes to the guillotine in Victor's place, he sings to Victor that he will live on "In Your Dreams", and that that's enough for him. But Victor Frankenstein, being Victor Frankenstein, is not just going to let him stay dead...
172	* The reprise of "Somewhere" is [[spoiler:Tony]]'s Death Song in ''Theatre/WestSideStory.''
173	* ''Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet'' ends with the title character singing a reprise of [[spoiler:"A Barber And His Wife"]] which is both one of these and a GriefSong given that [[spoiler:he unknowingly killed his wife, who he had spent the entire plot seeking to avenge, because he did not know she was still alive]], just before [[spoiler:Toby uses Sweeney's own razor to slit his throat]].
174	* [[spoiler:"It's Just The Gas" for Orin and "Somewhere That's Green (Reprise)" for Audrey]] from ''Theatre/LittleShopOfHorrors''. [[spoiler:Two]] other characters die, but they either do not die immediately after a song or die immediately after a song sung by someone else.
175	* In ''Theatre/ChildrenOfEden'', Abel sings a few lines of 'The Wasteland' as he dies.
176	* The Crucifixion from ''Theatre/{{Godspell}}''.
177	* "The Flesh Failures" from ''Theatre/{{Hair}}'' is [[spoiler:Claude]]'s death song. He even gets a DarkReprise of his IAmSong in.
178	* "Last Midnight" for The Witch in ''Theatre/IntoTheWoods''. Of course, we're not quite sure if she's dead...
179	* "No One Mourns the Wicked" from ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}''. Subverted, as we later find out [[HesJustHiding she's just hiding]].
180	* In ''Kristina'', the musical adaptation of ''Literature/TheEmigrants'', it's the reprise of "Out to the Sea" for [[spoiler:Robert]] and "I'll Be Waiting There" for [[spoiler:Kristina]].
181	* "Contact" from ''Theatre/{{Rent}}''.
182	* "Stay Alive (Reprise)" from ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'', where [[spoiler:Hamilton's son Philip is dying from a gunshot wound]]. "The World Was Wide Enough" is one for Hamilton himself. The finale, "Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story" is a combination of this and DistantFinale, as it addresses the future and eventual deaths of a number of major characters, ending with Eliza, who sings about her achievements in the fifty years she outlived Alexander before reuniting with him in the final moments of the show.
183	* Two examples in ''Theatre/TheBridgesOfMadisonCounty'': "When I'm Gone" is sung by Bud and Charlie as and after they grow old and die, and "It All Fades Away" is Robert's final declaration before dying of an unspecified illness.
184	* "Some Things Are Meant To Be" from the musical adaptation of ''Literature/LittleWomen'' acts as Beth's Death Song, even though she doesn't actually die at the end. She dies afterwards, offstage.
185	* "Das Attentat" (The Assassination Attempt) builds up to [[Theatre/{{Elisabeth}} Elisabeth's death,]] but it's not sung. Her actual death song, "Der Schleier fällt" (The Veil Falls) is sung after she's dead... and as a duet with Death himself.
186	* "Mozarts Tod" ("Mozart's Death") from ''Theatre/{{Mozart}}''. The titular character confronts Amadè about all he's gained and lost throughout his life, and [[spoiler:[[KilledMidSentence gets cut off by the boy/demon stabbing him in the arm.]]]]
187	* "Roses at the Station" from ''Film/GrandHotel'', [[spoiler:the Baron's DyingDream as he sees his life flash before his eyes and frantically looks for Elizaveta at the Berlin main train station. He has been shot before the song began, and dies as it ends.]]
188	* ''Theatre/FunHome'' has "Edges of the World" for Bruce Bechdel.
189	* "Eva's Final Broadcast" and/or "Lament" (depending on production) from ''Music/{{Evita}}''.
190	* Judas's Death from ''Music/JesusChristSuperstar''.
191	* In Music/JacquesOffenbach's ''Theatre/OrpheusInTheUnderworld'', Eurydice actually demands she get to sing a death song when she realizes she's about to die. Pluto waits while she sings ''"La mort m'apparaît souriante"'' before taking her down to the Underworld.
192	* ''Theatre/DianaTheMusical'': The last song, "If (Light Of The World)", follows Diana in the immediate aftermath of the car crash that killed her. She contemplates her life, accomplishments, and potential impact on the world before passing.
193	[[/folder]]
194
195	[[folder:Video Games]]
196	* ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'': Episode "Klingon War", mission "The Doomsday Machine". K'Valk, a Klingon Defense Force officer who is trying to help Starfleet [[spoiler:Ambassador B'vat from siccing a planet killer on Federation]], rams his shuttle down its throat while belting out [[http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/The_Warrior%27s_Anthem "The Warrior's Anthem"]], a Klingon war hymn.
197	* ''Any'' of the idol's songs, should they not pass judgement in ''Idol Death Game TV''. That's because last place has to perform a 'Death Concert', where they die in gruesome and vicious ways... while singing their song at the exact same time. According to the official website, it's where the idol'll [[DeadlyEuphemism 'shine for the last time in her life'.]] Of course, the host, Doripaku does promise that if idols can complete their tasks, they could come back to life...
198	* In ''VideoGame/TerrariaCalamity'', we have [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GcPA3C0QeI "Roar of The Jungle Dragon"]], the second phase theme of the Jungle Dragon, Yharon, who is implied to have realized that it is already doomed to fail, but will keep fighting anyway [[UndyingLoyalty out of loyalty to Yharim]]. To quote the song itself:
199	--> If you proceed, I will not blame you.\
200	I will move forth and win your war.\
201	But if I should die before you continue,\
202	You shall have heard my final dying roar.
203	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask''
204	** Played for [[{{Bathos}} darkly dissonant comedy]] with Mikau, the warrior guitarist of a Zora jazz band. He's first introduced to Link beached and fatally wounded by the Gerudo pirates who stole his girlfriend's eggs, and knowing his number's up, he offers Link his final message... [[MoodWhiplash by abruptly standing back up]] with his guitar out of {{hammerspace}}, giving one last jam to exposit his backstory and [[LastRequest final request to rescue his children]] before he finally collapses for good. His last words are a lively "Thank you! That's all..."
205	** Taken to [[BrownNote frighteningly literal extremes]] with Sharp, the ghost that haunts Ikana Canyon. He plays the Melody of Darkness, a cursed song that drains the life force out of any living beings unfortunate enough to hear it, as they slowly "join the ranks of the dead" as he puts it. When Sharp plays it to [[TheHero Link]], [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration he takes constant damage]].
206	[[/folder]]
207
208	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
209	* "Farewell at the Foot of the Hill" from ''VisualNovel/{{Clannad}}''.
210	[[/folder]]
211
212	[[folder:Web Comics]]
213	* In ''WebComic/LottaSvardWomenOfWar'', Lars' last act before succumbing to his wounds is to undo the bandages around his face and sing a traditional Finnish hymn while Lahja plays the piano accompaniment.
214	[[/folder]]
215
216	[[folder:Web Original]]
217	* ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'' managed to partially do this when [[spoiler:Melvin kills Hank Ishtar.]] Hank sings the events as they happen in the style of ''Music/HarryChapin'''s "Cat's in the Cradle".
218	-->'''Hank:''' And then he stabbed me in the torso and the cat's in the cat place and oh god, that's sharp!\
219	Please stop stabbing me, I'm going to die!\
220	When you gonna stop, son? Oh god, that hurts!\
221	I think you pierced my lungs there\
222	Yes, that was definitely my luuungs.
223	* Cell sings ''My Way'' by Music/FrankSinatra in his final moments in ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged''.
224	** In Trunk's timeline he does it again, only for it to last a few seconds, because he didn't achieve anything
225	[[/folder]]
226
227	[[folder:Western Animation]]
228	* "The Mole's Reprise", from ''WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut''. It's a DarkReprise of the earlier "[[TheSongBeforeTheStorm La Resistance]]".
229	* [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in the ''[[WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill King of the Hill]]'' episode ''"Tankin' it to the Streets"''. [[spoiler:As [[FatIdiot Bill]] floors a tank through a war games field in which soldiers are firing live artillery, he sings ''[[Music/LynyrdSkynyrd Free Bird]]'' in a broken voice, before seemingly being blown up by the artillery. After his friends break down thinking they've lost him, it turns out he was blown into the bushes]], alive(if a bit beaten up!)
230	* Also subverted in the ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Bart's Comet": With the citizens of Springfield cut off from any means of escape and the comet hurtling toward the city close enough to not only be seen with the naked eye, but heard with the naked ear, Ned Flanders accepts his fate after deciding to leave ''the bomb shelter he himself built and let the other townsfolk use,'' and walks up to a nearby hill, staring at the comet and singing "Que Sera Sera." The other citizens, seeing him do this (after a heartfelt speech from ''Homer,'' of all people), gradually come join him to sing it together. Subverted in that [[spoiler:the comet burns up in the atmosphere until it's too small to harm anyone--though as Bart discovers, it's still very hot to the touch.]]
231	[[/folder]]

Context Main / DeathSong