The Coming Of The End

Song Meaning

The lyrics chronicle the unexpected and quiet dissolution of something significant, repeatedly emphasizing "How it came to an end!" The opening stanza paints a picture of a shared, intimate moment, a meeting away from others, filled with unspoken affection and laughter, followed by a significant parting where promises were made. This sets a tone of deep connection that makes its eventual cessation all the more poignant. The narrative then shifts to recall specific shared experiences: watching the stream under the sun and moon, and the domestic endeavors of "housebuilding, furnishing, planting." These images evoke a sense of building a future, a life together, with a perceived abundance of time. The contrast between this expansive feeling of "ages to spend" and the stark reality that "It came to an end" highlights the abruptness of the loss. The lyrics reveal a subtle tension between the narrator's past anxieties and the actual event. The narrator admits to often questioning "HOW will come to an end / This orbit so smoothly begun," anticipating a dramatic conclusion. However, the actual end is described as "Quite silently—stopped without jerk," a smooth, almost imperceptible cessation that defies the narrator's dramatic predictions. This quiet ending, "Working out as One planned it should work," suggests a sense of inevitability or perhaps a predetermined fate that was beyond the narrator's control. The effectiveness of these lyrics lies in their direct, almost mournful repetition of the central phrase, which underscores the finality and the lingering shock of the event. The juxtaposition of idyllic memories and domestic aspirations against the simple, stark declaration of ending creates a powerful emotional resonance. The quiet, unceremonious nature of the conclusion, as described in the final stanza, leaves the listener with a sense of profound, understated loss, a feeling that something beautiful simply ceased to be without fanfare.