A circle-back ending is a technique in which some or all of a song’s first verse is repeated during the song’s final verse.
In Nashville, the circle-back is also known as a “doughnut” (thanks, Ruth). This technique should be used carefully–“I couldn’t think of a final verse” alone is not a good reason to repeat a verse. The repetition has to make sense, and ideally it’ll serve an artistic purpose.
Circle-Back Examples
One great example of the circle-back ending is the song “Big River” by Johnny Cash. In that song the entire first verse is repeated at the song’s conclusion, with only slight changes to the lyric. The circle-back serves “Big River” well, because otherwise there’s no chorus and no refrain. Only a brief, simple instrumental hook separates the verses. This keeps the story moving forward at a quick pace verse after verse, so the story line’s easier for us to follow.
The circle-back in “Big River” also makes the song more memorable—since no other line in the lyric recurs, Cash is wise to serve us the title and the core idea one more time before he lets us go.
Another example is Murder by Death’s “Brother”, which reuses a few lines from the first verse in the outro to tie everything together. It’s a perfect way to express the idea that, in fourteen years, the narrator’s brother is still up to his same old tricks, raising hell just like he always did.
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