“Beyond The End” – Here’s a song you need to know about. For Roy Orbison fans looking for a great hidden “Roy song”, this is a diamond.
“Beyond The End” is the last song (Song #10) on Jimmy Buffet’s album “Last Mango in Paris” (1985). It has Roy Orbison singing backup & lead vocals.
The first 2 minutes is Buffet singing with a female backing voice. There’s a short guitar solo, then at 2:30 Roy enters gently singing in a background group. It’s fun to listen as Roy slowly grows louder over 3 choruses of:
“Old worlds keep closing in.
They have before.
They will again.
Voices call
beyond the wind.
Say we must go
beyond the end.”
Then at 4:00 minutes Roy’s voice goes to the lead vocal for the remaining 52 seconds. It’s a “crying angel” style Orbison used occasionally that is very different from his “Big O” voice.
The subject matter is death and on these types of songs Roy sometimes used this voice. It is humble, fragile and cathartic with a deeply spiritual conviction.
If you are a big Orbison fan just repeat 2:30 to 4:52 for awhile and let it sink in…
