Once upon a time — specifically, in the golden era of the 1980s — pop and rock songs didn’t always end. They faded. Guitars would gently dissolve into the horizon. Saxophones lingered in the air like smoke after a fire. Vocal lines would echo into forever. It was cinematic. Emotional. Romantic. And now? Practically gone.

In today’s streaming-driven music world, songs are expected to make their point fast and end even faster. Hard stops. Cold endings. The modern ear, trained by algorithms, rarely hears the beauty of a proper fade-out anymore.

But in my latest song, “I WON’T LET US DOWN,” I made a deliberate choice: I brought back the 1980s fade-out — that emotional, soul-soaked goodbye instead of a forced the end.

Why?

Because the story in this song — of a working-class guy clawing for something better, holding onto love with everything he’s got — isn’t something that ends on a dime. It’s a continuation. The fade-out represents persistence, hope, and a future still unfolding. The struggle doesn’t end when the song does. And neither does the love.

In the 1980s, artists like Huey Lewis and the News, Bruce Springsteen, and Journey used fade-outs to let songs breathe — to let the emotion linger in the listener’s heart. With “I WON’T LET US DOWN,” I wanted that same emotional tail. As the chorus repeats and the saxophone cries one last time, the track slowly dissolves… like the sun setting behind a factory town. You feel it fade, not fall.

I’m not just reviving a technique. I’m reviving a feeling.

So here’s to the fade-out —
A salute to hope that doesn’t stop.
A love that doesn’t give up.
A story still being written.

Let it play on.

— Johnny Punish