What is a 'button ending'?

Originally a musical term, a button is an emphatic, sharply defined climax to a song, play, advertisement etc.

In musical theatre, a button is the cue for audience applause and will often be accompanied by a visual sign, like the performer extending his or her hands. A button can also provide cover for a transition to a new scene.

Button endings are characteristic of TV and radio advertising, where the ending needs to be sharply delineated. They can also mark a dramatic moment on stage or screen: the final chord of the shower scene in Psycho is a famous example. 

Buttons in songs

Buttons are often used to end a pop song, too. CAN'T BUY ME, LOVE is a Beatles example,  or more dramatically SHE'S SO HEAVY in the Abbey Road medley. Here, the tape seems to cut out - a trick likely to test the nerves of radio presenters terrified of 'dead air' or radio silence.

Other examples from rock include:  LAST EXIT by Pearl Jam, BLITZKRIEG BOP by the Ramones, and NEW ROSE by The Damned.  

Metaphorical buttons

A button can also refer to a song or musical phrase that summarises a theme. In this sense, the overture in a musical is a series of buttons - short phrases outlining what will follow. 

It can also refer to an entire son. Hal David described his lyric for the song ALFIE as 'a button' for the film. 

The Bond theme song does similar - fairly literally in the case of GOLDFINGER: 'the man with the Midas touch'. With You Only Live Twice, the connection is more elusive. 

The term has also crossed into non-musical film and television. In sitcoms, for example, a punch line needs a button to allow time for laughter. This space can then, in turn, be used to cover a change in scene