Welcome back, one last time, to Bunny Trails! This week Shauna and Dan explore an appropriate phrase in an effort to End on a High Note. Bonus: Cloris Leachman, Heavy Sneezes, and the Picnic in Your Freezer.
Thank you for listening for 9 seasons! Be kind to each other, and do your best to find the positives in life - even when that seems difficult.
It's free to join our Patreon, patreon.com/bunnytrailspod
Copyright 2026 by The Readiness Corner, LLC - All Rights Reserved
Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast
Episode 325: End on a High Note
Record Date: June 28, 2026
Air Date: July 8, 2026
Intro
Shauna:
Welcome to Bunny Trails, a whimsical adventure of idioms and other turns of phrase.
I’m Shauna Harrison
Dan:
And I’m Dan Pugh
Each week we take an idiom or other turn of phrase and try to tell the story from its entry into the English language, to how it’s used today.
Opening Hook
And this is it. Our final episode of Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast. We plan to have a great show for you to send it off, with a cool phrase that allows us to “End on a High Note”.
Meaning
According to the Merriam Webster, ending on a high note means to end:
Quote
in a pleasant or enjoyable way
End Quote
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/on%20a%20high%20note
This comes from an earlier idiom, simply “high note”, which according to the Oxford English Dictionary means:
Quote
A successful or positive point in a sequence of events or period of time
End Quote
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/high-note_n?tab=meaning_and_use#328133107
So we use ending on a high note now to mean ending in a good or positive way, but it has also referred to ending at the peak of a sequence. And to understand how these two concepts have merged, I think it’s important to understand a little of human psychology. And for that, we come to what’s called the “peak-end bias”. Here’s an overly scientific definition from a 2022 study by Balca Alaybek et al:
Quote
The peak-end rule (Fredrickson & Kahneman, 1993) asserts that, when people retrospectively evaluate an experience (e.g., the previous workday), they rely more heavily on the episode with peak intensity and on the final (end) episode than on other episodes in the experience.
End Quote
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0749597822000334?via%3Dihub
Which means people judge an experience mostly on how they felt at the most intense point - the high note - and at its end. This bias holds regardless of if the experience is pleasant or unpleasant. We’ll look more into the peak-end science in our behind the scenes episode, which is available on our Patreon, patreon.com/bunnytrailspod
We’re not going to try to assert if this phrase comes from music as the internet would have you believe, because the use of a ‘high note’ in music and the use of the word ‘note’ to identify a concept being spoken about both predate English. And we are native English speaking researchers, not linguists, so our ability to bring you information is only as good as the digitized English works. So we can neither confirm nor deny this. I did see the phrase ‘high note’ used in both music and oration, so it is clear the term is not solely tied to musical qualities.
But enough about the background; let’s jump into some examples.
1845
In the 1845 work, The Abbey of Innsimoyle by Graci Kennedy, the phrase high note is used to highlight the crescendo of non-verbal body language prior to a powerful message being delivered.
Quote
The curate stopped suddenly - there was an air of holy feeling on his brow and in his eye, that seemed as if his soul had even then ascended in that ascription of praise he spoke of, as if it had “beheld upon the throne a Lamb, as it has been slain,” and joined for a moment, the “multitude whom no man can number,” in that high note, angel lips can never swell to, “He was slain for us.”
End Quote
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Abbey_of_Innismoyle/DAwiAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22high%20note%22
Powerful imagery there with that message. Though a modern day reading really ruins it because the very next line, which I only hear in Ken Jeong’s voice from the Hangover, is:
Quote
“And did he die?”
End Quote
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Abbey_of_Innismoyle/DAwiAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22high%20note%22
But as I noted in the intro, the high note here is building to a peak of body language which was perfectly described to give gravitas to the speaker.
1846
The first time I found end on high note was likely more of a literal usage, but the author captures the effect of building to a peak and then suddenly stopping. It is an amazing definition of the idiomatic usage even if that might not have been the author’s intent. This is from the 1846 work Enterprise, Discoveries and Adventures in Australia by George Windsor Earl.
Quote
Their performance was evidently some ceremony; perhaps a dance of welcome. The abrupt termination is a peculiar characteristic of both the songs and dances of the Northern Australian natives. The former always end with a high note, which makes it appear as if the singer had been suddenly cut short in his performance; but the effect is striking, and rather pleasing than otherwise. The dances, again, terminate when the action and excitement are at the highest pitch, and, so sudden is the transition from frantic exertion to calm repose that it appears almost magical.
End Quote
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Enterprise_Discoveries_and_Adventures_in/3ZEtAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0&bsq=end%20on%20a%20%22high%20note%22
https://books.google.com/books?id=L5deAAAAcAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=End%20on%20a%20high%20note&f=false
1884
Here’s an example from the Forth Worth Gazette, about a poor singer ending with applause:
Quote
Loud singing is not a guarantee of good work, nor is a bugle note. A vocalist may sing a song very badly and end on a high note to effect applause.
End Quote
https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn86064205/1884-10-29/ed-1/
The author argues the singer should be consistently good to warrant applause, not just good at the end.
1897
This next one is a great example of the phrase being used to build to a crescendo. It was published in The Copper Country Evening News out of Michigan, USA and dated March 29, 1897. It was told by a player in a performance of ‘El Capitan’. The speaker told of a large man in the front row whose sneezes interrupted the performance.
Quote
…he gave a sneeze suddenly - a terrific sneeze. It was followed by another that shook the plumes of the big hats of the women around and made the lights flicker. The audience suspended attention and looked at the sneezer, and the players paused just as he snorted out a third sneeze that ended in a high note such as seldom had been heard in those parts, though the Metropolitan Opera House is near by. El Capitan stretched out his long arms toward the man, rolled his big eyes heavenward, and said in a sepulchral voice:
“Heaven bless you, sir.”
End Quote
https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn86086632/1897-03-29/ed-1/
The sneeze, the peak after successively louder sneezes, certainly follows the early definition. And I suppose the outcomes were positive as the audience roared with laughter as the performance continued. Sometime in the late 1800s to early 1900s, we start to see the phrase shift to be used more as a positive outcome rather than the peak. Though both of these ways are still used today in some contexts.
1909
Here’s another good example, this one from the The Newark Star out of New Jersey, USA dated August 24, 1909. It’s another example of building to a peak, and in this case a girl’s voice ending her statement at that peak.
Quote
Ella’s voice was coming to her faint as a voice from another world. “She wanted that little, little picture - that picture of the man called Farrell Wand. Don’t you remember, papa mentioned it at supper that evening at the club? Isn’t it funny she remembered it all this time? Well, she wanted it dreadfully, but Harry wanted it, too, and papa said he had promised it to Harry; but I got it first and gave it to her.”
Ella’s voice ended on a high note of triumph.
End Quote
https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn91064010/1909-08-24/ed-1/
1931
Here’s an example from the Evening star out of Washington, D.C., USA, dated June 14, 1931. In it, Gail was out with a male friend and as the night came to a close, she began to experience some anxiety about how to end the evening. This is captured in the narrator's tone:
Quote
Gail suddenly felt like an innocent awkward little girl. A sense of helplessness smote her. This happy evening must end on a high note…
End Quote
https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83045462/1931-06-14/ed-1/
1956
One more, this from the Evening Star dated August 14, 1956. It’s a piece called There’s a Picnic in Your Freezer and provides an entire picnic style meal you can make with things in the average American’s freezer. It gives a chicken recipe before calling for corn on the cob, relishes, and garlic bread. It finished with this:
Quote
End on a high note with individual cherry pies and plenty of hot coffee.
End Quote
https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83045462/1956-08-14/ed-1/
We’ll link to the newspaper article in case you want to try the recipe yourself.
Up next we have several modern uses to cover and we’ll get to those, right after we say thank you to our sponsors.
A Quick Thank You
Shauna:
Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast has been brought to you by our amazing Patrons.
Dan:
We want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported the show over the years, including Heather, Dustin, Cheryl, Ad-sceptic, Charlie, Jill, Erica, Chris, Allan, Donna, and Ernest. Plus a very special thanks to some of our higher tiers, including Jan and Emily as well as Pat Rowe and JGP. And of course, thank you to our top spot, Mary Halsig Lopez.
Shauna:
You can find tons of content from the show’s 9 seasons on Patreon at patreon.com/bunnytrailspod
We also have links to the episodes and transcripts or show notes for each episode on our forever home, bunnytrailspod.com
Modern Uses
1981
I want to start with a famous movie scene from Mel Brooks’ 1981 classic History of the World Part 1. In the scene, the amazing Cloris Leachman is the peasant leader of a French Revolution sect and they decide to kill the King. At the end of the meeting, she says:
Quote
And now, let’s end this meeting on a high note
End Quote
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFbSeEFDjSs
She then sings a high note and the other peasants match her note. The beauty of this joke is the misdirection. In this context, the audience expect a positive note to end the meeting on, but instead are treated to the ridiculous upper registry musical note.
2006
End On a High Note is a 2006 song by The Flower Kings off their album Paradox Hotel. Here is the beginning of the second verse.
Quote
I can see the beauty in a thousand different faces
I can hear the small talk in the far and distant markеt places
Everybody is special, it's thе highlight of their story
New life is in the meeting of the glowing morning glory
End Quote
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAQDanL0IOY
While the term “End on a High Note” never appears in the song, the entire song, and hence the title, is about finding the positive in everyday life.
2012
A Helluva High Note: Surviving Life, Love, and American Idol is a 2012 memoir by Kara DioGuardi. It plays on the concept of a high note with building toward peaks, some painful defeats, and ultimately finding success. Here’s the synopsis from the publisher which also includes a background on the author:
Quote
Kara DioGuardi is an award-winning hitmaker, a savvy record executive, and a successful music publisher whose songs have been recorded by such superstars as Pink, Carrie Underwood, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Gwen Stefani, Santana, Steven Tyler, CÉline Dion, and so many others. She was also the feisty fourth judge on American Idol. But success wouldn't have happened for her without the dark times of defeat.
Filled with the grace, raw honesty, and haunting emotion of her hit songs, A Helluva High Note is the soundtrack to Kara's life—an intimate anthem about living, creating, loving, stumbling, picking herself up again, and ultimately succeeding. Passionate, wise, funny, and down-to-earth—filled with memorable and inspirational tales from the heart and trenches of life, business, and the world of entertainment—Kara's story proves that finding, cultivating, and following your own true voice really is possible.
End Quote
https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Helluva_High_Note.html?id=pPFqpwAACAAJ
2015
Here’s an example from the 2015 book Out of Order:Storytelling Techniques for Video and Cinema Editors by Ross Hockrow. This is from early in the book when he is describing the overview of a storyline. Our passage is from the Turning the Corner segment:
Quote
I’ve often heard people express their desire to see films end on a high note. If you’re making a film that will be an opener to an event, or a video that plays before a basketball game on the Jumbotron, then ending on a high note is the right move because your film is only part of a bigger story.
If you’re telling a complete standalone story, though, never end on a high note. It’s the cardinal sin of storytelling and editing. By “ending on a high note,” I mean ending a story at the most intense moment. This doesn’t refer to the state of emotion. It means don’t end a film when you’ve reached the maximum intensity. Ride that wave all the way back down almost to where you started.
End Quote
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Out_of_Order/fV3wAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=end+on+a+high+note&pg=PA31&printsec=frontcover
In this, the author is using “end on a high note” in the older way, specifically about the climax or the peak of the process and suggesting that in storytelling, you need some sort of conclusion. Which makes perfect sense. A story, in western traditions at least, usually has a beginning, a middle, and an end. The end is often fulfilling, but it’s not the most intense moment. There is something after that ‘high point’ which brings the intensity back down to something manageable, leaving the audience fulfilled even if they also want a little more.
2020
The High Note is a 2020 American comedy drama film directed by Nisha Ganatra and written by Flora Greeson. It stars Dakota Johnson, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Ice Cube. Here’s the synopsis from the production company:
Quote
Set in the dazzling world of the LA music scene comes the story of Grace Davis, a superstar whose talent, and ego, have reached unbelievable heights, and Maggie, her overworked personal assistant. While stuck running errands, Maggie still aspires to her childhood dream of becoming a music producer. When Grace’s manager presents her with a choice that could alter the course of her career, Maggie and Grace come up with a plan that could change their lives forever.
End Quote
https://www.focusfeatures.com/video/the-high-note-official-trailer-1
The title plays off the musical concept of high notes, but also on the positive ending aspects as Grace tries to find worth later in her career and Maggie chases her dreams.
Wrap Up
I love the positivity of this phrase as it is used today. The idea of ending something on an outcome that leaves you feeling good about what you have experienced and accomplished. I feel like there are tons of examples of this in the world, but we just don’t hear about them unless we seek them out. So I encourage you to make your own high notes. Give - and seek - those positive thoughts, emotions, and concepts everywhere you go. I promise you, your corner of the world will be a better place when you do.
Dan:
That’s about all we’ve. I hope you’ve enjoyed these 9 seasons. We’ve definitely had a ton of fun making them. And we’ve learned quite a bit along the way. But to end on a high note, I think it’s only fair to, one more time, go to the Patrons on Patreon.
Shauna:
It is poll time!
Recently we asked our Patrons, when do you feel most creative?
Mary said
Quote
While I can get the most done in the morning with a clear brain, I work best under pressure. In the past, I wrote shows in the form of reader’s theater. The deadlines always kept me going. It has always been the same with music. Performances led me to my best work. Now I love to watercolor. I schedule Hobbyist Hangouts to make sure I have a set time that can’t be interrupted.
End Quote
Dustin added
Quote
It is usually when there is a lot at stake, or little at all at stake. Allowing yourself to be silly is a nice little treat.
End Quote
Dan:
Emily said:
Quote
I chose late at night because I like to dream up hobby projects while I fall asleep.
If we’re talking about work projects, those come to me during my commute, so both mornings and afternoons.
End Quote
My creativity spikes with little rhyme or reason. However, if I need to force something due to a project then starting first thing in the morning with a clean slate in my brain is the best environment to foster my creativity. My creative spark has mostly been put towards podcasts for the last 9+ years. But I’m excited to let my creative mind wander around for a bit and see what comes up.
Shauna:
I find that I’m most creative right when an idea is presented to me or when I first feel inspired by something. Second to that is any impending deadline… naturally. If I’m feeling stuck on something, I find that getting out of the space I’ve been working in is a huge boost for my creativity. This can mean something as simple as turning on music to change the mental or emotional space or going outside or to a different room.
These polls have always been a fun and silly way to learn more about others. And thanks to all who have taken part.
Outro
Shauna:
But more than anything, thanks to YOU for joining us this final time for Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast. Perhaps we’ll talk with you again sometime down the road. Until then remember,
Together:
Words belong to all of us.
No comments:
Post a Comment