Don't Let It End (Reprise)

Don't Let It End (Reprise)
Written by Dennis DeYoung
Lead Vocals by Tommy Shaw, Dennis DeYoung

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I am the modren man
With this guitar in hand
I'll do my best and try
To keep rock and roll alive
...Keep it alive
...Keep it alive
...Keep it alive...

Don't let it end
Don't let it end
Don't let it end
Don't let it end

I'm gonna keep on rockin' all through the night
Shake it, shake it, baby, 'cause it feels so right
Motivate your body, gonna cure your soul
Keep on rockin' 'til I lose control

Don't let it end
I shake to soul music
Don't let it end
I gotta gotta have that music
Don't let it end
Chuck Berry
Don't let it end
The Platters
Don't let it end
Little Richard - ahoo!
Don't let it end
[repeat to fade]

Interpretation

From the album liner notes:

THE PAST
Dr. Everett Righteous, founder and leader of the MMM, (The Majority for Musical Morality) became influential in American politics through the use of his own cable T.V. network. He spoke about the evils of rock 'n' roll music, and how its permissive attitudes were responsible for the moral and economic decline of America. He was charismatic, entertaining, and above all, he understood the media. The MMM soon gained enough power to have rock 'n' roll banned.

Robert Orin Charles Kilroy was a world famous rock 'n' roll star. As this new law was passed, Kilroy and his band were finishing a national tour. Their last performance, at the Paradise Theatre, would serve as the test case. On the night of the concert, as Kilroy played to a packed house, the MMM marched in and stormed the stage. When it was over, a MMM protester was dead...Kilroy was convicted of murder and sent to a prison ship with other rock 'n' roll misfits...

THE PRESENT
...is a future where Japanese manufactured robots, designed to work cheaply and endlessly, are the caretakers of society. "Mr. Robotos" are everywhere, serving as manual labor in jobs that were once held by humans.

Dr. Righteous enforces his own morality by holding nightly rallies where crowds hurl rock 'n' roll records and electric guitars into huge bonfires...Jonathan Chance, the rebel leader of an underground movement to bring back rock 'n' roll, has made Kilroy the symbol of his cause. Meanwhile, Kilroy has spent a number of years in prison. With no hope of release, he is subjected to the humiliation of mind control via the MMM cable network. In an attempt to contact Kilroy, Jonathan jams the airwaves of the MM network, replacing a mind control session with outlawed footage of a Kilroy concert. Inspired by Jonathan's message, Kilroy plots his escape. Late one night, he makes a daring attempt to free himself by overpowering a Roboto guard. Disguised as a Roboto Kilroy moves freely throughout the city leaving graffiti coded messages for Jonathan. Jonathan discovers the "Rock Code" which leads him to the old Paradise Theatre, now the site of Dr. Righteous' Museum of Rock Pathology. There he sees the last Kilroy concert mechanically depicted by Kilroy look-alike robots as the violent end of rock 'n' roll...and there, he and Kilroy meet for the first time.

Jonathon meets Kilroy

Having met Kilroy and heard the true story of the night he was arrested and framed for murder, Jonathan Chance is more motivated than ever to bring back rock and roll music. He picks up a guitar and begins to play and sing a song of celebration. Kilroy joins in, recalling the names of influential greats of the past.