The Sopranos has always made excellent use of music and Chase has spoken of its importance to the show and to him personally. Here's part of the Wikipedia article about the song that I think inspired the way Chase ended the series:

"I Want You (She's So Heavy)" is a song by The Beatles, from their album Abbey Road. It was written by John Lennon, although it is credited as a Lennon/McCartney collaboration. The song is an unusual Beatles composition for a variety of reasons, namely its length (nearly eight minutes), its disproportionately small number of lyrics (there are only fourteen different words in the song), its three-minute descension through the same repeated guitar chords, its hard rock sound, and for its instantaneous and unanticipated end. It is also one of the last songs that the Beatles mixed as a group, on August 20, 1969. David Gates writes of the song, "The hypnotically repeated guitar figure in 'I Want You (She's So Heavy)' is suddenly, arbitrarily cut off, jolting us into embarrassed awareness that we've let a mere recording [TV series?] carry us away." The sudden end of the song was intentional and orchestrated by Lennon. In the spirit of the band, it was pushing the boundaries of what was 'allowed' on a record; full volume slashes were certainly not the norm.

Pushing boundaries? Indeed.

good thoughts guys!

in a post finale interview chase says about the final scene, among other things, that "it's all there" and that a film would probably not happen because it would show that "you would know that Tony doesn't get killed. It's got problems."

so that sounds like a direct contradiction. very confusing.

it could be what was said a couple posts back, that the whole point of this ending (like"she's so heavy") was to make us focus on what is so cool about the show...not "what happens at the end" but the overall flavor. this show could never be summed up by a list of who got killed and when. it was better than that. it was about it feels to be living in a compromised amoral modern world.

but naturally...i am still going to be pondering that ending for some time.

click on my sig to see the article i quoted above

just copy and paste:

http://blog.nj.com/alltv/2007/06/david_chase_speaks.html

1. It was Agent Harris who flipped, not Tony. Perversely entertaining.

2. Tony's meals in the episode were hamburgers, french fries, and onion rings. Not Italian food.

3. (as pointed out by someone else) Little Carmine's film company is called "Lone Wolves"

-- uncle ovipositor

Great observations! Its true - Agent Harris DID flip!!

The whole episode was filled with Americana images - the food like you pointed out - but also the Ford SUV that crushed Phil - Phil was crushed by the american dream as he was trying to re-introduce the old Italian mafia traditions. The diner at the end was in itself a representation of America.

Little Carmine is a blundering idiot - "Lone wolveS" - hilarious. I didn't catch it.

So after spending almost all of Monday reading various blogs and comments, I watched the finale again last night, and I decided that Tony wasn't killed when the screen went dark; rather it was my option 2, it didn't end, it just stopped.

As has been pointed out, the guy in the diner was not Nicky Leotardo and the black guys were not the guys that shot Tony, corporeal or otherwise. The jump cut from Tony entering the diner to sitting at the booth was just a cut, not a "vision"; did we actually have to watch Tony walk to the booth?

As has been pointed out, there were no shadows or anything, and AJ and Carmela were sitting opposite Tony; someone coming up behind Tony would not have been hidden and almost certainly would have been noticed by Carmela or AJ. They were munching rings, not staring at their menus.

Also: Not only does "Finnegans Wake" end in mid-sentence, it begins in mid-sentence (note the lack of capitalization).

riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs.

Indeed, it's been argued that it's one long sentence.

Also: Meadow's Lexus is apparently not one of the new ones that parks itself.

Also: I haven't seen this noted, but Vanilla Fudge's "You Keep Me Hangin' On" appeared in three different scenes (including Phil's killing?).

While I enjoy reading everyone's interpretation of the ending, I think it is important to realize that none of you are right or wrong with your theories.

The cut to black - It wasn't a "joke on us" by David Chase, but a clever tactic used on us to get a reaction out of us, and look how successful it was. But even more than that - the ending is Tony getting shot, Tony not getting shot and that mystery guy is just some random guy, us getting shot, Meadow coming in and joining the family, Tony goes to Trial and loses, Tony goes to trial and wins, Tony passing out, etc..

Its everything and nothing. Thinking you KNOW what happens after the cut to black is the only wrong answer. We have to accept that anything could have happened there and after, and that is the point. Its the entire show built up to a climax, and any ending is possible. That is why I feel it is such a brilliant ending.

There just wouldn't have been another possible way to show a distinct ending that would be accepted by everyone. If they showed Tony getting shot - it would either be too dramatic or not dramatic enough. Either way it would be hailed as too cheesy or it wouldn't do justice to the emotional build up of the scene.

If they showed him getting arrested - People would be left hanging just as much as they are now because we wouldn't know if he gets found guilty or innocent.

Instead they leave off with any of these endings possible, but nothing certain. Were we left off without a definate sense of closure? Not really - the SHOW had closure, even if Tony's life did not. The show wasn't just about Tony's life. I would say it is probably realistic to say that even David Chase doesn't have a more certain ending in his head for the show.

Why would it be necessary to end with Tony dying, they didn't show him being born into the world or into the mob, did they?

It started and ended with his going into and discontinuing therapy, which was also the window for us into his life.

I feel the show was ended perfectly, it left us wanting more, and only helps us further identify with the characters, involves the viewer even more.

I have to admit, it is still hard for me to watch an ending like this, I wasn't expecting it, but I still feel it was the best way to end the show. There were no little clues to indicate specifically what happened after the cut to black, only hints to help us draw our own conclusions.

Anyone that sees otherwise either probably has incorrect information (like the mystery man being a relative of Phil - this was the actor's ONLY appearance in the show ever), or they are set in their own interpretation, too stubborn to accept any other interpretation. Anything is possible, nothing is certain.