| This article is about all of Steven Universe's ending credits' audio. You may be looking for the song, "Love Like You", or the ending theme of Steven Universe Future, "Being Human". |
An Ending Theme is a song that plays during the credits of each episode of Steven Universe. Changes to the ending theme are very common throughout the show.
Variations[]
Love Like You (Instrumental) (Season 1A)[]
Season 1A's ending themes are all variations of the same melody, with new instruments being added every few episodes.
- Variation #1: Classic melody (Piano only). First plays at the end of "Gem Glow".
- Variation #2: Classic + Glockenspiel. First plays at the end of "Cheeseburger Backpack".
- Variation #3: Classic + Glockenspiel + Upright bass. First plays at the end of "Tiger Millionaire".
- Variation #4: Classic + Glockenspiel + Upright bass + Drum set. First plays at the end of "Onion Trade".
- Variation #5: Classic + Glockenspiel + Upright bass + Drum set + Guitar. First plays once at the end of "Beach Party", and then plays from "Joking Victim" until the end of season 1A, it being "Ocean Gem".
New Melodies and Static (Season 1B)[]
Season 1B has several very different ending themes, changing every now and then. Lots of one-off variations appeared towards the end of the season, foreshadowing the arrival of the Homeworld Gems.
- Variation #6: (New melody) Piano + Guitar + Upright bass. This has the same tempo and same chord progression from the original, although it contains its own unique melody. First plays from "House Guest", until (and including) "Garnet's Universe", and then one final time at the end of "Lion 3: Straight to Video".
- Variation #7: (New melody) Piano + Upright bass + Drum set. This variation focuses mainly on percussion. First plays once at the end of "Watermelon Steven", and then plays from "Warp Tour" until (and including) "Horror Club".
- Variation #8: (New melody) Electric guitar. First plays from "Winter Forecast" until (and including) "Story for Steven".
- Variation #9: Electric guitar + Variation #8 melody. The ending of this version fades to static at the end, foreshadowing the arrival of the Homeworld Gems in "The Return". Only plays at the end of "The Message".
- Variation #10: Static. Continuing the foreshadowing of the Homeworld Gems' arrival, like the last variation did. The static gets louder towards the end of the credits. Only plays at the end of "Political Power".
- Variation #11: Static with distorted fragments of Rebecca Sugar's vocals[citation needed] from the following twelfth variation. This variation is only heard in the standalone, non-two parter version of "The Return"[1]. This variation was never shown on TV, and has been called "The Missing Piece" by Aivi & Surasshu.
Love Like You (Seasons 2 and 3)[]
Throughout Seasons 2 and 3, the song "Love Like You" is slowly built up, a new verse being added every few episodes. Throughout the "Barn Arc", however, Variation 16 is played instead (see Other Variations). With the conclusion of season 3, the song is complete.
- Variation #12 contains the original chords and bassline in addition to Rebecca Sugar singing the lyrics as the melody. First plays with two verses at the end of "Jail Break"[2]; shorter version with only the first verse is first played at the end of "Full Disclosure".
- Variation #14 is a faded "second part" of variation 12 coming directly before "you" that is slow-moving and somewhat distorted. First plays at the end of "Cry for Help".
- Variation #15 is the third verse of "Love Like You", titled "Nothing Like You". This variation is faster and jazzier than the previous two. First plays at the end of "Nightmare Hospital".
- Variation #17 is the fourth verse of "Love Like You" and a continuation of "Nothing Like You" (Variation 15), with the same melody but different lyrics, titled "Adore You". First plays at the end of "Steven Floats".[3]
- Variation #18 is the fifth verse of "Love Like You", titled "Right By You". It's melody is slower and less jazzy compared to the previous two. First plays at the start of "Alone at Sea".
- Variation #19 is the penultimate (sixth) verse of "Love Like You", titled "How Long It Took". This variation begins with a brief musical interlude. It also includes the first half of the final (seventh) verse. First and only fully plays at the end of "Bismuth". As of "Beta", only the second half of this theme played, starting at "I could even learn...".
- Variation #20 is the final (seventh) verse of "Love Like You", titled "Love Me Like You". It only includes the second half of the verse though, as the first half is included in variation #19. First and only plays at the end of the episode "Bubbled".
Love Like You (Reprise) (Seasons 4 and 5)[]
Season 4's ending themes have featured discordant chimes that, similar to the Love Like You ending themes, make a song when placed together. Each additional variation appears to be getting faster and more melodical, introducing a piano and eventually a guitar. These themes build up to the reveal of the song being a reprise of Love Like You, in late season 5.
- Variation #21 lacks any music, instead consisting of the sounds of waves crashing and Steven's clothes on the line flapping in the wind. First played at the end of "Kindergarten Kid".
- Variation #22 features eerie discordant chimes that are not very musical. There are no lyrics. This is first played at the end of "Mindful Education".
- Variation #24 features the same eerie discordant chimes from variation #22, but this time, another part is added. This variation also introduces the piano, and includes a screechy sound at the end. First and only fully plays at the end of "Gem Harvest". As of "Three Gems and a Baby", only the new second half is played.
- Variation #25 is the continuation of variation #24. However, the chimes and piano are now getting faster and more melodical. At the end, there is a whale-like sound. First plays at the end of "That Will Be All".
- Variation #26 is the continuation of variation #25. This theme is yet more melodical and faster than the previous. The piano is now the dominant instrument. The screechy sound from variation #24 returns. First plays at the end of "Doug Out".
- Variation #27 is the continuation of variation #26. The theme is noticeably more fast-paced and upbeat than the previous ones. Along with the piano, an electric guitar is featured. Bird and dolphin noises can be heard in the background. First plays at the end of "Stuck Together".
- Variation #28 is the continuation of variation #27. This theme has a similar motif to 27, though features different ambient sounds and slight "funky" digital distortion near the end. First plays at the end of "Dewey Wins".
- Variation #29 is the continuation of variation #28. This theme is similar to 28, but the "funky" distortion plays all throughout. In the final second, the motif of the theme transposes to a higher key. First plays at the end of "Lars of the Stars".
- Variation #30 is the final instrumental part, with the melody slowing to a stop. First plays at the end of "Can't Go Back".
- Variation #31 is the first lyrical variation of the reprise of “Love Like You”, adding the lyrics of the third verse (variation #15), with the last line of the verse removed. Contains an entirely different melody to any previous instrumental reprise version. Only plays after "Reunited".
- Variation #32 is similar to the previous variation, except the final line of the verse is added. Only plays after "Legs From Here to Homeworld".
- Variation #33 contains the lyrics of the fourth verse (variation #17) but with added harmonies on the word "special". It plays after "Familiar".
- Variation #34 contains the lyrics of the fifth verse (variation #18). Only plays after "Together Alone".
- Variation #35 contains the lyrics of the sixth verse (variation #19). Oddly during the credits the final word "like" is removed, while in the soundtrack it is existant. Only plays after "Escapism".
- Variation #36 is the word "you" repeated four times in an eerie way, to make it so when played in conjunction with the previous variation it says "love like (you (x4))", concluding the verse and therefore the song. Contains no melody. Only plays after "Change Your Mind".
Other Ending Themes[]
- Variation #13 (Uncle Like You)[4] has more synth and techno sounds. This is because the piece was styled to sound like the Uncle Grandpa theme song. Only plays at the end of the Uncle Grandpa and Steven Universe crossover, "Say Uncle".
- Variation #16 is an ominous, creepy acoustic guitar with insect noises and no lyrics. This ending theme appears on episodes centralized around the barn location. Note that each time this version plays, the insect noises are slightly different. It is the longest-standing ending theme, being heard at the end of 12 episodes. First plays at the end of "Back to the Barn".
- Variation #23 is a one-off variation. Only plays at the end of "Last One Out of Beach City". It is a continuation of "Fifteen Minutes" by Mike Krol, that starts playing during the ending sequence, which rolls over to the credits.
Lyrics[]
Original Version (Variation #12)[]
| If I could begin to be Half of what you think of me, I could do about anything, I could even learn how to love. When I see the way you act, Wondering when I'm coming back, I could do about anything, I could even learn how to love like you. |
Faded Version (Variation #14)[]
| You... [Faded voice] Love, like you... |
Nothing Like You (Variation #15)[]
| I always thought I might be bad, Now I'm sure that it's true, 'cause I think you're so good And I'm nothing like you. |
Adore You (Variation #17)[]
| Look at you go I just adore you I wish that I knew What makes you think I'm so special |
Right By You (Variation #18)[]
| If I could begin to do Something that does right by you I would do about anything I would even learn how to love |
The Way You Look (Variation #19)[]
| When I see the way you look Shaken by how long it took I could do about anything I could even learn how to love like you Love like you... |
Love Me Like You (Variation #20)[]
| Love me like you |
Trivia[]
- A version of the Ending Theme with a longer piano intro can be heard in another song, "Love Like You (The Ocean Returns)", composed by Aivi & Surasshu.
- A part of the ending theme is used for the Pilot episode.
- A complete version with unaired lyrics was first performed by Aivi & Surasshu, Edwin Rhodes and Thu Tran at Animation on Display 2016.[5] Rebecca Sugar first publicly performed the full version at San Diego Comic-Con 2016.
- An unreleased theme which was supposed to be used for "The Return", titled "The Missing Piece", can be found on one of the composers' blogs.[6][7]
- The time signatures on both Love Like You and the chime themes are different from any other song in the series, both of which were 9/8 and 7/4 (Starting from the variation that plays at the end of the episode "Stuck Together"), respectively.
References[]
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkOSsGxOoHI
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWhjh9BpIrc
- ↑ http://cant-get-enough-pearl.tumblr.com/post/145217231400
- ↑ https://soundcloud.com/aivisura/steven-universe-uncle-like-you
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8JxrjCHHIE
- ↑ http://aiviwave.tumblr.com/post/124724925581
- ↑ http://aiviwave.tumblr.com/post/113413075876