'Til It Ends

"'Til It Ends" is a single by Kuboian musical project Northern Project, written and produced by its leading members Anthony Fuller and Mike P. Morrison and co-written by Lilian Pond and Sofie van Halen. The song, which features vocals by Famke Bakker, was released on 26th March 1989. It was later included in the band's compilation album Labyrinth: The Best of the Northern Project in 1990.

"'Til It Ends" debuted at the top of the Karuboia charts, becoming Northern Project's second single to do so. The song also saw moderate success throughout Europe and broke the band into international mainstream charts. It has been certified Platinum by the KSR.

Background
Sofie van Halen had originally written "'Til It Ends" in 1987 and intended to record the song with the Traffic Sisters, though she ended up giving the song to Anthony Fuller instead. Fuller explained "Sofie gave me the song and said 'I think you and Mike can make a tune out of this.'" Van Halen had originally imagined the song as a slower-paced synth-pop song, though Fuller reimagined it as a more danceable folk number. Fuller initially had Van Halen performing the song's vocals during a recording session in 1987, though on Van Halen's suggestion he eventually gave the role to Famke Bakker instead in order to give an "upcoming artist with potential" some "time to shine". The original version featuring Van Halen's vocals was leaked online in 2006.

Upon the release of "'Til It Ends", some sources claimed it sounded like a faster-paced version of Mike Oldfield's 1984 single "To France", which sparked a rumour that Fuller had sampled the latter song without permission. Fuller however, insisted that the composition is entirely original explaining "After I had recorded the song, Mike told me his family members thought it sounded very similar to that song ["To France"] [...] so I was a bit hesitant to release it because I thought 'Crap, I'm gonna get sued'".

Music and lyrics
The lyrics of "'Til It Ends" explain a story about a young woman from a poor family who leaves home to pursue a successful career; after leaving home, she begins to experience several problems including loneliness, depression and sickness, yet continues to move forward despite setbacks. The protagonist of the lyrics is not given a name, only being referred to as "she". Van Halen likens the protagonist to a younger version of herself growing up during the Kuboian Independence Movement; talking about the lyrics during the song's twentieth anniversary in 2009, she said "During the trasition to an independent Kuboia, me and my friends were all young people and girls [sic] who were separated from their families, so the song kinda represents the struggles we faced back then." The song has a tempo of 123 beats per minute and is written in the key of B minor, though it transitions into C minor during the final chorus.

Music video
A music video for "'Til It Ends" was shot on a tight budget in December 1988. The video mostly features Famke Bakker walking alone in some grassy fields in the middle of the night; near the end of the song, she is seen reaching the top of a mountain. Anthony Fuller has stated that he has always kept the meaning of the video ambiguous because he wants the viewer to form their own impression of it.

7" single

 * 1) "'Til It Ends" (7" mix)
 * 2) "'Til It Ends" (karaoke ver.)

12" single

 * 1) "'Til It Ends" (12" mix)
 * 2) "'Til It Ends" (instrumental)
 * 3) "'Til It Ends" (acoustic)