An artist’s final song before death is inherently meaningful: It serves as a final goodbye to their fans, and an audio snapshot of where they were and what they were doing in those last days of their life.

Some artists know their last song will be their last, or at least, something close to it. In his final studio recording, Johnny Cash contemplated his mortality; Glen Campbell used his last day in the studio to lay down a musical message about his Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

Other times, when an artist walks into the recording studio, they’ve got no reason to suspect that it’s for the last time. But somehow, it often seems that the track that they wind up recording is a fitting final message. For example, when Montgomery Gentry cut “Better Me,” they had no idea that Troy Gentry would die in a helicopter crash just weeks later. Even so, the song serves as a fitting epitaph to the kind of man Gentry was during his life.

Some artists’ last songs are prophetic, some are haunting, and some serve as a full-circle moment to a long, storied career. Scroll through the gallery below to listen to 11 final songs, recorded by legendary country artists just before they died.

Carena Liptak is an Associate Editor and staff writer at Taste of Country. She specializes in breaking country music news, interviews and lists. In particular, she’s got a soft spot for sad songs — check out her roundup of the 50 Saddest Country Songs of All Time!