Ending a song with a dominant chord?

Question

As far as i know, almost all songs end in the tonic chord, because this is the most "stable" condition. On the other hand, a dominant chord at the end of a progression (or song) sounds "incomplete". However, i have found several songs that end with a V chord, and it sounds fine. (A Chinese folk song titled *Mo Li Hua* is one notable example). In my observation on these songs, i found a common thread: the last V chord is preceded by a II maj chord (i.e the secondary dominant V/V chord). Is this really a common characteristic of this group of songs (or is it a coincidence)... and what else would make "ending at a V chord" more "stable"?

Answer 1

In songs that are in modes other than major and minor, the V chord can be heard as somewhat less unstable than it is in tonal Western music.

...also, there is a vogue right now in certain types of pop music for ending songs on dominant harmonies. Go figure. The instability seems to be exactly what those artists are looking for.