Donna Freydkin

USA TODAY

Colbert Nation, it's a wrap.

After nine years on the air as the host of The Colbert Report (the T is silent), Stephen Colbert has signed off. And he did it in his typical bombastic, authentic fashion.

"I know this is an emotional night for a lot of you," he said during his opening.

Mostly, the show went on as normal, except for the sweet, emotional finale.

Colbert performed the 1939 tune We'll Meet Again with a slew of famous friends, including Jon Stewart, Willie Nelson, Tom Brokaw, Cyndi Lauper, Bryan Cranston, Big Bird, Jeff Daniels, Katie Couric, Ken Burns, Charlie Rose, James Franco, Michael Stipe, Barry Manilow, Christiane Amanpour, Andy Cohen, and George Lucas.

And then, Colbert rode away with Santa and Abraham Lincoln and Alex Trebek.

Night, night, nation.

Colbert is heading to CBS to take over for David Letterman in September.

But not before going out with a bang. When his show premiered in 2005, he promised his audience a revolution, and, said Colbert, "One revolution is 360 degrees right back to where we were."

His final guest was his dear friend Grimmy, otherwise known as the Grim Reaper. He killed death, said Colbert, meaning that he was now immortal.