Funeral Songs

[Sunnyhorse]

I loved it during the funeral scene in "Love Actually" when the Bay City Rollers' "Bye Bye Baby" began to play and Liam Neeson smiled through his tears.

[thvar]

There is a song by The Pogues that I always considered perfect for the traditional funeral. It's called "Worms" and goes like this:

The worms crawl in and the worms crawl out
The ones that crawl in are lean and thin
The ones that crawl out are fat and stout
Your eyes fall in and your teeth fall out
Your brains come tumbling down your snout
Be merry my friends
Be merry

However, since I (a) want to be cremated and (b) don't really want to traumatize my loved ones, I'd go with Jethro Tull's "Cheerio":

Along the coast road, by the headland
the early lights of winter glow.
I'll pour a cup to you my darling.
Raise it up --- say Cheerio.

So I want them to be sad. I'm selfish that way.

[Laira]

I'd like to have In Memory of Elizabeth Reed by the Allman Brothers playing at the grand event. It's an instrumental.

[defaultusername]

This might be totally wrong, but I want Queen’s “Another One Bites The Dust” played at my funeral. I don’t care if it’s inappropriate. There will be no casket, as I plan on donating my body to medical research. I should say I hope my living friends and relative donate it for me, as I would be unable to do it my self;-)

[india7]

sunnyhorse said:

I loved it during the funeral scene in "Love Actually" when the Bay City Rollers' "Bye Bye Baby" began to play and Liam Neeson smiled through his tears.

Considering that I worshipped the Bay City Rollers from age 12-15 (and still do on some secret, perverse level), I absolutely loved that scene.

[ratscabies]

I was driving my oldest friends to their mothers burial service in Massachusetts. The radio was playing softly, still tuned to the classic rock station I had tuned in on the way from the airport the day before. Suddenly mortified, I realized they were playing "Don't Fear The Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult. When I asked if any one wanted me to switch the station, they all said, no, that it was actually a rather comforting sentiment....

I want that one, and "I Love The Dead" by Alice Cooper at my wake.

[jynni]

dandesun said:

And when he did lose him, a friend sang 'My Old Friend' both at the church service following his death and at the memorial service.

Is that one the songs on the We Were Soldiers soundtrack? My brother really likes that song. When he was over in Iraq last year, I couldn't listen to it because I knew that if something happened to him while he was over there, it would've been played at the funeral.

whatever said:

Maybe it's because I've only been to repressed Catholic funerals - but do other religions really play music at funerals? Will they let you do whatever you want in a service? I'm picturing the crazy atmosphere of "Six Feet Under", and remembering the biker and polygamist funerals now.

I haven't been to very many funerals but the ones I have been to have all had at least one song played. Usually it was a hymn that the deceased had been fond of.

One of my favorite hymns is It Is Well With My Soul. Such a peaceful song despite the sadness it conveys. The story behind it is heartbreaking. We had it sang at my great-grandma's funeral.

[starskin]

I'd kind of like Depeche Mode's "Death's Door" played as a processional to my funeral. Something about the way Martin Gore sings "Will I take my rest/ Have I passed the test?" really gets me where I live, no pun intended.
Of course, I love the idea of the joyful New Orleans style funeral. The thought of a bawdy brass band playing me into the afterlife is pretty appealing.

Edited because, despite my thoughts to the contrary, a wedding and a funeral are not the same thing.

[forever1267]

My mother's theme song was "I Can See Clearly Now" by Johnny Nash, so we had a vocalist friend of the family sing it at the funeral. It worked perfectly. (That, and the Catholic Priests [in St. Louis] balked at the idea of a Tina Turner song. Tina was my Mom's role model.)

"My Old Friend" is by Tim McGraw, and is on his latest album. Terrific song.

[andreajersey]

I want Alice in Chains, "Don't Follow" to be played at my funeral. Well, up until the bridge when the loud guitars come in:

"Hey, I aint never coming home
Hey, Ill just wander my own road
Hey, I cant meet you here tomorrow
Say goodbye dont follow
Misery so hollow

Hey you, you're living life full throttle
Hey you, pass me down that bottle
Hey you, you cant shake me round now
I get so lost and dont know how
And it hurts to care, Im going down"

Maybe it sounds sad, but I like to think it's about encouraging your friends and family to move on.