Something proper? How about Queen's 'Don't Stop Me Now'?
I had a cousin who died unexpectedly in 1984 at the age of 16. One of the songs sung at her funeral was Over The Rainbow, because she loved rainbows.
I want "Many Rivers to Cross" played at my funeral. Only problem is, I want Oleta Adams to sing it. Not so certain she'd show up.
;-)
There are some pop songs like might work at a funeral, but the songs listed here are just pathetic.
How about Motorhead's "Dancing On Your Grave"?? Too over the top??
;-)
Good Lord, I don't know how I would react if I went to a funeral where they played Always Look on the Bright Side of Life. The whole absurdity of it makes me want to laugh just thinking about it. Since the funerals on one side of my family sometimes have a bit a self-deprecating humor in them, I guess it shouldn't strike me as such an odd song.
My request,
Elvis: Peace in the Valley
I've told my siblings that I want "My Way" played at my funeral. Not the Sinatra version- the Sid Vicious version!
If anybody sings that drippy Robbie Williams song at my funeral I'll have to rise up and smack them.
I'm not attached to traditional funerals at all. I'm leaving instructions for my kids to have me cremated and sprinkle my ashes off Paradise Cove in Malibu, followed by a festive dinner at the restaurant there. Probably music by the Beachboys would work, though I hadn't given it any thought yet.
"She had fun fun fun til her Daddy took her T-Bird awaaa-aaay" sounds about right. There's an existential message in there, not hidden deep at all, in fact right on the surface.
How about Roy Orbison's "It's Over" (now being used by Blockbuster)?
For a cremation, I'd recommend an obscure disco hit "Up, Up, Up In A Puff Of Smoke".
Amarillo by Morning. It's "our" song (my wife and me).
Amarillo by morning, up from san antone.
Everything that I’ve got is just what I’ve got on.
When that sun is high in that texas sky
I’ll be bucking it to county fair.
Amarillo by morning, amarillo I’ll be there.
They took my saddle in houston, broke my leg in santa fe.
Lost my wife and a girlfriend somewhere along the way.
Well I’ll be looking for eight when they pull that gate,
And I’m hoping that judge ain’t blind.
Amarillo by morning, amarillo’s on my mind.
Amarillo by morning, up from san antone.
Everything that I’ve got is just what I’ve got on.
I ain’t got a dime, but what I got is mine.
I ain’t rich, but lord I’m free.
Amarillo by morning, amarillo’s where I’ll be.
Amarillo by morning, amarillo’s where I’ll be.
You've Got a Friend in Me. I used to sing it to my daughter when she was sick.
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
When the road looks rough ahead
And you're miles and miles
From your nice warm bed
You just remember what your old pal said
Boy, you've got a friend in me
Yeah, you've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
If you've got troubles, I've got 'em too
There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you
We stick together and can see it through
Cause you've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
Some other folks might be
A little bit smarter than I am
Bigger and stronger too
Maybe
But none of them will ever love you
The way I do, it's me and you
Boy, and as the years go by
Our friendship will never die
You're gonna see it's our destiny
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
REmebering songs about paradise, which would be appropriate for anyone's funeral and especially for the sprinkling of ashes at Paradise Cove, Malibu, CA. Here's an old one sung by Gene Kelly in "An American in Paris":
Rufus Wainwright Lyrics
I'll Build A Stairway To Paradise
All you preachers who delight in panning the dancing teachers
Let me tell you there are a lot of features
Of the dance that carry you through the gates of Heaven
It's madness to be always sitting around in sadness
When you could be learning the steps of gladness
You'll be happy when you can do just six or seven
Begin today, you'll find it’s nice
The quickest way to paradise
When you practice, here's the thing to do
Simply say as you go...
I'll build a stairway to paradise
With a new step every day
I'm going to get there at any price
Stand aside, I'm on my way
I've got the blues and up above it's so fair
Shoes, go on and carry me there
I'll build a stairway to paradise
With a new step every day
AND THEN, On the Beach Boy's Summer in Paradise album, there's a song called Forever:
If every word I said
Could make you laugh
I'd talk forever
I ask the sky just what we had
Mmm It shone forever
If the song I sing to you
Could fill your heart with joy
I'd sing forever
Forever
Forever
I've been so happy loving you
Let the love I have for you
Live in your heart
And beat forever
Forever
Forever
I've been so happy loving you
Baby just let me sing it my baby
I wanna be singin' my baby
Baby baby baby my baby
I wanna be singin'
I wanna be singin' my baby
So I'm goin' away
Mmm but not forever
Na na na na
I gotta love you anyway
Forever
A HOME IN THE MEADOW
Away, away, come away with me
where the grass grows wild and the winds blow free
Away, away, come away with me
and I'll build you a home in the meadow
Come, come, there's a wondrous land
for the hopeful heart and the willing hand
Come, come, there's a wondrous land
where I'll build you a home in the meadow
The stars, the stars, oh how bright they'll shine
on a world the lord himself designed
The stars, the stars, oh how bright they'll shine
on the home we will build in the meadow
Come, come, there's a wondrous land
for the hopeful heart and the willing hand
Come, come, there's a wondrous land
where I'll build you a home in the meadow
2 jobs ago a woman whose son was getting married assked the firm for advice for the song for the mother-son dance at the reception. She had her heart set on 'My Way.'
I knew her fairly well and did my best to talk her out of it - so out-of-place at a wedding, and when you get down to it, nobody cares that she raised her son 'her way.'
Using it at a funeral is awful, too.
For what it's worth, I am a huge Sinatra fan but never cared much for his version of the song (written for him). Elvis's cover of it is much better, much more inspired, and much more sincere.
Almost anything by Warren Zevon would work, but I think I'd especially like 'I'll Sleep When I'm Dead'.
"Amazing Grace, Ave Maria and Elgar's Nimrod remain firm favourites, he says. And although he concedes that humanist and non-religious ceremonies are becoming more common, religious songs "make a service more of a participation event". "
Yes, they have some substance - unlike the contemporay "Christian" songs of today.
Translation of the Latin text of Faure's Requiem (tr. Arnold vander Nat).
INTROITUS
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion,
et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem.
Exaudi orationem meam;
ad te omnis caro veniet.
Rest eternal grant them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine on them.
To thee praise is due, O God, in Zion,
and to thee vows are recited in Jerusalem.
Hear my prayer;
unto thee all flesh shall come.
KYRIE [in Greek]
Kyrie eleison.
Christe eleison.
Kyrie eleison.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
OFFERTORIUM
Domine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae,
libera animas defunctorum
de poenis inferni,
et de profundo lacu.
Libera eas de ore leonis,
ne absorbeat eas tartarus,
ne cadant in obscurum.
Hostias et preces tibi,
Domine, laudis offerimus.
Tu suscipe pro animabus illis
quarum hodie memoriam facimus.
Fac eas, Domine,
de morte transire ad vitam,
quam olim Abrahae promisisti,
et semini eius.
Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory,
deliver the souls of the dead
from punishment in the inferno,
and from the infernal lake.
Deliver them from the mouth of the lion,
lest the abyss swallow them up,
lest they fall into the darkness.
Sacrifices and prayers to thee,
O Lord, we offer with praise.
O receive them for the souls of those
whom today we commemorate.
Make them, O Lord,
to pass from death to life,
as thou of old hast promised Abraham
and his seed.
SANCTUS
Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus,
Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt coeli et terra
gloria tua.
Hosanna in excelsis.
Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God of hosts.
The heavens and earth are filled
with thy glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
PIE JESU
Pie Jesu Domine,
dona eis requiem,
requiem sempiternam.
Merciful Lord Jesus,
grant them rest,
rest everlasting.
ANGUS DEI
Agnus Dei,
qui tollis peccata mundi,
dona eis requiem,
requiem sempiternam.
Lamb of God,
who taketh away the sins of the world,
Grant them rest,
rest everlasting.
LUX AETERNA
Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine,
cum sanctis tuis in aeternum,
quia pius es.
Requiem aeternam, dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Let light eternal shine on them, O Lord,
with thy saints forever,
for thou art merciful.
Rest eternal grant them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine on them.
LIBERA ME
Libera me, Domine,
de morte aeterna,
in die illa tremenda
quando coeli movendi sunt et terra,
dum veneris judicare
saeculum per ignem
Tremens factus sum ego, et timeo
dum discussio venerit,
atque ventura ira.
Dies illa, dies irae,
calamitatis et miseriae,
dies magna et amara valde.
Requiem aeternam, dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Deliver me, O Lord,
from eternal death,
on that fearful day
when the heavens are moved and the earth
when thou shalt come to judge
the world through fire.
I am made to tremble, and I fear,
when the desolation shall come,
and also the coming wrath.
That day, the day of wrath,
calamity, and misery,
that terrible and exceedingly bitter day.
Rest eternal grant them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine on them.
IN PARADISUM
In paradisum deducant te angeli,
in tuo adventu
suscipiant te martyres,
et perducant te
in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem.
Chorus angelorum te suscipiat,
et cum Lazaro quondam paupere
aeternam habeas requiem.
May the angels lead you into paradise,
may the martyrs receive you
in your coming,
and may they guide you
into the holy city, Jerusalem.
May the chorus of angels receive you
and with Lazarus once poor
may you have eternal rest.
What is wrong with with this, I ask?
Isn't It Grand Boys
Traditional
Look at the coffin, with golden handles
Isn't it grand, boys, to be bloody-well dead?
Let's not have a sniffle, let's have a bloody-good cry
And always remember: The longer you live
The sooner you'll bloody-well die
Look at the flowers, all bloody withered
Isn't it grand, boys, to be bloody-well dead?
Let's not have a sniffle, let's have a bloody-good cry
And always remember: The longer you live
The sooner you'll bloody-well die
Look at the mourners, bloody-great hypocrites
Isn't it grand, boys, to be bloody-well dead?
Let's not have a sniffle, let's have a bloody-good cry
And always remember: The longer you live
The sooner you'll bloody-well die
Look at the preacher, a bloody-nice fellow
Isn't it grand, boys, to be bloody-well dead?
Let's not have a sniffle, let's have a bloody-good cry
And always remember: The longer you live
The sooner you'll bloody-well die
Look at the widow, bloody-great female
Isn't it grand, boys, to be bloody-well dead?
Let's not have a sniffle, let's have a bloody-good cry
And always remember: The longer you live
The sooner you'll bloody-well die