So you're dead

[Balloonhearts]

So you're sadly dead, you got hit by a bus, which was unfortunately on time for a fucking change, what song would you want at your funeral?

I think I'd want Little Wonders by Rob Thomas. I like to think I'd have something really funny and inappropriate but realistically some of my family would not find that funny.

Gracias a la vida - the Violetta Parra version
and a reading of Death, be not proud by John Donne

I have a note on my phone called "Songs to play at my funeral". DH knows about it, just in case. I've got:

I Did It My Way - Frank Sinatra
Into the West - Annie Lennox and Howard Shore

"Oh, Didn't She Ramble" played by a New Orleans Marching Band.

Perfect ❤

I've given this a lot of thought over too many funerals in the last few years. For mine, I'd like The Green & Red of Mayo by The Saw Doctors as I go in. In the middle the Ood Freedom Song from Dr Who and going out Spirit in the Sky by Doctor & The Medics. I'd also like an absolutely distraught beautiful stranger there for everyone to wonder about - might have to book that from an agency though!

Garth brooks - The Dance

That's awful. My father was was an Elder in the church. He had a brilliant sense of humour. The church was packed the day he took the sermon with both the young & old. He thought playing songs at a funeral service such as the one you've mentioned was disrespectful. He had a combination of traditional hymns & a song special to him & my mother.

Beautiful ❤

A beautiful hymn

A friend was a very jolly chap who died too young of bastard prostate cancer. The funeral was in a beautiful, ancient village church, and the atmosphere at first, while we were waiting, was very quiet and sombre.

But he’d been a keen singer in amateur G&S productions, so as the coffin was brought in, there was an accompanying blast of one of the big G&S numbers, can’t remember which, but from Pirates or Pinafore,

The atmosphere lifted immediately, totally in keeping with the cheerful, jolly sort of bloke he was. In the circs it seemed entirely appropriate.

I can't agree more - how obnoxious and dismissive of the church's customs to drag secular shit into the church. Belt out your pop songs at discos and concerts, not in church.

Love this thread.

Off the top of my head maybe 'life is sweet' by Natalie Merchant, Kol Nidrei by Bruch - will give it some thought though!

I can't agree more - we have already dismantled the family (look, non-traditional family is OK), now we are dismantling the church, chipping at it bit by bit - let us drag Elton John to perform in it at Diana's funeral (what a circus). Then we allow secular pop songs in the church? What next? Ordaining women and gay marriages in church? Oh, wait....

As a churchgoer, I can confirm that lots of different kinds of music gets played in church these days... Most Christians I know don't get offended by 'secular shit' if it means something to people.

U2 with or without you - I quite like Amy Lee’s version as well

You are probably right and I am probably over-reacting, but I absolutely detest the dismantlement of normality.

I suspect a lot of Christians these days aren't particularly familiar with e.g. classical liturgical music or e g. Wesleyan hymns either.

My BIL's Church is all happy clappy stuff with saxophones and cymbals.

Whereas there are quite a few atheists of a certain age (like me) who know and appreciate the traditional stuff.

It's a complicated business, cultural Christianity!

I don't think it's a Welsh funeral without this, is it? ❤️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Funnily enough I nearly said Into the West too. I am not a particular fan of Annie Lennox, nor of Lord of the Rings, but I went to a memorial service 20 years ago (a public one for a football manager, bit random) and it has always stuck in my mind as the most beautiful song for a funeral.

Maybe I should add it back into my list!

Carry on Wayward Son
Song by Kansas

If you have faith by Labi Siffre. To encourage all the mourners to press on and keep going with whatever hardships they face in life.

Your normal isn't everyone's normal. Also, not every funeral happens in a church. Mine certainly won't.

My songs:
Choreomania, by Florence and the Machine; English Summer Rain, by Placebo, and by Captain Tractor. If I could have two more it would be a song my Finnish friends wrote when I was in HS there (I have an MP3), and something by Roxette.

No buses.

Arctic Monkeys

Fascinating threads this, thanks OP. I like all the self-deprecating and humorous suggestions. It's true though that you have to be careful lest this go wrong. 'Always look on the bright side' at a suicide's funeral sounds awful.

Where I come from people skew sombre (German Lutheran). It's a somewhat soul-destroying form of Christianity, but we do some good hymns, not least thanks to Bach. This one here:

goes on for two verses about how nice it will be to die as this world is so awful anyway, then segues into the (locally) famous line 'come, death, brother of sleep, lead me away...(to meet Jesus)'.

This one is Bach's setting of a chorale that was old when he wrote this. You can hear that the tune is on a medieval scale.

Lyrics are based on the song of Simeon. I pass in peace and joy/in God's will/ my heart and mind are consoled/gentle and quiet/as God promised me/death has become my sleep.

This one is in a major key(!). The final chorale of St John's passion: Lord, on my last day, let your dear angels carry my soul into Abraham's lap ...(so I can praise you forever).

I could go on (but won't). May your funerals be far off.

I’m so sorry for your loss. It’s a lovely song.