A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a survey conducted in Britain to learn what the most requested funeral songs are. Naturally, this got me wondering what songs I'd choose for my funeral.
I'm really hoping my funeral is so far in the distance that I'll have plenty of time to revise this list over the years, but after a couple of weeks of thought, here are twenty songs for my funeral.
I Am Mine - Pearl Jam
"I know I was born
And I know that I'll die
The in between is mine
I am mine."
Fiddler's Green - The Tragically Hip
"He doesn't know a soul
And there's nowhere that he's really been
But he won't travel long alone
No, not in Fiddler's Green."
So Gently We Go - I Mother Earth
"I've heard the sound
That silence makes
And I realize the world
Can break
From the inside out
Or outside in
On a breath of wind."
Danny Boy - Johnny Cash
"Oh Danny boy
the pipes the pipes are calling
from glen to glen and down the mountain side
the summer's gone and all the roses falling
it's you it's you must go and I must bide."
Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah
"I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though
It all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah."
O Death - Ralph Stanley
"O, Death
Won't you spare me over til another year
Well what is this that I can't see
With ice cold hands takin' hold of me
Well I am death, none can excel
I'll open the door to heaven or hell."
In My Life - The Beatles
"Though I know I’ll never lose affection
For people and things that went before,
I know I’ll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more."
The Circle Game - Joni Mitchell
"And the seasons, they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down.
We're captive on a carousel of time.
We can't return, we can only look behind from where we came
And go round and round and round in the circle game."
Fire and Rain - James Taylor
"Thought I'd see you one more time again
There's just a few things coming my way this time around, now
Thought I'd see you, thought I'd see you fire and rain, now."
Mad Word - Michael Andrews f/ Gary Jules
"And their tears are filling up their glasses
No expression, no expression
Hide my head I want to drown my sorrow
No tomorrow, no tomorrow."
All Apologies - Nirvana
"All in all is all we all are
All in all is all we all are
All in all is all we all are
All in all is all we all are."
Angel - Jimi Hendrix
"And I said "fly on my sweet angel,
fly on through the sky,
fly on my sweet angel,
forever I will be by your side"."
Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
"So, so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell,
blue skies from pain.
Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail? A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?"
Knockin' On Heaven's Door - Guns N' Roses
"Momma take this badge off of me
I can't use it anymore
It's getting dark, too dark to see
I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door."
Always On My Mind - Willie Nelson
"Little things I should have said and done
I just never took the time
You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind."
Everything In Its Right Place - Radiohead
"Everything, everything, everything, everything...
In its right place
In its right place
In its right place
Right place."
The End - The Doors
"This is the end, Beautiful friend
This is the end, My only friend, the end
It hurts to set you free
But you'll never follow me."
Do You Realize?? - The Flaming Lips
"And instead of saying all of your goodbyes - let them know
You realize that life goes fast
It's hard to make the good things last
You realize the sun doesn't go down
It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round."
The Long Road - Eddie Vedder with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
"Will I walk the long road?
I cannot stay
There's no need to say goodbye
Oh, the friends and family...
All the memories going round
Round, round round..."
Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd
"If I leave here tomorrow,
would you still remember me?
For I must be travelling on, now.
'Cause there's too many places I've gotta see."
