Funerel
16Feb
Blog - Trusted Caskets

Funeral Songs: Our 20 Best Funeral Songs Ideas

  • By Tim N

Funerals are an extremely emotional event, and choosing a perfect funeral song that can represent & portray the weight of your feelings is not easy. Choosing funeral music to pay respect to your loved ones, especially during memorial services, shouldn't be as overwhelming, and we are here to help.

Music binds people together, and playing music adds dimension, beauty, emotion and brings depth to a funeral service. We have created a list of powerful & best funeral songs to give you that one song or two to convey your feelings through a musical piece.

20 Best Funeral Songs:

funeral san songs

Here is the list of our 20 most popular funeral songs. We have included various genres from rock music to tv theme tunes to classical music on the list.

Top 10 songs for funerals

Here is our compilation of 10 top funeral songs to help carry out your funeral arrangements and tribute with a fantastic symphony. We hope it offers you some form of comfort.

  1. If Heaven Wasn't so Far Away – Justin Moore

This is a beautiful choice for funeral songs that reflects the thoughts of what one would do with their deceased loved one if they ever get stumble upon the chance of uniting with them in heaven. It truly is a special song that highlights the hope of seeing and reconnecting with our loved ones that passed away long ago.

  1. Dance With My Father – Luther Vandross

This song can be taken as a soothing tribute to a father, grandfather, or father figure. The song talks about pleasant memories & recollections of growing up with your father and the longing to relive those moments once again. It continues to be a popular pick among sad funeral songs for fathers.

  1. Spirit in The Sky – Elton John

Spirit in the sky is a popular pick among the funeral song list of funeral directors. This is a song originally written & recorded by Norman Greenbaum over 5 decades ago. The song still remains an ever-popular funeral song to celebrate the life of your departed loved one.

  1. Time to Say Goodbye – Sarah Brightman & Andrea Bocelli

This is a soaring & sweet duet between two voices perfectly matching the rhythmic tunes of strings & percussion. The lyrics echo the bittersweet sorrow of bidding goodbye to one's lover, which is a great choice for those mourning the demise of a romantic partner.

  1. Nat King Cole – Unforgettable

The song lyrics offer a theme of reminiscing over unforgettable experiences & fond memories, which resonates so well with almost anyone experiencing the demise of a beloved soul. The harmonious tone & simple message of the song allows you to have a personal moment, reflecting on the departed.

  1. To Where You Are – Josh Groban

As we deal with the loss of a loved one, we hold on to them deep inside our hearts and dreams. It's a familiar feeling of longing to see and talk to them again. To Where You Are by Josh Groban is a song that represents the very longing and comfort of keeping the deceased loved one close to us.

  1. How Great Thou Art – Carrie Underwood

This one is significantly popular among Funeral Hymns. The words of 'How Great Thou Art' are uplifting yet respectful at the same time, making it an excellent melody for funeral services. It's a song that blends well during a religious funeral service.

  1. Angels – Robbie Williams

The emotional delivery and reflective lyrics of Angels easily strike the heart of those grieving over a loved one. Robbie Williams Angels remains a great melody among popular funeral songs for a loved one's funeral.

  1. Jeff Buckley – Hallelujah

In this rendition of the ever famous song Hallelujah, Jeff Buckley soothes the listeners with an understandable pain through his vocals. The song is quite popular during funerals and has been recorded by other artists in the likes of Michael Bolton and more.

  1. Hero – Mariah Carey

As the title suggests, Hero conveys the power of inner strength. It's a song that can relate to those mourning the loss of a parent(s) who were a source of inner strength. Hero is a moving and emotional choice for a sad funeral song, and many have used it as a tribute for a father or mother's funeral.

Most popular funeral songs

Certain songs simply resonate and express the sorrow we feel. As such, down below are some of the most beloved songs to play at a funeral, these beautiful songs every funeral director should know.

  1. My Father's Eyes – Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton's My Father's Eyes is a perfect, touching song tribute for a father's funeral. The song ties together the meaning of living on through our children and seeing resemblances of the father in their child's eyes. The song is also connected to another funeral-themed song of Eric Clapton: Tears in Heaven, which the singer wrote for his late son.

  1. Time of Your Life – Green Day

This is a famous punk rock song played during funerals. The song relates well to bereaved individuals that are still longing for their demised loved ones. Time of your life reminds individuals to cherish & remember each moment spent with their loved one.

  1. In My life – The Beatles

With lyrics contributed by John Lennon & Paul McCartney, "In My Life" is a musical piece that talks about appreciating memories, even as painful as it can be. It is a great choice among funeral songs of love that suits well for a romantic partner.

  1. Wind beneath my wings – Bette Midler

Released in 1988, the song talks about having a support system that helps you achieve more. It is a beautiful song to remember and pay tribute to those that had always stood by your side.

  1. Wish You Were Here – Pink Floyd

Its iconic guitar riffs, along with long pauses occurring between the lyrics, leave enough room for those in mourning to reminisce over a loved one that had a transition of finding peace and leaving a mark.  

Best uplifting funeral songs to play during funeral service

Death is also a celebration of life, and however sorrowful it may be, we cannot bring back our loved ones. We can, however, remember the happy moments.

Down below is a list of the best happy funeral songs that reflect the memories left behind by our loved ones. We hope our list offers the guests a sense of peace as they leave the service while serving a respectful & beautiful way of honoring your loved one.

  1. What a Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong

This one remains an absolutely timeless track among funeral songs that echo life's celebration. It evokes the many happy times and moments shared with a loved one. Although Louis Armstrong's version remains a notable classic, the song has a different recorded version by different artists such as Willie Nelson, Michael Buble, and more.

  1. My Way – Frank Sinatra

My Way is a powerful choice of funeral music to remember those that were charismatic and unique in life. It's a song about doing and acknowledging everything on your terms. If you lost someone like that, you would feel their presence through the powerful lyrics and vocals of Frank Sinatra.

  1. Amazing grace - Judy Collins

Amazing Grace is a beautiful religious funeral song that offers a meaningful message of peace & salvation after death. It ends with a powerful message of the afterlife, offering comfort to mourners. This famous funeral hymn has several different versions (Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, and more), but Judy Collins' version remains a classic to date.

  1. Don't Think Twice, It's Alright – Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan's songs are known for their slow progression with well-thought-out lyrics. 'Don't think twice, It's alright offers' the same depth to listeners. It's a great uplifting funeral song to play during the funeral service over a photo slide, or video presentation that represents the life of your deceased loved one.

  1. See You Again – Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth

See you again is one of the most popular choices among modern funeral songs. The particular song was released as a tribute to actor Paul Walker, and now it shines on as one of the most celebrated modern songs used by many to pay homage & respect to their loved ones. The song emphasizes successful moments that were shared, and it ends with the hope of seeing the person again. See You Again' is also an official song for the fast & furious 7 (Walker's last film role).

There is no Wrong Track.

Despite having numerous choices, it's important to remember that selecting the proper music during funeral planning simply has to do with you putting songs together that memorializes the departed loved one.

Go with their favorite tunes or the ones that may remind you of them. You can even combine the two. Either way, you will be honoring the life of your loved one. Life is a celebration, and it's only fair to end the final chapter with the soundtrack of their life.

Planning a memorial service/funeral can be pretty difficult, but the songs you pick for the departed can perhaps comfort your sorrow of losing a loved one.

Blog Author: Tim N