Meaningful Music & Poetry Choices
Explore popular funeral music and heartfelt poems for personal and memorable services.
The top ten musical choices that have been chosen, courtesy of Obitus - who are one of the major media providers in the funeral industry.
Click on the link to listen via YouTube.
Top 10 Tracks of All Time
Rank Song YouTube link
- Frank Sinatra — My Way
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp6D71kQRhA -
Andrea Bocelli & Sarah Brightman — Time To Say Goodbye
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UidTEgczZg -
Eva Cassidy — Over The Rainbow / Somewhere Over The Rainbow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYV-Ym-yzTU -
Bette Midler — Wind Beneath My Wings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iAzMRKFX3c -
Gerry & The Pacemakers — You’ll Never Walk Alone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OV5_LQArLa0 -
Louis Armstrong — What A Wonderful World
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBrd_3VMC3c -
Ed Sheeran — Supermarket Flowers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIB8EWqCPrQ -
Edward Elgar — Nimrod from Enigma Variations
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1MJfKfvij0 -
Simon & Garfunkel — Bridge Over Troubled Water
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G-YQA_bsOU -
Vera Lynn & Roland Shaw Orchestra — We’ll Meet Again
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Nzy1cfnKh4
Poetry Choices
From classic to modern, there is a wealth of poetry that can be used during a funeral service. It can be sad or funny - long or short. Here are just a few that Tj has used in her career as a Celebrant, starting with one to celebrate the rich history of Nottingham and its miners:
The Miners Workplace - Malc Abbot, adapted by Celebrant of Colours
They had no workers playtime,
No music while you work.
Nothing but long hard labour,
That all but heroes shirk.
Yes a miner was a hero,
And should anyone doubt my word,
Let me mention some of the dangers,
Though I’m sure you will have heard.
Have you ever lain in a confined space,
With a constant water flow?
A broken roof above you,
And a sodden floor below?
Heard the noise of tortured strata,
As the earth gives threatening growls,
(Reminding the sweating humans
That constant danger prowls..)
Have you ever sat in the gleam of a lamp
And heard the timbers creak
Like the hinges on the gates of hell?
You dare not move or speak.
Have you watched the rocks come flying,
Towards your weakened frame?
Found yourself praying for sunlight
You may never see again?
So when you speak of heroes,
And speak of them with pride,
Give some thought to Britain’s miners,
And how many of them have died.
(Just a small footnote in history)
No glory in their deeds.
But Britain gained her National pride
Because of men like these.
Feathers - Donna Ashworth (adapted by Tj, as Celebrant of Colours)
I sent you a little white feather
I placed it right there in your way
I wrapped it in love with a message
to let you know you’ll be okay
I drew you a colourful rainbow
It followed your car for a while
I made it a spectacular rainbow
I hoped it would show me your smile
I flew down a beautiful robin
It landed right there on the floor
I hope it would bring you the comfort
That you are so desperately looking for.
I try every day to remind you
that I never did go away
the feathers, the rainbows, the robins
are my way of trying to stay.
The Dash - Linda Ellis
I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on the tombstone
From the beginning...to the end
He noted that first came the date of birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years
For that dash represents all the time
That they spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved them
Know what that little line is worth
For it matters not, how much we own,
The cars...the house...the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.
So, think about this long and hard.
Are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
That can still be rearranged.
If we could just slow down enough
To consider what's true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we've never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect
And more often wear a smile,
Remembering this special dash
Might only last a little while
So, when your eulogy is being read
With your life's actions to rehash...
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent YOUR dash?
If I Should Go - Joyce Grenfell
If I should go before the rest of you
Break not a flower nor inscribe a stone
Nor when I'm gone speak in a Sunday voice
But be the usual selves that I have known
Weep if you must
Parting is Hell
But life goes on
So sing as well.
Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep - Mary Elizabeth Frye
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you wake in the morning hush,
I am the swift, uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft starlight at night.
Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there, I do not sleep.
(Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there, I did not die!)
Your Mother is Always With You - Deborah R Culver
Your mother is always with you.
She’s the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street.
She’s the smell of certain foods you remember, flowers you pick, the fragrance of life itself.
She’s the cool hand on your brow when you’re not feeling well.
She’s your breath in the air on a cold winters’ day.
She is the sound of the rain that lulls you to sleep, the colors of a rainbow.
She is Christmas morning.
Your mother lives inside your laughter.
She’s the place you come from, your first home.
She’s the map you follow with every step you take.
She’s your first love, your first friend, even your first enemy.
But nothing on Earth can separate you.
Not time.
Not space.
Not even death.
Funeral Blues - W. H. Auden ( Four Weddings and a Funeral )
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message ‘He is Dead’.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.
The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.
Look for me in rainbows Music and lyrics: Conn Bernard
Time for me to go now, I won't say goodbye;
Look for me in rainbows, way up in the sky.
In the morning sunrise when all the world is new,
Just look for me and love me, as you know I loved you.
Time for me to leave you, I won't say goodbye;
Look for me in rainbows, high up in the sky.
In the evening sunset, when all the world is through,
Just look for me and love me, and I'll be close to you.
It won't be forever, the day will come and then
My loving arms will hold you, when we meet again.
Time for us to part now, we won't say goodbye;
Look for me in rainbows, shining in the sky.
Every waking moment, and all your whole life through
Just look for me and love me, as you know I loved you.
Just wish me to be near you,
And I'll be there with you.
Click here to download a selection of poems curated by Tj, as Celebrant of Colours: