MetaChat - What music would you choose for your funeral?

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04 May 2006

What music would you choose for your funeral? Serious and not-so-serious choices.→[More:]
Mine (already on CD) are:

1. Let The Mystery Be - Iris DeMent
2. Gathering Flowers for the Master's Bouquet - The Blood Oranges
3. Pilgrim - Steve Earle
4. Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead - Original Soundtrack, Wizard of Oz

post by: essexjan at: 01:16 | 39 comments

Creep - Radiohead

posted by DaShiv 04 May | 01:26

Yeah. i too have this sorted.

Such Great heights, the iron & wine cover of the postal service song. (much prefer the cover version).

and then Moonlight Serenade by the Glenn Miller orchestra.

posted by gaspode 04 May | 01:33

As Slow As Possible

posted by arse_hat 04 May | 01:33

None. I hate music at funerals other than hymns sung by the congregation. And since I am not a christian, there will be no hymns. Just uncomfortable silence, shuffling, coughing and maybe some nose-blowing.

posted by nomis 04 May | 01:53

More Than This - Roxy Music
Funeral - Band of Horsies
Wbere Does the Time Go? - Fairport Convention, or
Where Does the Time Go? - The Innocence Mission
The Only Living Boy in NY - Simon and Garfunkel
The Dark is Rising - Mercury Rev

posted by Lipstick Thespian 04 May | 02:04

I’d just as soon leave the choice up to the people who could hear it, but if I had to choose a song, I think it would be Peggy Lee—Is That All There Is?

posted by misteraitch 04 May | 02:18

I'd like to get friends to play for me at funerals, so it's sort of limited by what chords they know. I know this guy who does fantastic covers of Crazy Mary, L&N Don't stop here any more and Masters of War. I think the first two of those three would be nice to hear at my funeral.

Other than that, I've got a bit of a "put me in the bin and spend the money on a party" kind of guy, so it's whatever music they want to listen to really.

Finally, and if you insist - you can't get better than a nice bit of Classical. Maybe some Prokiev.

posted by seanyboy 04 May | 04:10

And yeah - I know I spelled that incorrectly. Give a guy a break. I just died. This isn't a spelling bee - It's a funeral.

posted by seanyboy 04 May | 04:11

Suppose you gave a funeral and nobody came? - Carter USM
Louie Louie - anyone's version (heh)
Push the Little Daisies - Ween
Dead - They Might Be Giants
and we'll finish off with something by Merzbow to clear people quickly out of the chapel and onto the wake where they can get nicely toasted.

:)

posted by Jimbob 04 May | 05:06

Actually it just occurred to me that Do You Realize by the Flaming Lips would be a pretty poignant funeral song as well.

posted by Jimbob 04 May | 05:09

For 20 years I have insisted that Our House by Madness be played at my funeral. Why would I want to do out on such dour note when I listened to mostly upbeat music when I was above ground?

posted by Slack-a-gogo 04 May | 07:01

I'll be dead, I won't care, so whoever's stuck organizing the thing can pick whatever they want.

posted by JanetLand 04 May | 07:17

Mazzy Star's "Into Dust" might help encourage some of the attendees to join you in the grave. If that's what you're looking for.

posted by deadcowdan 04 May | 07:24

Charles Ives' "The Unanswered Question," then silence.

posted by Hugh Janus 04 May | 07:54

After I'm dead I should think Mrs Geezer will play Bauhaus at my funeral. Just to spite me.

posted by dodgygeezer 04 May | 08:27

The set list has changed over the years, but for some reason one constant has always been the Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane" (not the later Lou Reed version, although the Cowboy Junkies version towards the end might be nice). And yep, I'm all about the wake. Burn me up, toss me in the water, go get toasted.

posted by elizard 04 May | 08:31

Faith No More's "Surprise! You're Dead!"

posted by mike9322 04 May | 08:32

Ha! How about Nomeansno's "Dead Bob"!

posted by elizard 04 May | 08:34

[cough]

posted by jonmc 04 May | 08:35

"Seasons of Love" - Rent soundtrack
"No One But You" - Queen

posted by sisterhavana 04 May | 08:43

"Sucks To Be You" by Prozzak

posted by sciurus 04 May | 08:50

Mozart's Requiem.

posted by NucleophilicAttack 04 May | 09:13

Some Pogues.

Alternately, anything happy but not schmaltzy.

DefinitelyDefinitelyDefinitely Satchmo doing "What a Wonderful World"!

posted by shane 04 May | 09:14

misterhaitch, that's so sad. and jimbob, "do you realize" by the lips is probably the most BRILLIANT choice evar, but peeps would bawl their eyes out. but they'd all hug each other and appreciate each other and go home and hug their kids and cats and dogs and trees and furniture and everything...

posted by shane 04 May | 09:17

Dido's Lament (Purcell)
Tabula Rasa (Part)

posted by Diva Despina 04 May | 09:35

Holst's "Neptune, the Mystic", from The Planets

posted by AlexReynolds 04 May | 09:38

I'd play some U2 -- A Sort of Homecoming, Beautiful Day. And Mr. Blue Sky by ELO to finish.

posted by initapplette 04 May | 10:00

Yakkety Sax.

posted by jrossi4r 04 May | 10:13

I don't want a funeral, I want a wake. So whatever it is, it had better be good drinking music.

posted by cmonkey 04 May | 10:16

Beautiful Day is an A-ha ripoff. They stole the pre-chorus from "The Sun Always Shines on TV." Not to rain on your funeral, or anything, but I'm compelled to point that out every time it's mentioned.

posted by Hugh Janus 04 May | 10:20

Flying Home as done by Benny Goodman's Sextet with Charlie Christian on guitar and Lionel Hampton on vibes.

posted by tommasz 04 May | 12:10

Stole? I'd prefer to call it "unintentional and unconscious" internalization. ;-)
And I don't mind rain on my funeral.

posted by initapplette 04 May | 12:14

≡ Click to see image ≡

posted by mullacc 04 May | 12:54

Hey mullacc, be sure to get buried on a windy day, okay?

posted by Hugh Janus 04 May | 13:02

I have a list, but it changes all the time. I update my will whenever I fly, and right now I'm hovering around Miles Davis, All Blues, Marvin Gaye's What's Going On, and (and it has to be this particular version) the acoustic performance of No Surprises from New York in June of 2003. Radiohead, of course.

The one thing is that I insist that they play whatever it is all the way through; my family has a bad habit of only playing the first 30 seconds or so of requested funeral music. How hard is it to sit through an entire piece? Oy. [/rambles]

posted by jokeefe 04 May | 15:15

I'm with cmonkey. No morbid wailing over my cremation container allowed - have a party.

posted by deborah 04 May | 17:54

Shivers at mention of The Planets. Let's just say, it was not meant for clarinet (the violin part, that is).

Stravinsky's Rite of Spring for me. I'm hoping to cause another riot.

Alternately, You Are My Sunshine. My father sang it off-key all the time.

(I feel a bit late to my own funeral here, but what the heck.)

posted by Pips 04 May | 18:19

My father made a card sized list a few years ago and had it laminated before he gave it to me. I've misplaced it in my many moves. I remember he wants some King Crimson played, and he specificially requests to have the music cranked up LOUD. I love that guy.

Me? I'm not so sure, yet. But I would consider The Posies' "Flood of Sunshine" -- although I also consistenly recommend that as a wedding song to people as well....so I don't know. Hmm...

posted by safetyfork 05 May | 06:18

safetyfork, I love your Dad.

posted by theora55 05 May | 20:05

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