Beyond Hymns: Four Contemporary Songs to Play at Your Funeral

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Planning Your Own Funeral

Hello, my name is David and this is my funeral planning blog. Funerals can be morbid affairs and your own funeral is probably something you don't want to think about. However, last year, my grandmother passed away. As my family dealt with her affairs, we discovered that she hadn't made any plans for her funeral. This made it difficult to know what she would have wanted and some of my family had an argument about the best way to proceed. I worked closely with the funeral home and discovered a lot about how best to plan a funeral and the importance of planning your own. My grandma was laid to rest in a beautiful ceremony. I hope you find this blog useful.

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Beyond Hymns: Four Contemporary Songs to Play at Your Funeral

6 June 2017
 Categories: , Blog

If you are creating a pre-need funeral plan with a funeral home, you may want to plan your funeral service, as well as picking out your coffin or setting up cremation. Most funerals include some type of music, but you don't necessarily have to stick with traditional tunes. Looking for modern songs that would work at a funeral? Take a look at these ideas.

1. "Keg on My Coffin" by The Push Stars

This song is perfect to kick off a celebration of life. It features a classic mid-90s pop-rock style, and the lyrics invite the mourners to "put the keg on my coffin and think of me ever so often." It continues to urge mourners not to cry but to focus on life because they will meet you soon.

2. "Gravedigger" by The Dave Matthews Band

This song has been sung by everyone from the Dave Matthews Band to Willie Nelson, and you could play a recording at your funeral or have a singer perform the song. The verses tell the haunting story of several different deaths of children as well as adults.

The chorus says "when you dig my grave, could you make it shallow, so that I can feel the rain", and that captures the feeling of still wanting to be alive, which is a sentiment that the mourners may feel about you.

3. "Cups" by Anna Kendrick

The Cups song may sound a bit upbeat for a funeral, but if you're planning a life celebration, it may be one to include. Originally, parts of the song were penned by AP Carter of Carter Family fame, but the verses were added later.

It talks about a journey that the narrator is going to take, and while those lyrics could be interpreted to mean a literal road trip, phrases such as "I've got my ticket for the long way 'round, the one with the prettiest of views" can easily be interpreted to refer to the final journey beyond the beyond.

4. "Will the Circle Be Unbroken"

If you're a video game fan, why not embrace a contemporary rendering of an old classic that was recently featured in the video game Bioshock? This song talks about the possibility of completing the family circle in a better place. It captures the essence of deep loss while also mentioning the hope of meeting again.

However, the song phrases these ideas as a question, which makes it ideal for everyone from agnostics to believers. This song has been around for over a century, and it has been rewritten and reimagined in countless ways.