OK, so Mrs. Duckster and I are getting around to writing our wills. Nope, our earthly demises are not close at hand, but one never knows.
So we’re talking about funeral music. She’s into the old hymns from when she was a child. As for me, I’m more inclined to have a bit of fun; Don’t Fear The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult is not my cup of tea, but if push came to shove …
I’ve always like the John Dunbar Theme from Dances With Wolves. May’be Surf’s Up by The Beach Boys.
What music would you like to be played at your funeral?
We’ve done this before, but I don’t remember what I said.
I think instead of music, I’d like the mourners to see some classic WB cartoons, like *What’s Opera, Doc? *and One Froggy Evening. Maybe a little Chaplin and Keaton, too.
Easy: the introit will be “The Heart Asks Pleasure First” by Michael Nyman, the offertory will be “Being Boring” by the Pet Shop Boys, and the recessional will be “Seasons of Love” from Rent.
Why does this topic come up so often? I’ve only been to a few funerals, but I’ve never heard music played at one. And I’ve never seen them play music at a tv or movie funeral, either. Is it really that common?
Please don’t bury me
Down in that cold cold ground
No, I’d druther have “em” cut me up
And pass me all around
Throw my brain in a hurricane
And the blind can have my eyes
And the deaf can take both of my ears
If they don’t mind the size
…Wow. Every funeral I’ve ever been at has some kind of music, whether hymns or more popular music that reminds the bereaved of the deceased.
At one end, at my grandfather’s funeral last week, a wonderful jazz singer who was a friend of his performed “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” and “Unforgettable.” At the other, my dad’s (and his father’s) funeral concluded with the starkly Protestant “I Feel the Winds of God,” which I have to say was perfect.
