They both wanted their funerals to be ‘celebrations of their life’, not mournful occasions.
So for Mum we played some Bach as the mourners entered, a choral work in the middle of the service and left to the sounds of ‘When the Saints go marching in’.
For Dad we also had Bach, then ‘A foggy day in London town’ and lastly ‘Moonlight Serenade’.
I was told by friends and relatives after both services that it was most comforting funeral they had been to.
It was a a big help to me and my sister too.
I have no current plans for suicide, but I’ve thought about it a lot, and about how I’d prefer a decidedly non-traditional funeral filled with music (dictated in my note, with an included CD) that would give mourners a glimpse of how I’ve felt for the last decade or so.
This is actually something that I’ve laid awake at night thinking about, so I already have a list:
eels - Things the Grandchildren Should Know
Rasputina - A Quitter
Radiohead - Motion Picture Soundtrack
Pink Floyd - The Final Cut
Sarah Brightman - Who Wants to Live Forever (Queen cover)
Sundays - Here’s Where the Story Ends
I have many more, but just typing those song titles is depressing enough, so I’ll leave it at that.
The main ones are The Moody Blues “Nights in White Satin”, Alan Parsons “Old and Wise”, the hymns “It Is Well With My Soul”, “How Great Thou Art”, “Joyful,
Joyful, We Adore Thee”, and some selections from Wagner’s RING.
Seeing Happy Rhodes’ cover on “Into the West” really got me thinking about adding that.
I want all my near and dear to respectfully endure all 15 and a half minutes of A Very Cellular Song by the Incredible String Band. Let 'em yell “Jesus Christ, will you turn that shit off!” then.
“And I bid you goodnight, goodnight, goodniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight…”
“Sing with all the Saints in Glory”, (Beethoven’s 9th tune) all verses.
“Love Divine, All Loves Excelling”, all verses.
“City of God” and “How Can I Keep from Singing?” for a more modern touch. And maybe “Lord of the Dance”.
And after the official Mass is over, “Blow Gabriel Blow” from De-Lovely should blared from the balcony:
Now you’re all ready to fly
Yes, to fly higher and higher and higher
'Cause you got through the brimstone,
And you’ve been through the fire
And you purged your soul, and your heart too
So climb up the mountain top and start to
Blow, Gabriel, Blow,
Go on and Blow, Gabriel, Blow
I want to join your happy band,
To play all day in the promised land
That reminds me, I’ve got to look for those DNR forms…
Apologies in advance for the hijack, but this thread has really inspired me to pitch a new show to FOX
“OK, what I’m talking here is Bridezilla meets Six Feet Under - how 'bout we launch a show where terminally ill and/or suicidal people bitch about having the perfect funeral? ‘This is MY day, godammit, and I want everything to be just perfect!’”
I’d like to go out with the Louis Armstrong version of “What a Wonderful World.”
At my mother’s funeral, we all knew there was one song that she did NOT want played — “Amazing Grace.” She said that it just made the old ladies cry, and she objected to the line “… that saved a wretch like me,” as she said she never considered herself a wretch.
