topaz: (qwrrty)
Tim Pierce ([personal profile] topaz) wrote2008-07-02 10:50 am
Entry tags:

what will they play at your funeral?

[personal profile] keyne  found this article on unusual choices for funeral songs. I am reposting it here because, well, fuck the AP:

Hymns are being replaced at funerals in one Australian city by popular rock classics like Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" and AC/DC's "Highway to Hell," a cemetery manager said Wednesday.

At Centennial Park, the largest cemetery and crematorium in the southern city of Adelaide, only two hymns still rank among its top 10 most popular funeral songs: "Amazing Grace" and "Abide With Me."

Leading the funeral chart is crooner Frank Sinatra's classic hit "My Way," followed by Louis Armstrong's version of "Wonderful World," a statement said.

The Led Zeppelin and AC/DC rock anthems rank outside the top 10, but have gained ground in recent years as more Australians give up traditional Christian hymns.

"Some of the more unusual songs we hear actually work very well within the service because they represent the person's character," Centennial Park chief executive Bryan Elliott said.

Among other less conventional choices were "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" by the Monty Python comedy team, "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead," "Hit the Road Jack," "Another One Bites the Dust" and "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead."

This led us to ponder what songs we'd like to play at our funerals.  Some of my choices include:

  • "Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover"
  • "Danke Schoen"
  • "In The Jailhouse Now" (either the Soggy Bottom Boys or Johnny Cash)
  • "Old Time Religion" (only the Pete Seeger version, of course)

I'm also thinking something by Madness, like "One Step Beyond" or "Bed and Breakfast Man", but not sure about that.

Edit: and how could I have forgotten?  Tom Lehrer's "We Will All Go Together When We Go," of course!

What do you want them to play at your funeral?

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