I went to a funeral last weekend for a guy that was only a year older than me. He had tragically died as a result of a motorcycle accident that he had experienced several weeks before. I knew him from the youth group that I grew up in, but hadn't seen him in several years. I had no clue who he had become in the last few years of his life.
With that said, I was very surprised by the eclectic music choices at the funeral service. It would have been very hard to pin down a common thread in the music that was chosen to honor and celebrate his life. However, the songs did a great job of portraying the life of a guy that meant a lot to many people. It got me thinking...
What songs would you want played at your funeral? Would you want an uplifting song that would encourage people to take joy in your memory? Would you want something more somber to encourage reflection? How about time period? Would you go for hymns, timeless rock ballads, modern pop, or a collaboration of several?
I would like readers to comment with a list of songs that they would want played at their funeral with an explanation. Here are a few of my choices:
1.“It Is Well With My Soul” Written by Horatio Spafford in 1873. Spafford's children died when a ship sank in route to England from the United States. He boarded the next ship to England to meet his grieving wife. At the exact place that the previous boat had gone down, Spafford looked into the water and penned the words:
“When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrow like sea billows roll.
Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say: 'It is well, it is well with my soul'”
2.“Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”Written by Robert Robinson in 1757. The lyrics of the fourth verse paint a beautiful portrait of man's struggle with seeking his own desires and leaving the beautiful, safe will of God:
“O to grace how great a debtor, daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love;
here's my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.”
3.“Strangers and Pilgrims” by Save the Ship. I know that is seems arrogant to have a song from your own band played at your funeral. However, my wife and I wrote most of the lyrics to this song together. It is a story about the journey of life, and trusting God to safely take you through it:
“Strangers and Pilgrims, I've made you a homeland.
Make haste, and follow the stars.
By land or by sea, our hearts worn with wandering.
Look up! We are going home!”
so... what about you?
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I would go with either comedy or awesome, I can't deny, so I would probably choose Here I Go Again (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKTiwCez6Zs) or Arise (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJWgUUc-oNE) respectively.
ReplyDeleteLove the shameless plug of your own band, even in death man ("It is emotionally important to my wife and I blah blah" nice hook, we all see through this).
I keed I keed.
- Wing
Rereading it, maybe my first post came off a bit insensitive. The internet has a funny way of making a simple jest sound like an actual dig or some kind of cruel comment that ignores the seriousness of the subject matter. (Hopefully your lack of response isn't any kind of offense - much love brother).
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness, I have no idea what music I would want played at my funeral. Funerals being for the living and not the dead, I have a hard time trying to pin down a song. I feel like I'm trying to project some part of my own ego on them - REMEMBER ME LIKE THIS. Since I'm not a songwriter and my wife and I haven't written something together, I don't really have any pieces of art I myself have crafted that I would want played.
But since half the fun of the game is actually MAKING a choice, and not just acting all smarty-pants and not picking a song - I guess I'd say The Call, by Regina Spektor. It's a really touching song, it has a lot to do with relationships (plutonic and romantic, I'd say) that stretch beyond barriers and distances - spatial, temporal, or (in this case) death itself.
My wife and I really love the song (and the movie it accompanies, Prince Caspian), I have a deep love and respect for CS Lewis, and I think it would probably be perfect funeral music. It has that perfect quality of sadness and hope intermingled.
This post really made me think, as well, about what message I would like to come across at my funeral. I've always felt that whatever Heaven sounds like it must be similar to Enya, as silly as that sounds. Therefore, here are a few choice songs...
ReplyDeleteIt's in the Rain - Enya
One reason is because I have always loved the rain. It kindly brings the fond thought of being inside all cozy and warm as I would write, all the while, watching it fall outside my window.
There is also a wonderful verse that actually relates the natural cycle of life and death.
"Feel the touch of tears that fall
They won't fall forever
In the way the day will flow
All things come, all things go."
A Moment Lost - Enya
I can imagine this song being quite sad for those attending but I enjoy the fact that it acknowledges all of the compassion people gave in my life. This is the last verse...
"A moment lost, forever gone,
can never be again,
so know how much it means to me;
all you said,
all you gave,
all your love to me."
I could continue to add to this list for quite some time but I think I'll leave it with those two.
- Ashe