27 Funeral Songs for Every Part of the Service

A funeral song has to say goodbye and give a room full of people permission to feel it, both at once. The songs below are grouped into hymns, classic goodbyes, country and modern choices, each with a note on which part of the service it fits. At the end is what we have learned from writing memorial songs for thousands of families.

Hymns and traditional songs

For a religious service, or for families who want something everyone in the room already knows.

Amazing Grace by Judy Collins (1970). The most-played funeral song in the English-speaking world. The Judy Collins recording is the best-known one.
How Great Thou Art by Elvis Presley (1967). For a service with a choir, or a family that wants the big version.
Ave Maria (Schubert) by Andrea Bocelli (1999). Often sung live at Catholic funerals. Bocelli's recording is the standard if it is played.
I'll Fly Away by Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch (2000). Upbeat for a hymn. Good for the end of a service, when the family wants hope instead of grief.
You'll Never Walk Alone by Gerry and the Pacemakers (1963). A hymn in all but name. Common at services in the UK.

Classic goodbyes

Secular songs that have been played at funerals for so long they have become the vocabulary of goodbye.

My Way by Frank Sinatra (1969). For someone who lived on their own terms and would want that said out loud.
What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong (1967). Gratitude instead of grief. Usually the song guests leave to.
Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (1993). The ukulele version is gentle enough for a service and light enough for a celebration of life.
Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler (1988). For a parent or a mentor. It talks straight to the person, no metaphor.
Time to Say Goodbye by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman (1996). Big and orchestral. Works for the committal.
Candle in the Wind by Elton John (1973). Written for a public figure but played at private funerals for fifty years.
Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen (1984). Sad without being religious. Jeff Buckley's 1994 recording is the one most people know.
Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton (1992). Written after the death of his son. Usually reserved for a child's funeral.
Landslide by Fleetwood Mac (1975). It is about time passing, not death. That is why it works at a funeral.

Country funeral songs

Country handles death more plainly than most genres, and these are the songs families ask for.

Go Rest High on That Mountain by Vince Gill (1995). Written for his brother. The country funeral song.
When I Get Where I'm Going by Brad Paisley feat. Dolly Parton (2005). About heaven as a reunion. Comforting for a religious family.
If Tomorrow Never Comes by Garth Brooks (1989). About saying it while you can. Often chosen by a spouse.

Modern songs for a memorial

For a celebration of life rather than a traditional service, or for someone who died young.

See You Again by Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth (2015). Written as a goodbye to Paul Walker. The most common choice for a young person's memorial.
Supermarket Flowers by Ed Sheeran (2017). About clearing out his grandmother's room. For a mother or grandmother, this is the one.
Visiting Hours by Ed Sheeran (2021). Talks to the person as if they were still reachable. Fits the missing-them stage.
Fix You by Coldplay (2005). For the people left behind more than for the person gone.
Fire and Rain by James Taylor (1970). Quiet guitar and a man admitting he did not see it coming.
Let It Be by The Beatles (1970). For a mother. The lyric is literally about one.
Angel by Sarah McLachlan (1997). A slow piano song about release. Often used for the slideshow.
To Where You Are by Josh Groban (2001). Written as a message to someone who has died. Direct and unashamed.
Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum (1969). For the end of a celebration of life, when the family wants people to leave smiling.
Dancing in the Sky by Dani and Lizzy (2013). Became a funeral song by word of mouth. Asks the questions everyone at a funeral is asking.

What 500,000 custom songs tell us about grief

Memorial and "missing you" songs are one of the most common reasons people come to us, and they behave differently from every other kind of song we write. Aggregated and anonymized:

What 500,000 custom songs tell us about grief
Measure	What the orders show
When people order	58% of grief songs are "missing you" songs ordered later, not memorial songs ordered for the service
Who they are for	Mother 15%, husband 13%, father 10%, wife 9%, sibling 8%, son 6%
Most-chosen genre	Country (34%) and R&B (33%) nearly tied, then worship (11%)
Worship music	Chosen more than twice as often for memorial songs as for songs overall
How often it gets played	Median of 16 plays, about half again the site-wide median of 11

The last line is the one we did not expect. Memorial songs are the most-played songs we make. People do not play them once at a service and put them away; they come back to them for months. And most are not ordered for the funeral at all. They are ordered weeks or years later, when the person is simply missed.

None of these quite say it?

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Questions people ask

What is the most played song at funerals?

"Amazing Grace" remains the most played funeral song, with "My Way" by Frank Sinatra the most common secular choice. For younger people, "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth has become the modern standard.

How many songs are played at a funeral?

A traditional service usually has three or four: one as guests arrive, one or two during the service or slideshow, and one as the casket leaves or guests exit. A celebration of life is more flexible and often uses a longer playlist.

Can I have a song written about someone who has died?

Yes. You tell us about the person, their name, what they used to say, what they did for you, and we write the song from that. Families play them at the service and at the graveside, and then keep playing them. That is why memorial songs are the most replayed songs we make.