Music To Die For: What Would You Have Played at Your Funeral?

We are all like lobsters in the tank of a restaurant. No one wants to be the next to visit the boiling pot, yet it’s inevitable.

We all take our turn, we all die. Some ostracize death while others spend years perfecting a “last will.” However, most place little or no thought into the music.

There are a myriad of Websites out there to help you choose your final tunes. I’m amazed by the amount of music books specifically written and published for memorial services and funerals.

What music do you want played at your funeral or memorial service?

What message do you want to convey through music? If it’s too sad, will it hurt those who love you?

If it’s uplifting, will it pierce the souls of those who don’t understand you’ve gone home?

What music would you choose for someone you love?

Moreover, if you were in charge of a funeral for a friend and they requested “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC, a song on the list of unusual songs often played at funerals, what would you do? If it were part of their last will and testament, would you deny their final request?

Having taken several days away from this article to contemplate this scenario, I decided I would not play the song. If the family disagreed, I would have to remove myself from the final preparations. I would not attend the part of the service featuring the song, and I would pray for the family. The roots of my guitar playing have AC/DC influences, but I could not be a part of something that glorifies a life whose final “reward” comes by serving the wrong master.

Personally, I do not want songs about dying, I want music about living! I want music about my living Father. Not for me, but for those who will soon join me.

I’m sad to announce that Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” is the most popular song played at funeral services.

The lyrics of this song are a sad reflection of a society that chooses this song as a closing message.

…For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels;
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows
I took the blows – And did it my way!

As a Christian, it is very difficult to contemplate this farewell message. This is a kick in the head to God the Creator.

I want to do it God’s way.