Funeral Songs: 200 Songs for a Funeral, Memorial or Celebration of Life

Choosing the music for a funeral usually happens in a rush, in the few days between the death and the service, while a dozen other decisions are waiting. It is also one of the choices people remember. Years later, a family still says "they played Fields of Gold when Nan came in", or "we walked out to Don't Stop Me Now and everyone laughed".

This guide is built to make that choice easier. It covers the songs people actually play (with the UK's most recent chart from more than 90,000 funerals), hymns, classical pieces, songs for mum, dad, grandparents, partners and friends, uplifting songs for a celebration of life, picks for the UK, Ireland, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and the practical parts nobody tells you about: how many songs fit, what churches allow, why livestreams go silent, and how to make a song that is about the person.

In short

• The most-played funeral song in the UK is Time to Say Goodbye by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman, followed by Frank Sinatra's My Way (Co-op Funeralcare, 2025).
• Most services use three to five pieces of music: one as people arrive, one or two in the middle (often a hymn or a reflection), and one as people leave.
• Many UK crematoria book 30-minute slots with about 20 minutes for the service itself, so three songs is usually the most that fit. Churches and US funeral homes usually allow more time.
• A Catholic funeral Mass normally allows only sacred music; secular songs go to the wake, the funeral home or the graveside. Ask the priest or parish first.
• Livestreams on Facebook and YouTube often mute commercial recordings, even when the venue has a music licence. Hymns sung live and original music are the safest.
• A song written about the person is now quick to make. You can describe them or write the words yourself and get a full song in minutes, from $2.99, with SongUp AI's memorial song maker.

Quick picks: one song for every moment

If you only need a starting point, these are safe, well-loved choices for each part of the service. Every song is explained in more detail further down.

The most popular funeral songs right now

The best data on what people actually play comes from the UK. Co-op Funeralcare, the country's largest funeral director, publishes a funeral music chart every two years from what its funeral directors and arrangers see. The 2025 chart, researched in May and June 2025, is based on more than 90,000 funerals in the previous 12 months.

A few things stand out:

• Only one hymn made the top 10. Abide With Me is the exception. Most families now choose a song the person loved rather than a traditional church piece.
• Classical crossover leads. Time to Say Goodbye (originally Con te partirò) took the top spot from My Way, which held it for years.
• Football matters. You'll Never Walk Alone tops the sports songs, a sign of how many people want their club at their farewell.
• Humour is allowed. Co-op also reported quirkier picks such as Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead, Dance Monkey, the Jaws theme and We Like to Party! by the Vengaboys.

There is no national chart like this in the United States or Canada, and Australia's lists are smaller (see the country sections below). Lists published by funeral homes keep returning to the same names, though: Amazing Grace, How Great Thou Art, Go Rest High on That Mountain, My Way, What a Wonderful World, Wind Beneath My Wings and Hallelujah. In Ireland, a 2018 AA Life survey of 4,319 people also put Time to Say Goodbye first, with The Lord's My Shepherd and What a Wonderful World close behind. The country sections below go further.

How many songs does a funeral need?

Most funerals have three to five pieces of music. The usual pattern is:

1. Entrance music as the coffin is carried in and people sit down.
2. A hymn or a song in the middle, often after the eulogy.
3. A reflection piece during a quiet moment or a photo tribute.
4. Committal music as the curtains close at a crematorium, or at the graveside.
5. Exit music as people leave.

Not every service has all five. A short crematorium service often has three: in, reflection, out.

How much time you really have

Time is the constraint most families find out about too late.

• UK crematoria usually book services in fixed slots. Many are 30 minutes; Hillingdon in London, for example, gives 20 minutes for the service plus 5 minutes to come in and 5 to leave. Others run 40 or 45 minutes, and longer double slots can usually be booked for an extra fee. Ask your funeral director what your slot is.
• Churches generally allow a full service of 45 minutes to an hour, followed by a shorter committal at the crematorium or cemetery.
• US and Canadian funeral homes typically hold services in their own chapel with more flexible timing, and often add a visitation or wake beforehand where more music can play.

A pop song runs three to four minutes. In a 20-minute crematorium service, three full songs would take more than half the time. The usual solution is to let the entrance and exit songs play while people move, and fade them when the moment is over. Tell the person running the music where you want each song to fade, or trim it yourself first with a free tool such as the Audio Cutter, which adds a fade in and out and saves an MP3.

Choosing by the feeling, not the chart

Before scrolling through hundreds of titles, decide what you want people to feel at each moment. The same family often wants peace on the way in and a smile on the way out.

A few questions settle most choices quickly:

• What did they actually listen to? The car radio, the record collection, the song they always sang in the kitchen. Their own taste is the strongest guide.
• Did they leave wishes? Many people put songs in a funeral plan, a will or a note. Some mentioned them in passing; ask close family.
• Is it a religious service? If so, the minister, priest or celebrant will have views, and some churches have rules (see below).
• Who will be there? A song everyone knows lets people join in or at least feel included. A very personal choice lands best when someone explains it first.
• Can you get through it? Some songs are too much for the closest family on the day. It is fine to choose them for later, at the wake, rather than the service.

Funeral hymns

Hymns work because people can sing them together, and singing together helps a room full of grieving people feel like one group. If you choose a hymn, pick one most of the congregation will know, and print the words in the order of service.

The most-chosen funeral hymns

Gospel songs for a homegoing

In many Black churches in the US, a funeral is a homegoing service: a celebration of the person going home, with a choir, a band and singing that builds. Songs often heard include Precious Lord, Take My Hand (Thomas A. Dorsey), I'll Fly Away, Going Up Yonder (Walter Hawkins), Soon and Very Soon (Andraé Crouch), His Eye Is on the Sparrow and I Won't Complain. I Can Only Imagine by MercyMe is a frequent modern Christian choice across denominations.

What churches allow

Rules depend on the church and even the parish, so always ask before you print the order of service.

• Catholic funeral Mass: parishes generally allow only sacred music during the Mass. Many parish guidelines say secular songs, even much-loved ones, belong at the vigil or wake, the funeral home, the graveside or the reception instead; some also ask for live rather than recorded music. In 2010 the Archdiocese of Melbourne's funeral guidelines were widely reported as ruling out romantic ballads, pop and rock music and football club songs at Catholic funerals, while the Archdiocese of Brisbane's liturgy notes suggest that a secular song with special meaning is best used at the vigil. The priest or music director has the final say.
• Church of England and other Protestant churches: usually more flexible. Many vicars accept a recorded song as people enter or leave, with hymns in the service. Ask.
• Crematorium chapels and funeral homes: almost anything goes, religious or not.
• Humanist and civil ceremonies: no religious content is expected, and any music is welcome.

If a church says no to a particular song, the common solution is to play it at the crematorium committal or as the first song at the wake.

Classical and instrumental funeral music

Instrumental music suits the entrance and committal, where words can be too much, and it works for every faith and none.

Modern instrumental pieces that families often choose: Nuvole Bianche and Experience by Ludovico Einaudi, River Flows in You by Yiruma, Comptine d'un autre été by Yann Tiersen, and Now We Are Free from Gladiator by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard.

Funeral songs for mum (or mom)

Songs about mothers are often the hardest to get through, so it helps to choose one with a gentle melody and to have someone ready to start the next part of the service as it ends.

• Supermarket Flowers, Ed Sheeran: written from a child's view after a mother's death, now one of the UK's most-played funeral songs.
• Wind Beneath My Wings, Bette Midler: thanks to someone who carried you.
• A Song for Mama, Boyz II Men.
• Dear Mama, 2Pac: for a mum who held everything together.
• Mama, Spice Girls: a 1990s favourite for a younger family.
• Mother, Kacey Musgraves: very short and tender.
• Because You Loved Me, Celine Dion.
• I Hope You Dance, Lee Ann Womack: a mother's advice to her child.
• Mama Liked the Roses, Elvis Presley: for a mum who loved her garden.
• The Best Day, Taylor Swift: childhood memories with a mother.
• Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Eva Cassidy, or Fields of Gold, also Eva Cassidy: gentle and familiar.
• You Raise Me Up, Westlife or Josh Groban.
• Time After Time, Cyndi Lauper: "if you're lost, you can look".

Funeral songs for dad

• Dance with My Father, Luther Vandross: one of the best-known songs about missing a father.
• My Father's Eyes, Eric Clapton.
• The Living Years, Mike + The Mechanics: for things left unsaid.
• Father and Son, Cat Stevens.
• Monsters, James Blunt: written as his father was seriously ill.
• You Should Be Here, Cole Swindell: written after his father's death.
• Drive (For Daddy Gene), Alan Jackson.
• Daddy's Hands, Holly Dunn.
• I Drive Your Truck, Lee Brice: for a dad (or brother) whose truck the family still drives.
• He Didn't Have to Be, Brad Paisley: for a stepdad.
• My Way, Frank Sinatra: for a dad who did it his own way.
• Fix You, Coldplay.
• Wish You Were Here, Pink Floyd: for a dad who loved his rock records.

Funeral songs for grandparents

Grandparents' funerals often bring several generations together, so an older song the grandparent loved works well alongside one the grandchildren chose.

• We'll Meet Again, Vera Lynn: for a grandparent who lived through the war years, or loved that music.
• Moon River, Andy Williams.
• Unforgettable, Nat King Cole.
• What a Wonderful World, Louis Armstrong.
• I'll Be Seeing You, Billie Holiday or Jimmy Durante.
• Slipped Away, Avril Lavigne: written after her grandfather died.
• Grandma's Hands, Bill Withers.
• Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Old Days), The Judds.
• Grandad, Clive Dunn: a 1971 UK favourite, for a lighter moment.
• In My Life, The Beatles.
• Someone You Loved, Lewis Capaldi.

Grandchildren who want to say something but can't speak at the service can write a short song with their grandparent's name instead: "Grandpa's Garden" on our memorial page was made that way.

Funeral songs for a husband or wife

• Make You Feel My Love, Adele (written by Bob Dylan).
• I Will Always Love You, Whitney Houston.
• Unchained Melody, The Righteous Brothers.
• Can't Help Falling in Love, Elvis Presley.
• The Way You Look Tonight, Frank Sinatra.
• At Last, Etta James: for a couple whose first dance it was.
• Your Song, Elton John.
• Annie's Song, John Denver.
• Truly Madly Deeply, Savage Garden.
• If Tomorrow Never Comes, Garth Brooks.
• Perfect, Ed Sheeran: for a younger couple.
• My Heart Will Go On, Celine Dion.

A common and moving choice is the couple's wedding song. If it was upbeat, it often works best as the exit music.

Funeral songs for a friend

• See You Again, Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth: written in memory of Paul Walker, now one of the most-used songs for a friend.
• I'll Be Missing You, Puff Daddy and Faith Evans featuring 112.
• Who Knew, P!nk: about a friend who died young.
• One Sweet Day, Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men.
• Gone Too Soon, Michael Jackson.
• Lean on Me, Bill Withers.
• Stand by Me, Ben E. King.
• You've Got a Friend, Carole King or James Taylor.
• Thank You for Being a Friend, Andrew Gold.
• Photograph, Ed Sheeran: lovely under a photo slideshow.
• Good Riddance (Time of Your Life), Green Day: for a friend you grew up with.
• Chasing Cars, Snow Patrol.

Funeral songs for a child

There is no right song for the funeral of a baby or child, and many parents choose something quiet, a lullaby, or a song with the child's name in it. Songs that families have chosen include Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton (written after the death of his young son), You'll Be in My Heart by Phil Collins, Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) by John Lennon, Angel by Sarah McLachlan, A Thousand Years by Christina Perri, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, You Are My Sunshine and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Small Bump by Ed Sheeran is often chosen after a pregnancy loss.

If you are planning a child's funeral, charities such as Sands (UK, pregnancy and baby loss), The Compassionate Friends (UK, US and other countries) and Red Nose Grief and Loss (Australia) offer free support for parents and families.

Uplifting and celebration of life songs

A celebration of life is a memorial focused on the person's life rather than their death. It can be held instead of a traditional funeral or after one, often somewhere they loved: a pub, a beach, a golf club, a garden. The music is usually brighter.

Modern funeral songs

Songs from the last twenty years now appear at funerals as often as the classics, especially for younger people.

• Supermarket Flowers, Ed Sheeran
• Someone You Loved and Before You Go, Lewis Capaldi
• See You Again, Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth
• Fix You and Til Kingdom Come, Coldplay
• Chasing Cars, Snow Patrol
• Make You Feel My Love, Adele
• Angels, Robbie Williams (a UK funeral favourite since the late 1990s)
• Hallelujah, Jeff Buckley or Leonard Cohen
• Bigger Than the Whole Sky, Taylor Swift
• Photograph, Ed Sheeran
• Monsters, James Blunt
• Who Knew, P!nk

Country funeral songs

Country music has more songs about loss than almost any other genre, which is why it is so common at US, Canadian and Australian funerals.

• Go Rest High on That Mountain, Vince Gill: perhaps the best-known country funeral song.
• The Dance, Garth Brooks.
• If Tomorrow Never Comes, Garth Brooks.
• Holes in the Floor of Heaven, Steve Wariner.
• Who You'd Be Today, Kenny Chesney.
• Angels Among Us, Alabama.
• Over You, Miranda Lambert.
• Drink a Beer, Luke Bryan.
• I Drive Your Truck, Lee Brice.
• Humble and Kind, Tim McGraw.
• When I Get Where I'm Going, Brad Paisley featuring Dolly Parton.
• You Should Be Here, Cole Swindell.

Rock and classic funeral songs

For the person who would roll their eyes at an organ:

• Stairway to Heaven, Led Zeppelin.
• Knockin' on Heaven's Door, Bob Dylan or Guns N' Roses.
• Wish You Were Here, Pink Floyd.
• Tears in Heaven, Eric Clapton.
• Free Bird and Simple Man, Lynyrd Skynyrd.
• Nothing Else Matters, Metallica.
• Who Wants to Live Forever and The Show Must Go On, Queen.
• Bridge Over Troubled Water, Simon & Garfunkel.
• Let It Be and In My Life, The Beatles.
• Don't Stop Believin', Journey: a good exit song.
• Highway to Hell, AC/DC: a well-known choice for a final, slightly mischievous exit.

Funny and unexpected funeral songs

Plenty of people want their funeral to end with a laugh, and some leave instructions to make sure of it. Choices that families report include Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, Highway to Hell, Staying Alive by the Bee Gees, Another One Bites the Dust by Queen, the Jaws theme and Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead. If the person chose it themselves, say so in the order of service ("Dad's own choice") so nobody is left wondering.

Sports and football songs

• You'll Never Walk Alone: Liverpool and Celtic, and the UK's top sports funeral song.
• I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles: West Ham United.
• Blue Moon: Manchester City.
• Abide With Me: sung before the FA Cup final, so it suits a football fan and a church at the same time.
• Take Me Out to the Ball Game: for a lifelong baseball fan in the US.
• A university or high school fight song, often played by a small band at US celebrations of life.

Funeral songs by country

United Kingdom

UK funerals lean on the Co-op chart above: Time to Say Goodbye, My Way, Over the Rainbow, You'll Never Walk Alone, The Best. Regional traditions still matter:

• Scotland: The Lord's My Shepherd (to Crimond), Amazing Grace or the lament The Flowers of the Forest played by a piper, Caledonia by Dougie MacLean, and Highland Cathedral on the pipes.
• Wales: congregational singing is still strong, with Calon Lân, Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer and Myfanwy.
• England: Jerusalem, Abide With Me and I Vow to Thee, My Country.

Ireland

Irish funerals often mix a Mass with a lively wake. Time to Say Goodbye tops the most recent national survey (AA Life, 2018), with The Lord's My Shepherd and What a Wonderful World close behind. Other songs heard again and again:

• Danny Boy, to the Londonderry Air.
• The Parting Glass: the traditional farewell song.
• Grace, Jim McCann: written about Grace Gifford and Joseph Plunkett.
• Carrickfergus: longing for home.
• The Fields of Athenry, Pete St. John: also a sports anthem.
• Isle of Innisfree and Raglan Road.
• The Town I Loved So Well, Phil Coulter.
• Be Thou My Vision and Ag Críost an Síol in church.
• Fields of Gold by Eva Cassidy and The Wild Rover at the wake.

United States

American funerals vary more by faith and region than by any national chart. Common choices:

• Hymns: Amazing Grace, How Great Thou Art, It Is Well with My Soul, In the Garden, The Old Rugged Cross, On Eagle's Wings, Be Not Afraid.
• Gospel: Precious Lord, Take My Hand, I'll Fly Away, Going Up Yonder, Soon and Very Soon.
• Country: Go Rest High on That Mountain, The Dance, Holes in the Floor of Heaven.
• Classic and pop: My Way, What a Wonderful World, Wind Beneath My Wings, Hallelujah, See You Again, I Can Only Imagine.
• New Orleans jazz funerals: a brass band plays slow hymns such as Just a Closer Walk with Thee on the way to the burial, then breaks into When the Saints Go Marching In on the way back.
• Veterans: eligible veterans are entitled to military funeral honors, which by law include folding and presenting the flag and the playing of Taps (by a bugler or, if none is available, a recording). Ask the funeral home to request honors through the Department of Defense; it usually arranges them.

Canada

Canadian funerals share much with the US and UK lists, plus some home-grown songs: Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen, Four Strong Winds by Ian & Sylvia, Song for the Mira (Cape Breton), Farewell to Nova Scotia and Danny Boy in Atlantic Canada. At Royal Canadian Legion funerals for veterans, The Last Post, a lament and The Rouse are part of the ceremony.

Australia and New Zealand

Australian funerals mix classics, rock and humour. A 2023 list of the most-played funeral songs published by My Tributes in Australian regional newspapers was led by Wind Beneath My Wings, followed by Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd), Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, Israel Kamakawiwoʻole's Over the Rainbow, You'll Never Walk Alone, See You Again, You Raise Me Up, Candle in the Wind, My Way and Hallelujah. Australian favourites also include Flame Trees by Cold Chisel and Forever Young.

In New Zealand, Now Is the Hour (Pō Atarau) is the classic farewell song, and Pōkarekare Ana is often sung. At RSA and RSL services for veterans in both countries, the Ode of Remembrance is read and The Last Post is played.

Songs for a funeral slideshow or memorial video

A photo tribute is now part of most services and wakes. Choose music for it differently from the service music:

• Plan about six seconds per photo. That is roughly 10 photos a minute, so a 3½-minute song carries about 35 photos and 100 photos need about 10 minutes, or three songs.
• Start gentle, end bright. Childhood photos to a soft song, the middle years to something they loved, and the last photos to an uplifting song.
• Use one file. Join the songs into a single track with short crossfades using the free Audio Joiner, so there are no gaps between songs.
• Mind the internet. If the slideshow will be posted on Facebook or YouTube, commercial songs may be muted or blocked (see the next section).

Good slideshow songs: Photograph (Ed Sheeran), In My Life (The Beatles), Somewhere Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World (Israel Kamakawiwoʻole), Forever Young (Rod Stewart), Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper), Thank You for Being a Friend (Andrew Gold) and Here Comes the Sun (The Beatles). A song written about the person, with their name in it, works especially well here because the words match the pictures.

Music licences and livestreams: what to know

Playing music at the service

In most places you don't need to arrange a licence yourself. Venues handle it:

• United States: funeral homes cover public performance of recorded music with licences from the performing rights organisations. The National Funeral Directors Association, for example, offers members a group licence covering BMI, ASCAP and SESAC, which it says represent more than 90% of copyrighted music, at $350 a year for 2026.
• United Kingdom: PRS for Music and PPL do not require a licence for music performed during acts of worship, which includes church funerals. Crematoria usually run music systems from specialist providers that arrange the licensing for the venue. Your funeral director will ask you only for song titles and the exact version you want.

Livestreams and recordings

This is where families get caught out. Three things to know:

1. A performance licence doesn't cover the internet. In the US, NFDA sells a separate livestreaming licence ($65 a year for BMI, ASCAP and SESAC music in 2026). In the UK, webcasting music falls under a separate online licence, which crematoria usually arrange through their webcast provider.
2. Facebook and YouTube mute music anyway. NFDA itself warns that even a licensed stream will be muted on Facebook and YouTube, because the platforms' automatic systems detect copyrighted recordings. It recommends streaming through the funeral home's own website, a dedicated streaming service, Zoom or Vimeo instead.
3. Slideshows and recorded videos need a different right. Putting a song under a video is a "synchronisation" use, which the performing rights licences above don't cover. A slideshow played in the room is fine; a slideshow video posted online with a commercial song may be blocked.

The music least likely to cause a problem online is music sung live (most traditional hymns are long out of copyright), royalty-free music and original music made for the service. An original song that didn't exist before the funeral has no label recording for those automatic systems to match.

A song about them: making a personal funeral song

The most personal option is a song written about the person: their name, their places, their sayings. Until recently this meant hiring a songwriter for a few hundred dollars and waiting a week or more, which doesn't fit the few days most families have. AI songwriting has changed that: you can now have a full, sung, original song in a few minutes.

When a personal song works best

• As the reflection piece, introduced by whoever knew them best ("We asked for a song about Mum's garden, and this is it").
• Under the photo slideshow, because the words match the pictures.
• For family who can't travel, sent as a link with a message and a photo.
• On the anniversary, a birthday after they've gone, or when the headstone is set.
• When a church allows hymns only, a hymn-style song with their name can sometimes be accepted; ask the priest or minister first, and play it at the wake if not.

How to make one with SongUp AI

1. Open the memorial song page or Create. Sign in with a free account.
2. Describe the person and the sound. One or two sentences is enough: who they were to you, two or three specific details, the style of music and the feeling. Add "peaceful, not dark" if you want comfort rather than grief.
3. Choose the language. Songs can be sung in 76 languages, which helps families who want a song in a grandparent's first language.
4. Hear it first. A free account can hear a 30-second preview of its own song before paying.
5. Get the full song. One song is $2.99, paid once, with no subscription. Full songs run about three minutes.
6. Listen alone before the service. If a line isn't right, change the words and make it again.
7. Download the MP3 and send it to the funeral director a few days before, or bring it on a USB stick as a backup.

Prompts you can copy

Change the names and details to your own. Specific, ordinary details make the best songs.

• For a mum: Gentle, hopeful piano ballad in memory of my mum Margaret, soft strings, warm female vocal. Lyrics about her garden, her Sunday roast, the way she hummed while she cooked, and how we still hear her in the kitchen. Peaceful, not dark.
• For a dad: Tender acoustic song in memory of my dad Peter, soft guitar, male vocal. Lyrics about his workshop, the smell of sawdust, his terrible jokes and the advice he gave me on my wedding day.
• For a grandparent: Warm 1950s-style ballad in memory of Grandpa Walter, piano and brushed drums, crooner vocal. Lyrics about his allotment, his flat cap and teaching us to fish at the lake.
• Celebration of life: Uplifting country song celebrating the life of my uncle Ray, acoustic guitar and harmonica, lyrics about his laugh, his boat and his stories at the bar. Joyful, a song people can clap to.
• Hymn style: Peaceful hymn-style song in memory of my mother Eileen, organ and choir, gentle vocal, lyrics about faith, rest and seeing her again.
• For a friend: Bittersweet indie folk song for my best friend Danny, acoustic guitar, lyrics about our road trips, the songs we sang badly in the car and the last summer we had.

Writing the words yourself

Many families prefer to write every word themselves, sometimes from the eulogy. Paste your words into Lyrics to Song, describe the music, and the AI sings exactly what you wrote. A simple shape that works:

• Verse 1: a picture of them on an ordinary day (where they sat, what they said).
• Chorus: their name and the one thing you most want to say, repeated so people can hold on to it.
• Verse 2: what they gave you: a habit, a lesson, a phrase.
• Bridge: where you still find them now (the garden, the grandchildren, a song on the radio).
• Last chorus: the same words, with one line changed to a goodbye or a thank-you.

Our guide on what to write in a personalized song has more examples of lines that work.

Sharing it with family

If relatives can't come to the service, a song you've paid for can be sent as a gift page: a private link that plays the song with your message and a photo of the person. You can also make a lyric video for the slideshow screen. If someone wants to sing it live, make an instrumental version too by adding "instrumental, no vocals" to the prompt. See song extras for each option.

What it costs compared with other options

For a fuller comparison, see how much a custom song costs.

Practical checklist for the funeral music

1. Check for wishes. Funeral plan, will, notes, or ask the people closest to them.
2. Ask about the time slot and any rules (crematorium slot length, church music policy).
3. Choose by moment: entrance, hymn or song, reflection, committal, exit.
4. Pick the exact version (artist and recording) and write it down; there are dozens of versions of Hallelujah and Amazing Grace.
5. Send everything to the funeral director at least three working days before the service, with any personal recordings as MP3 files.
6. Decide where each song fades and tell whoever runs the music.
7. Print the music in the order of service, for example: Entrance music: "Time to Say Goodbye", Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman. Add the words of any hymn people will sing.
8. Bring a backup on a phone and a USB stick.
9. If the service is livestreamed, ask the provider which songs will be heard online, and keep commercial songs off Facebook and YouTube streams.
10. Keep a playlist of every song from the day. Families come back to it on birthdays and anniversaries.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most popular funeral song?

In the UK it is Time to Say Goodbye by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman, according to Co-op Funeralcare's 2025 chart of more than 90,000 funerals. Frank Sinatra's My Way, which held the top spot for years, is now second. Irish surveys show the same first choice.

What is the most played funeral song in America?

There is no national chart in the US. Lists from American funeral homes consistently include Amazing Grace, How Great Thou Art, Go Rest High on That Mountain, My Way, What a Wonderful World and Wind Beneath My Wings.

How many songs do you have at a funeral?

Usually three to five: one for the entrance, one or two in the middle (a hymn or a reflection), and one for the exit. A short crematorium service often has three.

What is a good song to end a funeral with?

Many families choose something uplifting or very personal for the exit: My Way, The Best, Time to Say Goodbye, We'll Meet Again, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life or Don't Stop Me Now. The exit is the best place for a song that makes people smile.

What song do you play when the coffin comes in?

A gentle, recognisable piece of three to four minutes. Popular choices are Time to Say Goodbye, Nimrod, Canon in D, Fields of Gold, Somewhere Over the Rainbow and Ave Maria.

Can you play any song at a funeral?

At a crematorium, a funeral home or a civil ceremony, almost any song is fine. Churches may set limits. A Catholic funeral Mass normally allows only sacred music, so secular songs are played at the wake, the funeral home or the graveside instead. Always ask the minister or priest before you print the order of service.

What music is played at a non-religious funeral?

Any music the person or family wants: favourite pop songs, classical or instrumental pieces, and songs written for the person. Humanist and civil celebrants often suggest one entrance piece, one reflection piece and one exit piece.

Do I need permission to play music at a funeral?

Usually not. Funeral homes, crematoria and churches have the licences or exemptions needed to play recorded music at the service. Livestreams and videos posted online are different and may need a separate licence; ask your funeral director.

Why was the music muted on the funeral livestream?

Facebook and YouTube automatically detect copyrighted recordings and mute or block them, even when the funeral home holds a licence. Use the funeral home's own streaming page or a dedicated service, play music live, or use original or royalty-free music.

How long should a funeral slideshow be?

Most are 5 to 10 minutes, or one to three songs. At about six seconds per photo, a 3½-minute song carries around 35 photos.

What is a good uplifting funeral song?

The Best by Tina Turner, Three Little Birds by Bob Marley & The Wailers, Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles, What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong and Don't Stop Me Now by Queen are among the most popular.

Can I have a song written for a funeral?

Yes. A songwriting service usually charges around $200 and takes several days to a week. With SongUp AI you describe the person (or write the words) and get a full original song in minutes for $2.99, which you can download as an MP3 for the service. Start on the memorial song page.

Can a funeral song be in another language?

Yes. Many families choose a hymn or song in a parent's or grandparent's first language. SongUp AI can write and sing a personal song in 76 languages.

Sources

• Co-op Funeralcare, 2025 Funeral Music Chart, reported by RTÉ (August 2025), and the Co-op funeral music charts page.
• AA Life Insurance survey of Irish funeral songs (2018), reported by IrishCentral.
• My Tributes, top 10 most played funeral songs (2023), in Shepparton News.
• Archdiocese of Melbourne funeral guidelines (2010), reported by Sowetan / AFP.
• National Funeral Directors Association, music and webcasting licences and 2026 licensing programme.
• Diocese of Exeter, fact file on music licences for weddings and funerals.
• London Borough of Hillingdon, cremation services (service slot times).
• Archdiocese of Brisbane, Liturgy Lines: music for funerals, and parish funeral music guidelines.
• Military funeral honors for veterans, 10 U.S.C. § 1491.