Anne, this is a great thread since I actually do funerals and you should hear some of the sentimental crap that is getting played these days.
It is like everything else - people give no clue to what they want for their funerals, so there I am, trying to encourage people to remember something, anything that the deceased might like in terms of a favroite Scripture, hymns, literary passages that I might read, etc. It would also help to know who the deceased liked, so we have the right pall-bearers, etc., and maybe some suggestions on who you want to tell the little cute stories that are the rage these days - the surviving family can never remember any of this stuff in the days after death and before the funeral. We are all going to die. I wish people would leave clues behind so that we can do the funerals with integrity to what the deceased wanted. Hey people, this is your last show on earth; if you carefully pick the music for your parties and romantic evenenings, give some clues as to what best says "you" for your funeral! Remember the opening scene in The Big Chill when the organist started playing "You Can't Always Get What You Want?" That was the singular most funny music scene that I ever saw seen, and a lot of clergy friends feel the same way.) Enough of my rant (and you all know I change my will and my instructions almost annually, I like everything up to date). I have thought about this because I do so many funerals and know what I want at mine. I am not sure of the order, and I keep changing my mind on how many tunes, and some of these will have to be used as prelude and postlude or else we'll have a 5 hour funeral, but: Hail! to the Victors Valiant! (University of Michigan, and I am a big fan.) Kiss Him Goodbye (not so strange a choice; it is the Chicago White Sox fans' song, and I kind of groove on everyone singing "Na Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Na, hey, hey, hey, goodbye" at my funeral) Work Me Lord by Janis Joplin Free Man in Paris, Joni In My Life, Beatles That's Why I Sing the Blues, or, Just a Little Love, B. B. King Love Divine (hymn, Hyfrodal tune) I Will Always Love You (any version, even Whitney Houston's which I like, it will my farewell song to a certain special special, and either that or My Heart Will Go On from Titanic, Celine Dion, ok, but I need something sentimental for that certain someone...) and the funeral song that will be quintesssentially me: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, U2 that is music that will say my name, and everyone there will know who picked it and what each song or singer meant to me and my life. (the Rev) Vince, doing funerals since 1975, with no complaints yet NP: White Sox at Anaheim via internet, and game not going well
